Alert archive / New Mexico / Mesoscale Discussions in 2016

Mesoscale Discussion 1902

December 25, 20164 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Dec 25, 2016, 1:36 AM MST for 4 states. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 25, 2016, 1:36 AM MST (08:36 UTC)
Expired
Dec 25, 2016, 4:00 AM MST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
20%

Counties Baca County, CO, Las Animas County, CO, Harding County, NM, Quay County, NM, Union County, NM, Cimarron County, OK, Dallam County, TX, Hartley County, TX, Oldham County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 197 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:33 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 198 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2016-12-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2016-12-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 110 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2348 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
110 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
227 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

563 
ACUS11 KWNS 250836
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 250836 
TXZ000-OKZ000-COZ000-NMZ000-251100-

Mesoscale Discussion 1902
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0236 AM CST Sun Dec 25 2016

Areas affected...Northeast NM...southeast CO...and the northwest TX
Panhandle

Concerning...Severe potential...Watch unlikely 

Valid 250836Z - 251100Z

Probability of Watch Issuance...20 percent

SUMMARY...Thunderstorms will likely develop in a band from northeast
NM and spread across southeast CO and the northwest TX Panhandle
09-12z.  Isolated strong/damaging winds will be possible.

DISCUSSION...Rapid low-level moistening/destabilization is underway
across the northwest TX Panhandle, northeast NM, and southeast CO as
upper 40s to middle 50s surface dewpoints surge to the
north-northwest on 30-55 kt low-level flow.  A focused band of
ascent is now emerging east of the Front Range in NM in advance of a
strong midlevel trough moving over western NM.  This band of ascent
will encounter the increasing low-level moisture and expanding
corridor of near-surface-based buoyancy near or after 09z, when new
thunderstorm development is expected.  The low-level moistening
appears to be sufficient for storms rooted at the surface, in an
environment with strengthening deep-layer south-southwesterly flow,
which will support effective bulk shear in excess of 70 kt.  Thus,
some organized structure of the convection is expected (potentially
with embedded weakly rotating elements), which will be capable of
producing isolated strong/damaging gusts.

..Thompson/Edwards.. 12/25/2016

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...AMA...PUB...ABQ...

LAT...LON   36590211 35380247 34960315 34940396 35270423 36640417
            37310412 37670386 37920337 37870239 37470211 36590211

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 25, 6:16 AM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Texas89 min
Dec 25, 2:27 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCraig, Nowata, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Rogers and 1 more2 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in New Mexico, 2016Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2016Mesoscale Discussions in Colorado, 2016Every mesoscale discussion in 2016

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.