Severe Storm Outlook Narrative (AC)
Issued by NWS
Issued by NWS
829 ACUS03 KWNS 280732 SWODY3 SPC AC 280730 Day 3 Convective Outlook NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 0230 AM CDT Mon Sep 28 2026 Valid 301200Z - 011200Z ...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PARTS OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS... ...SUMMARY... Thunderstorms with large hail, wind damage and perhaps a tornado or two will be possible on Wednesday afternoon and evening in parts of west-central and northwest Texas into western and central Oklahoma. Isolated severe storms will also be possible in parts of western and central Kansas into far southern Nebraska. ...Southern Plains... An upper-level low and an associated 50 to 70 knot mid-level jet will move from the southern Rockies into the southern High Plains on Wednesday. A surface low will move eastward into western Kansas during the day, as a dryline sharpens from the far eastern Texas Panhandle southward into west Texas. To the east of the dryline, surface dewpoints will be in the upper 60s and lower 70s F, which will contribute to a pocket of moderate instability from west Texas into southwest Oklahoma by afternoon. As large-scale ascent associated with the approaching system overspreads the dryline, thunderstorms will develop and increase in coverage in the mid to late afternoon. A line of storms is expected to organize and move eastward across the southern Plains during the late afternoon and evening. Model forecasts vary concerning the exact position of the strongest instability on Wednesday. The latest ECMWF seems to be close to consensus, with MLCAPE increasing into the 1000 to 2000 J/kg range from east of Lubbock to near Lawton. This location will be just to the east of the mid-level jet, which will provide deep-layer shear favorable for severe thunderstorm development. Forecast soundings at 21Z near the forecast instability axis have 0-6 km shear around 40 knots, which will support supercells with a threat of wind damage and hail. Although storm development may initially be discrete, a line is expected to form as convective coverage fills the east of the dryline. This line will be capable of wind damage. During the early evening, 0-3 km storm-relative helicity is forecast to increase into the 200 to 250 m2/s2 range, suggesting that a tornado threat will also develop with embedded rotating storms in the line. Any severe threat should persist into the mid to late evening as the line moves eastward across central Oklahoma and central to southwest Texas. ...Central Plains... At mid-levels, divergent southwesterly flow will be in place across the central Plains on Wednesday. At the surface, a low will move eastward into western Kansas with a dryline extending southward from the low. Surface heating and increasing low-level convergence near the dryline should result in thunderstorm development during the late afternoon. As the exit region of a mid-level jet overspreads western Kansas during the day, deep-layer shear will become strong enough to support organized convection. Storms are expected to increase in coverage and move eastward into central Kansas during the late afternoon and early evening. Although low-level lapse rates are forecast to be poor, MLCAPE around 1000 J/kg with 50 kts of 0-6 km shear should support an isolated severe threat. Severe wind gusts and hail will be possible with supercells or multicells, especially as low-level flow increases during the early evening. ..Broyles.. 09/28/2026 $$