125  
ACUS01 KWNS 250550  
SWODY1  
SPC AC 250548  
 
DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK  
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK  
1248 AM CDT MON MAY 25 2026  
 
VALID 251200Z - 261200Z  
 
...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS  
AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT ACROSS PARTS OF THE RIO GRANDE  
VALLEY...CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS AND UPPER GREAT LAKES REGION...  
   
..SUMMARY  
 
THE RISK FOR ORGANIZED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT APPEARS LOW  
ACROSS MUCH OF THE U.S. TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT.  
   
..DISCUSSION  
 
AMPLIFICATION WITHIN THE WESTERLIES ACROSS THE NORTHERN MID-LATITUDE  
PACIFIC IS ONGOING. NEAR THE LEADING EDGE OF THIS REGIME, A  
SIGNIFICANT SHORT WAVE TROUGH AND EMBEDDED MID-LEVEL CYCLONE ARE NOW  
DIGGING TOWARD THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST, AND FORECAST TO PROGRESS  
INLAND ACROSS COASTAL AREAS LATER TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. AS THIS  
OCCURS, THE CENTER OF BROAD, WEAK TROUGHING EMERGING FROM THE  
SUBTROPICAL EASTERN PACIFIC IS FORECAST TO SHARPEN SOME, ALONG A  
NEGATIVELY TILTED AXIS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN THROUGH  
NORTHERN MEXICAN PLATEAU BY DAYBREAK TUESDAY.  
 
DOWNSTREAM, WEAK TROUGHING ACROSS EASTERN TEXAS AND THE WESTERN GULF  
BASIN WILL TEND TO SLOWLY SHIFT NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD TOWARD THE LOWER  
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, AS A HIGH REMAINS PROMINENT ACROSS THE  
SUBTROPICAL WESTERN ATLANTIC. IN HIGHER LATITUDES, MID-LEVEL  
RIDGING IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE TO BUILD TO THE EAST THE CANADIAN  
AND NORTHERN U.S. ROCKIES. THIS WILL INCLUDE FURTHER MID-LEVEL  
HEIGHT RISES ACROSS THE MISSOURI VALLEY THROUGH UPPER MIDWEST AND  
ADJACENT GREAT LAKES REGION.  
 
IN LOWER LEVELS, A COLD FRONT LIKELY WILL ADVANCE INLAND ACROSS  
WASHINGTON, OREGON AND MUCH OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHILE SURFACE  
TROUGHING DEEPENS ACROSS MUCH OF THE GREAT BASIN AND NORTHERN  
ROCKIES THROUGH NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. HOWEVER, SEASONABLY MOIST  
BOUNDARY-LAYER AIR APPEARS LIKELY TO GENERALLY REMAIN CONFINED TO  
PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS AND LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY  
THROUGH SOUTHEAST AND MID ATLANTIC.  
   
..MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD/ADJACENT UPPER GREAT LAKES  
 
MID-LEVEL HEIGHTS ARE FORECAST TO CONTINUE TO RISE ACROSS THE REGION  
TODAY, EVEN AS A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT SHORT WAVE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED  
FORCING FOR ASCENT DIG ACROSS NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO, GENERALLY WELL  
TO THE NORTH OF THE UPPER GREAT LAKES REGION. EVEN SO, CONVECTION  
ALLOWING AND RELATED MACHINE LEARNING GUIDANCE CONTINUE TO SUGGEST  
THAT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE AS FAR SOUTH AS  
THE MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD VICINITY, IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT COULD  
BECOME SUPPORTIVE OF A SUPERCELL. AS A RESULT, 5 PERCENT SEVERE  
WEATHER PROBABILITIES WILL BE MAINTAINED. HOWEVER, GIVEN THE LACK  
OF BETTER AVAILABLE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AND THE SPREAD EVIDENT WITHIN  
GUIDANCE CONCERNING POTENTIAL DESTABILIZATION, THESE MAY BE TOO  
HIGH.  
   
..CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS AND ADJACENT MIDDLE MISSOURI VALLEY  
 
CALIBRATED THUNDERSTORM PROBABILITIES FROM MOST ENSEMBLE OUTPUT  
SUGGEST THAT WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS PROBABLE  
BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON, IN A CORRIDOR OF STRONGER POTENTIAL  
BOUNDARY-LAYER DESTABILIZATION WITHIN THE LEE SURFACE TROUGHING,  
FROM PORTIONS OF SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA THROUGH SOUTHWESTERN  
MINNESOTA/NORTHWESTERN IOWA. IF INHIBITION ASSOCIATED WITH  
CONTINUING MID-LEVEL HEIGHT RISES AND MORE SUBSTANTIVE  
LOWER/MID-TROPOSPHERIC WARMING IS OVERCOME, THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES  
MAY BE CONDUCIVE TO LOCALLY STRONG TO SEVERE SURFACE GUSTS AND SOME  
HAIL, PARTICULARLY WHERE A NARROW CORRIDOR OF BETTER LOW-LEVEL  
MOISTURE IS MAINTAINED ACROSS THE NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA THROUGH  
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA VICINITY.  
   
..PARTS OF SOUTHWESTERN TEXAS INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO  
 
STRONGER DEEP-LAYER LAYER SHEAR AND FORCING FOR ASCENT, WITHIN THE  
EXIT REGION OF A STRONG SUBTROPICAL JET NOSING INTO THE NORTHERN  
MEXICAN PLATEAU, MAY SUPPORT AND ENHANCE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT  
ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHEASTERN CHIHUAHUA INTO ADJACENT PORTIONS OF THE  
RIO GRANDE VALLEY BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THIS PROBABLY WILL BE  
ROOTED WITHIN A WEAKLY UNSTABLE, BUT DEEPLY MIXED BOUNDARY LAYER  
SUPPORTIVE OF AT LEAST A RISK FOR STRONG TO SEVERE WIND GUSTS.  
 
..KERR/CHALMERS.. 05/25/2026  
 
 
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