Version 1 of the NOAA/CIMSS LightningCast model uses GOES-R ABI images to predict the probability of lightning in the next 60 minutes at any given location. It is being transitioned to NOAA/NESDIS operations. LightningCast v2 has been developed and is being evaluated at NOAA’s Hazardous Weather Testbed. Version 2 incorporates MRMS Reflectivity at -10oC, which is... Read More

Altocumulus castellanus clouds (ACCAS) unexpectedly developed in southern Wisconsin yesterday morning, producing beautiful cloud features and eventually a severe thunderstorm. ACCAS form due to mid-level instability and manifest in towering billows that can often produce pileus clouds as they burst through a more stable layer.The rooftop cameras of the UW-AOSS building caught... Read More

A negatively tilted shortwave trough and associated dynamical response created a rapidly deepening surface low in the Dakotas on May 15. These features worked together to bring high theta-E air from the southern U.S. up into Minnesota and Wisconsin, creating ample instability in the region. A strong mid-level jet streak... Read More

Blizzards, dust storms, fires, floods, thunderstorms and tornadoes were the result of very strong back-to-back negatively tilted shortwave troughs through the eastern half of the U.S. From Texas to Wisconsin, New York to Florida, severe wind gusts, large hail, and deadly tornadoes were recorded. The hardest hit states during the... Read More