A Synoptic Summary of the 31 May 1996 CO-KS Storm Environment

On the morning of 31 May 1996, a warm front, which extended eastward from a surface low in southeast Colorado, stopped its northward progression as it merged with a large outflow boundary in central KS. The figure indicates the low and boundary positions at 1215 UTC. Surface temperatures in KS had reached the mid-70s (F) by this time, with surface dewpoints running in the mid- to upper-60s.

The winds in KS were generally from the south-southeast at the surface, veering to southwesterly by 500 mb. The 500 mb flow was dominated by a broad, longwave trough covering most of the western U.S. An embedded, uper-level shortwave was moving from the four corners region into CO. Thunderstorms developed between 1600 and 1700 UTC in front of the shortwave as it crossed over the Rocky Mountains and into eastern CO. At the same time, thunderstorms also developed along the front/outflow boundary in central KS. Both of these thunderstorm areas reported tornadoes.

Between 2300 and 2342 UTC, six F0 tornadoes were reported in eastern CO. One notable tornado, in Kiowa county, had a path-length of 17.5 miles. Eight tornadoes were reported in KS, 2 F1s and 6 F0s; all occurring between 2306 and 2358 UTC.

This module looks at certain aspects of this case to illustrate the wide variety of analysis capabilities afforded by satellite imagery. Discussion begins with the synoptic scale, and progresses down to the sub-synoptic and meso-scales.