The persistent cumuli of May 22, 2006

What happened?

May 22, 2006 was a convectively unstable day. CAPE values were in the 2000-3000 j/kg range and all that was needed to kick off severe thunderstorms was convergence.
This convergence was evident on the visible satellite imagery in the form of persistent fields of cumulus/towering cumulus clouds.
This page shows the visible satellite imagery from the day.

This imagery is presented because it illustrates, almost perfectly, the clues that a forecaster or chaser can look for when assessing where convective initiation will begin. The persistent cumuli (most readily seen near Swift Current, SK) show a focus of lift and convergence. If there is adequate CAPE, initiation will likely be there.

On this day, hail to the size of walnuts (35 mm) was reported from some of the storms shown.

Satellite animation

The animation of the visible satellite imagery

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