ATMS 120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Mesoscale Convective System, Wind Shear, Thunderstorm
9 Jul 2015
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Document Summary
The storm prediction center (spc) is the branch of the national weather service that specializes in forecasting severe weather. In this video, we will learn how the spc disseminates this information to the general public. The spc receives on average 20,000 - 30,000 reports of severe weather each year. Defining characteristics of the mesoscale convective system (mcs) This term refers to a meteorological phenomenon that occurs on scales from a few kilometers to a few hundred kilometers. The mcs can be 50 to 500+ miles long, last for several hours, and track hundreds of miles. This storm type is responsible for the majority of summer rainfall in the central united states. The leading edge of the storm features a gust front on top of which sits a shelf cloud. The gust front is formed when a cool downdraft of air from within the storm races out ahead of the mcs.
