Forecasters: Morris Weisman (NCAR/MMM)
Today:
Hot and dry conditions continue with weak flow aloft. Ridging is well entrenched, with little expectation of convection.
Note: The 9am formal weather briefing and debriefing of the previous day's operations have been suspended. We will maintain a daily look at the weather, but no other briefings/debriefings will be conducted. The forecast matrix will no longer be posted.
The following research systems are all operational: the Ops Center, CHILL, S-Pol, LMA, MGLASS, and YRFS. These systems are all that remain available to STEPS. The LMA is scheduled to operate well beyond July 16 (the official last day of STEPS) in support of the TLE studies.
For the duration of STEPS in addition to the LMA, as a minimum, there will be one MGLASS unit for soundings, one S-Pol technician to assist Charlie Knight, and the complete staff for CHILL.
We will run the remaining research systems in the following manner. All systems will be made available to STEPS only if significant convection is expected; otherwise, they will remain down as far as the project. Each group associated with a research system can then do as they see fit. This will include Charlie Knight's young cloud studies from S-Pol, and the CHILL group's preparations for their NSF facility review.
From NCAR in Boulder, Morris Weisman and Jay Miller will review the weather each morning to decide if any coordinated operations are warranted. If so, Jay Miller will return to Burlington and oversee those operations.
One little cell did develop west of Goodland late in the afternoon and was scanned by S-Pol. Since the storm produced only one or two -CGs and short-lived and wasn't impressive at all, CHILL was not brought on-line for data collection.
Apparently, the cool front (more a wind shift) line came through the domain past midnight. One severe storm developed in western Kit Carson County and moved northeastward through the western Doppler lobes and produced +CGs. A severe storm warning was issued by Goodland, with the expectation of up to golfball-sized hail and strong winds. The large-size end of the hail size spectrum has not been verified, but the storm did produce hail up to about one inch.