Preconvective Environment

updated: May 12, 2005

All Cases	CAPE (Lowest 100 mb) J/Kg (Mean)	Bulk Shear (0 - 3 km) m/s (Mean)	Bulk Shear (0 - 5 km) m/s (Mean)
Weak Shear (< 12 m/s) (5 cases)	3456 J/Kg	8.40 m/s	12.40 m/s
Moderate Shear (13 - 19 m/s) (17 cases)	3372 J/kg	15.1 m/s	17.9 m/s
Strong Shear (20 m/s >) (6 cases)	2956 J/kg	20.7 m/s	25.8 m/s

Non-Supercell Tornadoes occurred:
- in one of the four weak shear cases
- in eleven of the seventeen moderate shear cases
- in three of the six strong shear cases.

Plot (left side) of the range of Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) for 28 MCS events generated by lifting the mean-mixed parcel through the lowest 100 m. Box denotes the 50% of values between the 25th and 75th percentiles, with thin vertical line extending to the 10th and 90th percentiles. Plot (right side) shows the ranged of the magnitudes of Bulk Shear (0 - 3 km / 0 - 5km) with 28 QLCS cases under study. Box and Wiskers plots show the magntude of the Bulk Shear vector. The boxes denote the 25th and 75th percentile while the thin vertical line extends to the 10th and 90th percentiles.

Using base line of Moderate Shear Category (13 - 19 m s-1) for 28 QLCS cases, Box and Wisker plot (left) shows the range of ML CAPE (J/kg). The boxes denotes the 50% of values between the 25th and 75th percentiles while the thin vertical lines extends to the 10th and 90th percentiles. Box and Wiskers plot (right) shows the range of magnitudes for Bulk Shear (0 - 3 km) and (0 - 5km). The boxes denotes the 50% of values between the 25th and 75th percentiles while the thin vertical lines extends to the 10th and 90th percentiles.

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