National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Dangerous Heat in the Central and Eastern U.S.; Severe Thunderstorms in the Central U.S. and Northeast; Critical Fire Weather in the Four Corners

Dangerous, record-breaking heat will intensify across most of the central and eastern U.S this week. Heat indices will likely exceed 100 degrees. Severe thunderstorms are forecast from parts of the central High Plains into the Upper Midwest, and across parts of the Northeast. Critical fire weather conditions will continue across portions of the Four Corners and Great Basin. Read More >

Automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy.

 

Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy.
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CAPE 

This is a surface based Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) measurement only.  In the cool season, elevated instability may be much higher than surface based cape.

On average, CAPE of 1000 J/Kg is usually sufficient for strong to severe storms. CAPE of 3,000 to 4,000 J/Kg or higher is usually a signal of a very volatile atmosphere that could produce severe storms if other environmental parameters are in place.

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