And we're off! We left New Brunswick, NJ at 9 AM today, in hopes of studying some exciting weather out in in the Northern Plains. As June approaches, severe weather tends to trend northward. After a team weather discussion on Tuesday, it was determined that the Dakotas and possibly Montana would be a good first stop for Friday and Saturday, as a cold front will be passing through. Saturday is looking somewhat more favorable than Friday. Four ingredients are typically needed to produce severe weather, and what we're looking for - tornadoes! They are: moisture, preferably being fueled in from the Gulf of Mexico; wind shear, which is a change of wind speed and/or direction with height; a lifting mechanism, such as a front (like the cold front I mentioned before, but other fronts such as warm fronts and dry-lines are also favorable); and instability (ever heard a weather weenie get excited over "CAPE"? Well, that's a measure of instability, and the higher, the better for severe weather). Each of these are in play for the northern plains, and therefore a hot contender! I'll keep everyone updated on my travels, so stay tuned...
Sherilyn Graham is one of our newest hires and is a graduate of Rutgers University. At Rutgers, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degrees in Meteorology. You can follow Sherilyn as she chases tornadoes on WeatherWorks Facebook and Twitter pages.
