777  
ACUS01 KWNS 231620  
SWODY1  
SPC AC 231618  
 
DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK  
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK  
1118 AM CDT THU JUL 23 2026  
 
VALID 231630Z - 241200Z  
 
...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR SOUTHWEST  
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  
 
SURFACE ANALYSIS LATE THIS MORNING PLACES A FRONT DRAPED FROM FAR  
SOUTHWEST KS EXTENDING INTO EASTERN CO. THE FRONT AND A DRYLINE  
FARTHER SOUTH WILL FOCUS THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS  
AFTERNOON AS STRONG HEATING RESULTS IN APPRECIABLE BOUNDARY LAYER  
DESTABILIZATION. WATER-VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS AN IMPULSE OVER CENTRAL  
CO MOVING SLOWLY EAST TO THE NORTH OF A MID-LEVEL ANTICYCLONE  
CENTERED OVER NORTHWEST TX. THIS UPPER DISTURBANCE AND ASSOCIATED  
FORCING FOR ASCENT COUPLED WITH WEAKENING CONVECTIVE INHIBITION WILL  
LEAD TO SCATTERED STORMS DEVELOPING BY LATE AFTERNOON. MODELS  
FEATURE A VERTICALLY VEERING WIND PROFILE WITH 30-35 KT OF  
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR OVER WESTERN KS NEAR THE FRONT, WHICH WILL BE  
SUFFICIENT FOR AT LEAST EPISODIC SUPERCELL STRUCTURES WITH A RISK  
FOR LARGE HAIL. SOME UPSCALE GROWTH INTO A SMALL CLUSTER MAY OCCUR  
DURING THE EVENING AS A SOUTHERLY LLJ INTENSIFIES. SCATTERED SEVERE  
GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS ACTIVITY. FARTHER WEST AND SOUTH  
ALONG THE DRYLINE, A DEEPLY MIXED BOUNDARY LAYER AND WEAKER SHEAR  
WILL FAVOR AN ISOLATED RISK FOR SEVERE GUSTS WITH THE STRONGER  
DOWNDRAFTS.  
   
..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. AMPLE  
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR WITHIN THE SOUTHWEST QUADRANT OF THE PARENT SYSTEM  
MAY SUPPORT SOME COLD POOL ORGANIZATION. STEEPENED LOW-LEVEL LAPSE  
RATES AND HIGH PW MAY YIELD A LOCALIZED RISK FOR SEVERE GUSTS WITH  
SCATTERED STORMS THAT DEVELOP NEAR THE COAST AND MOVE INLAND OVER  
THE COASTAL PLAIN THROUGH THE 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  
 
MIDDAY VISIBLE-SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS SCATTERED  
SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A WEST-EAST ORIENTED FRONTAL ZONE OVER  
SOUTHERN NC. CLOUD BREAKS SOUTH OF CONVECTIVE CLOUD DEBRIS WILL  
PROMOTE ADDITIONAL HEATING NEAR THE COAST AND MODERATE  
DESTABILIZATION BY MID AFTERNOON. A FEW OF THE STRONGER STORMS THAT  
DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING WILL PROBABLY POSE A  
LOCALIZED RISK FOR DAMAGING GUSTS.  
 
..SMITH/CHALMERS.. 07/23/2026  
 
 
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