577  
ACUS01 KWNS 231240  
SWODY1  
SPC AC 231238  
 
DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK  
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK  
0738 AM CDT THU JUL 23 2026  
 
VALID 231300Z - 241200Z  
 
...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WESTERN  
KANSAS...  
   
..SUMMARY  
 
WIDELY SCATTERED SEVERE STORMS CAPABLE OF SEVERE WIND GUSTS AND  
LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN  
HIGH PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. MORE ISOLATED OCCURRENCES OF  
DAMAGING WIND ARE POSSIBLE FROM THE MIDDLE TEXAS COAST INTO DEEP  
SOUTH TEXAS, THE EASTERN CAROLINAS, AND PARTS OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN  
INTO THE NORTHERN INTERMOUNTAIN REGION.  
   
..CENTRAL/SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS INCLUDING WESTERN KANSAS  
 
STRONG BOUNDARY-LAYER HEATING IS FORECAST IN THE VICINITY OF A HIGH  
PLAINS SURFACE FRONT AND DRYLINE THIS AFTERNOON WITH TEMPERATURES  
REACHING THE MID 90S TO AROUND 105 F. THE HOT TEMPERATURES WILL  
COMBINE WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE MID 50S TO MID 60S AND MODESTLY STEEP  
MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES TO YIELD A NARROW AXIS OF MODERATE INSTABILITY  
WITH MLCAPE OF 1500-2500 J/KG ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS SOUTHWARD INTO  
WESTERN OKLAHOMA AND THE EASTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. FORCING FOR ASCENT  
PRECEDING A SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO ISOLATED  
TO WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS BY MID-AFTERNOON FROM THE VICINITY  
OF THE THERMAL LOW IN SOUTHEAST COLORADO TO ALONG THE FRONT AND  
DRYLINE FROM NORTHEAST COLORADO INTO THE OKLAHOMA/TEXAS PANHANDLES.  
 
FORECAST SOUNDINGS ALONG THE FRONT FEATURE A VERTICALLY VEERING WIND  
PROFILE WITH 30-35 KT OF DEEP-LAYER SHEAR, WHICH WILL BE SUFFICIENT  
FOR AT LEAST EPISODIC SUPERCELL STRUCTURES WITH A RISK  
FOR LARGE HAIL. IN CONTRAST, THE STORMS FORMING IN THE HOT, DEEPLY  
MIXED AIR MASS WEST OF THE BOUNDARY ARE MORE LIKELY TO PRODUCE  
SPORADIC SEVERE WIND GUSTS. A CORRIDOR OF MORE CONCENTRATED SEVERE  
WIND GUSTS MAY MATERIALIZE ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST KANSAS BY  
EVENING, PARTICULARLY IF ORGANIZED COLD POOL DEVELOPMENT OCCURS WITH  
AN EVENING TIME LOW-LEVEL JET INCREASE.  
   
..MIDDLE TEXAS COAST TO DEEP SOUTH TEXAS  
 
AS BERTHA CONTINUES WESTWARD OVER THE NORTHWEST GULF, A BELT OF  
ENHANCED MID-LEVEL FLOW WILL PRECEDE BERTHA AND SPREAD ATOP A HOT  
AND MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER INLAND, WITH MODERATE INSTABILITY  
DEVELOPING BY AFTERNOON ALONG THE MIDDLE TEXAS COAST. SIMILAR TO  
WEDNESDAY, WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE  
AFTERNOON WITHIN AN ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZED BY 30-40 KT OF  
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR, STEEP LOW-LEVEL LAPSE RATES, AND HIGH PW CONTENT.  
AS SUCH, THE POTENTIAL WILL EXIST FOR LOCALLY DAMAGING DOWNBURST  
WINDS AS STORMS SPREAD WEST-SOUTHWESTWARD ALONG THE COAST INTO DEEP  
SOUTH TEXAS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  
   
..COLUMBIA BASIN/NORTHERN INTERMOUNTAIN WEST  
 
WEAK HEIGHT FALLS ARE EXPECTED WHILE MID/UPPER-LEVEL WINDS  
STRENGTHEN REGIONALLY AHEAD OF AN UPPER LOW OFF THE COAST OF THE  
PACIFIC NORTHWEST. DAYTIME HEATING ALONG FAVORED TERRAIN, IN  
CONJUNCTION WITH THE GLANCING INFLUENCE OF THE PASSING DISTURBANCE,  
WILL AID IN ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS BY  
MID-AFTERNOON WITHIN A MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND STEEP LAPSE RATE  
ENVIRONMENT. THE STRENGTHENING UPPER-LEVEL WINDS WILL ENHANCE  
VERTICAL SHEAR, SUPPORTING THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME STORM ORGANIZATION  
WITH AN ASSOCIATED RISK FOR LOCALLY DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND  
MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL.  
   
..EASTERN CAROLINAS  
 
A VERY MOIST AIR MASS AND CLOUD BREAKS TO THE SOUTH OF  
FRONT-ASSOCIATED CONVECTION EARLY TODAY ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA SHOULD  
ALLOW FOR AT LEAST MODERATE DESTABILIZATION ACROSS PARTS OF THE  
COASTAL PLAIN. THIS MAY RESULT IN A CORRIDOR OF MORE CONCENTRATED  
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT, NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF THE OUTFLOW FROM  
THE MORNING STORMS WITH THE SEA-BREEZE BOUNDARY. MODEST DEEP-LAYER  
SHEAR WILL COINCIDE WITH STEEPENING LOW-LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND HIGH  
PW CONTENT TO YIELD LOCALLY INTENSE WET MICROBURSTS CAPABLE OF  
DAMAGING WINDS THIS AFTERNOON UNTIL AROUND SUNSET.  
 
..GUYER/BROYLES.. 07/23/2026  
 
 
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