• 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.

Lapse Rates

Dean Baron

Supporter
Joined
Sep 25, 2006
Messages
573
Location
Minneapolis, MN
I know that lapse rates are the change in temp. with height, and i know the larger the lapse rate the better the chances for severe weather are, but i dont know how to incorporate them in to forecasting. how do lapse rates increase the chance for severe weather? i have also seen the SPC talk about lapse rates and increased potential for damaging winds. why is that?
 
From what I've learned (a newbie), lapse rates increase the rates of condensation at lower levels.
It also helps the lift and instability (& bouyancy?) aspect of the four main ingredients for storm formation: Lift, Moisture, Wind Shear, and Instability.

Please correct me if I am wrong too...
 
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I know that lapse rates are the change in temp. with height, and i know the larger the lapse rate the better the chances for severe weather are, but i dont know how to incorporate them in to forecasting. how do lapse rates increase the chance for severe weather? i have also seen the SPC talk about lapse rates and increased potential for damaging winds. why is that?

Atmospheric stability decreases with increasing lapse rates. In general, the more unstable the airmass, the stronger the convective updrafts, and the greater the risk for severe weather. However, instability is not the only contributor to updraft strength; vertical wind shear can play a significant role in supercells through the development of perturbation pressure gradient forces.

The Wikipedia - Lapse Rate entry provides a decent description of lapse rate.
 
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