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Heavy Precipitation in the West; Wintry Mix in the North; Fire Weather in the High Plains

Pacific moisture will continue to bring locally heavy coastal/lower elevation rain and heavy mountain snow to the West Coast and portions of the Intermountain West through Monday. A wintry mix will create hazardous travel across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest into early Monday. Dry, gusty winds are resulting in elevated to critical fire weather in the south/central High Plains. Read More >

Event Summary: November 10, 2020

On November 10, 2020, a strong and quick moving cold front made its way through the Midwest. The environment ahead of the cold front was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the upper 60s and temperatures in the 40s not far behind the front. This lead to strong baroclinicty along the front, and subsequent convection with just the right amount of instability. This is considered a high shear low CAPE (HSLC) event, where organized severe thunderstorms are favored in this environment. Potential hazards are damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes. Two tornadoes have been confirmed at this time with surveys continuing, several wind reports were received (ranging between 50-60 mph, with a few gusts >60 mph). Damage reports ranged from structural damage to tree damage. Many residents were left without power in parts of northwestern IL, leading to some schools canceling class on the 11th. Besides the strong winds, a few severe hail reports were received.

In addition, heavy rain occurred with some of the stronger storms, leading to rainfall totals over an inch. For how dry it has been, flash flooding was not much of a concern. While the environment was very moist and favorable for heavy rainfall, the fast storm motions led to little accumulation through much of our forecast area.

SPC Event Page - November 10, 2020
 

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Surface Analysis (Courtesy Weather Prediction Center)

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