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Extreme Heat Lingers; Severe Thunderstorms for Portions of the Plains and Southeast; Heavy Rainfall Threats

Gusty winds and heavy rainfall may impact the Big Island of Hawaii as a nearby tropical system passes west of the islands. From the Southwest U.S., Rockies and across the Gulf Coast, heavy rainfall could lead to isolated flash flooding. Severe thunderstorms are expected for areas of the Plains, Gulf Coast and Southeast through Tuesday. Extreme heat lingers for the southern Plains and Southwest. Read More >

Automatically generated image showing areas of convective inhibition.

 

Thumbnail of automatically generated image showing areas of convective inhibition. Thumbnail of automatically generated image showing areas of convective inhibition. Thumbnail of automatically generated image showing areas of convective inhibition.
Hour - 1 Hour - 2 Hour -3

4 Panel Display | Animated Loop

CIN 

The image is a surface based measurement of Convective INhibition (CIN) or what is sometimes more commonly referred to as the strength of the cap.  The value is capped off at 500 J/KG.  In cases where there is no surface based CAPE available this parameter is set to 500 J/KG.

The yellow contours are the Lid Strength Index (LSI).  This is another measure of how strong the cap is.  It shows the thermal difference between a lifted surface parcel and the warmest part of the cap.  Higher values indicate a more stable layer.

In general, the Cap is said to be breakable when CIN is 30 J/Kg or less and/or the LSI is 2 degrees or less.  A negative LSI is rare, but is indicative of freely buoyant low level instability.

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