Day 51: Thunderstorms in Texas and Oklahoma
The first of several shortwave troughs (middle-to-upper level lows) is beginning to impact the southern plains. In response to this shortwave trough, warm, moist air has surged northward over a stationary front. This warm, moist air is being lifted (isentropically, for my meteorology students) over the stationary front resulting in widely scattered thunderstorms in the Texas Panhandle. It’s amazing to think there are thunderstorms in places where last week a fresh snow was covering the ground!
About Patrick
Patrick Marsh is a Ph.D. student at the University of Oklahoma's School of Meteorology. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and Physics (cum laude) from the University of Arkansas in 2005 and a Masters of Science in Meteorology in 2007. In addition to working on his doctorate, Patrick serves as the National Severe Storms Laboratory Liaison to the Hazardous Weather Testbed where his research interests lie in working with operational forecasters, data mining, data visualization, and all things high-impact weather. For more about Patrick's work, check out his complete CV!
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