Heat and Severe Weather Coordination Message #1 – July 21st, 2011
Hello to all..
..Intense Heat and Humidity could cause issues for anyone working outdoors for an extended period of time across much of the region. A Heat Advisory is in effect from Noon to 9 PM Today and an Excessive Heat Watch for Friday Afternoon for Northern Connecticut, Central and Eastern Massachusetts, North-Central Rhode Island, and Southeast New Hampshire. Even outside of these areas, intense heat and humidity could cause issues fpr anyone outdoors in other portions of Southern New England..
..The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has placed much of Northern New England in a Slight Risk for Severe Thunderstorms with portions of Southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts from the Mass. Pike northward in a low probability category for isolated severe thunderstorms. Damaging Winds and Large Hail are the primary threats. Threat would be contingnent on thunderstorms overcoming a cap and being able to tap into extreme instability values over the area. If thunderstorms cannot break the cap, weather will be hot and dry over the region..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible later Thursday Afternoon and Evening..
Intense heat and humidity could cause health issues for people with extended exposure outdoors. Heat Advisories have been issued for today and Excessive Heat Watches for Friday have been issued. See link below for NWS Taunton Heat Advisory/Excessive Heat Watch information and NWS/NOAA heat safety rules:
NWS Taunton Heat Advisory/Excessive Heat Watch Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus71.KBOX.html
NWS/NOAA Heat Safety Rules:
http://www.weather.gov/om/heat/index.shtml
While the heat will be the major story for Southern New England, Isolated Severe Thunderstorms cannot be ruled out over portions of Southern New England particularly over Southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts from the Mass. Pike northward. The atmosphere will have a strong cap which would impede convection but there will also be extreme instability. In Northern New England, an impulse will allow for the forcing required to break the cap and could cause a complex of severe weather, either a bow echo of storms or Mesoscale Convective System to organize and swing through that area with damaging winds and large hail as the primary threats. If the impulse gets far enough south or can allow for the cap to break in portions of Southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts north of the pike, this could allow for isolated severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail as the primary threats over this area. It is also possible that activity stays north of the NWS Taunton CWA resulting in just very hot and dry weather and the severe weather threat is a low risk probability but because of the extreme instability with the heat and humidity, it is worth mentioning this in a coordination message in case thunderstorms can organize to the south of the prime threat zone of Northern New England.
SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are possible later today and this evening if the threat for severe thunderstorms occurs over the area. This will be the only coordination message unless time allows and Ops at NWS Taunton are initiated. Below is the SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook:
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://beta.wx1box.org