Supercell Environment:
Wind Shear
• For supercells, it is critical that
the environmental winds increase rapidly with height
within the layer of maximum instability.
•A
narrow band of very strong winds often develops just
above the surface in the warm moist iar on the Great Plains,
which is called the low-level jet.
•The jet
extends from just above the ground to just above
the capping inversion with a core speed of 50 knots.
• The low-level jet transports warm, moist air
northward in the lower atmosphere and provides low-level
wind shear that supports storm rotation