• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Difference b/t a Line of Storms and MCS?

Joined
Mar 4, 2004
Messages
322
Location
Norman, OK
I am curious and having a hard time finding a good differentiation of the two online. What are the differences b/t a line of storms and a MCS? More specifically how are the two differentiated on radar? I know the environmental conditions that lead to an MCS, Multi-cell, supercell, etc... But am curious what to look for on radar to identify a line of storms or an MCS? Thanks in advance.
 
Not really... Two storms connected with some stratus rain can be considered a line. The "official" definition says you need to have over 60mi long of continuous precip.

mesoscale convective system—(Abbreviated MCS.) A cloud system that occurs in connection with an ensemble of thunderstorms and produces a contiguous precipitation area on the order of 100 km or more in horizontal scale in at least one direction.
An MCS exhibits deep, moist convective overturning contiguous with or embedded within a mesoscale vertical circulation that is at least partially driven by the convective overturning.
 
I think part of it may have to do with the organization of the system. Linear MCSs (e.g. squall lines) tend to have certain organizational marks -- such as the weak reflectivity region behind the leading convective precipitation core, the presence of a wake-low and cold-pool high, etc. Since an MCS is a system by definition, the various convective cores should interactive with each other to promote a higher-level organization (mesoscale vs stormscale). I think a lot of it may be somewhat pedantic, however.
 
Thanks, that clears it up a bit but what is Convective Overturning? I am thinking it means forcing convection via gust front/outflow, is that wrong? Also is there a way to classify a MCS using radar alone?

Edit: just saw Jeff's post above answering my radar question, thanks.
 
I've seen the term loosely used several times when it would not meet the offical AMS criteria.

Mesoscale Convective System. A complex of thunderstorms which becomes organized on a scale larger than the individual thunderstorms, and normally persists for several hours or more. MCSs may be round or linear in shape, and include systems such as tropical cyclones, squall lines, and MCCs (among others). MCS often is used to describe a cluster of thunderstorms that does not satisfy the size, shape, or duration criteria of an MCC.
www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/severewx/glossary3.php

Precipitation systems 20 to 500 km (11 to 270 n mi) wide that contain deep convection. Examples in mid-latitudes are large isolated thunderstorm complexes, squall lines, Mesoscale Convective Complexes (MCCs), and rainbands. meted.ucar.edu/satmet/goeschan/glossary.htm
 
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