108  
ACUS02 KWNS 121734  
SWODY2  
SPC AC 121733  
 
DAY 2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK  
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK  
1233 PM CDT TUE MAY 12 2026  
 
VALID 131200Z - 141200Z  
 
...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR NORTH-CENTRAL  
MONTANA...  
   
..SUMMARY
 
 
SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE  
NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SEVERE WIND  
GUSTS ARE THE PRIMARY HAZARD.  
   
..NORTHERN ROCKIES AND HIGH PLAINS INTO NORTHERN UTAH
 
 
A POTENT MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER WESTERN OR/WA WILL MOVE  
EAST ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES INTO THE NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS AS A  
DOWNSTREAM RIDGE SHIFTS EAST INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST BY EARLY  
THURSDAY MORNING. AN ATTENDANT 80-90 KT 500 MB SPEED MAX WILL  
OVERSPREAD ID/MT BY PEAK HEATING AS A COLD FRONT SWEEPS EAST ACROSS  
PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN ROCKIES INTO THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE  
GREAT BASIN. FORCING FOR ASCENT AND DIURNAL DESTABILIZATION WILL  
LEAD TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING BY MID AFTERNOON.  
FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW LARGE SURFACE TEMPERATURE-DEWPOINT  
DEPRESSIONS AND INVERTED-V THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES. INCREASING FLOW  
THROUGH THE CLOUD-BEARING LAYER WILL RESULT IN RELATIVELY SWIFT  
STORM MOTIONS WITHIN PRE-CONDITIONED, DRY-ADIABATIC 0-3 KM LAPSE  
RATES. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE HIGHER  
TERRAIN WILL MOVE INTO THE LOWER ELEVATIONS AND INCREASE IN COVERAGE  
AS A COUPLE OF LINEAR CLUSTERS EVOLVE TOWARDS EARLY EVENING ACROSS  
CENTRAL MT, AND TO A LESSER DEGREE, ACROSS EASTERN ID. THE PRIMARY  
RISK WILL BE SEVERE GUSTS (60-80 MPH) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONGER  
CORES AND OUTFLOW. FARTHER SOUTH, VERY DEEPLY MIXED BOUNDARY LAYERS  
EVIDENT IN FORECAST SOUNDINGS ACROSS NORTHERN UT INTO SOUTHERN ID  
WILL FAVOR SEVERE GUSTS WITH THE STRONGER CORES.  
   
..OHIO VALLEY/CENTRAL APPALACHIANS
 
 
AN UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH INITIALLY OVER THE CENTRAL GREAT LAKES WILL  
MOVE EAST-SOUTHEASTWARD TO THE LOWER GREAT LAKES AND MID-ATLANTIC  
STATES VICINITY DURING THE PERIOD. STRONG CYCLONICALLY CURVED,  
500-MB FLOW (50+ KT) WILL MOVE THROUGH THE BASE OF THE TROUGH. A  
SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO AS A COLD  
FRONT ADVANCES EAST-SOUTHEASTWARD INTO THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS.  
AHEAD OF THE FRONT, SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER TO MID 50S F WILL  
CONTRIBUTE TO WEAK INSTABILITY AS SURFACE TEMPERATURES WARM DURING  
THE DAY. INCREASING LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE NEAR THE FRONT WILL LEAD  
TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT, WITH ADDITIONAL STORMS  
FORMING DUE TO TOPOGRAPHIC FORCING IN THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS.  
AHEAD OF THE FRONT, LOW TO MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE FORECAST TO  
STEEPEN BY MIDDAY/EARLY AFTERNOON, LENDING THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERAL  
STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF AN ISOLATED RISK FOR WIND DAMAGE  
AND LOCALIZED SEVERE GUSTS.  
   
..TX PANHANDLE
 
 
DESPITE A 500-MB RIDGE OVERHEAD, VERY STRONG BOUNDARY LAYER HEATING  
MAY SUFFICIENTLY ERODE CONVECTIVE INHIBITION AND YIELD A COUPLE OF  
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING NEAR THE CAPROCK (22-00 UTC). VERY STEEP  
LAPSE RATES WILL SUPPORT AN ISOLATED RISK FOR HAIL/WIND IF SUSTAINED  
STORMS DEVELOP. THIS ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY DISSIPATE BY MID EVENING.  
 
..SMITH.. 05/12/2026  
 

 
 
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