National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heavy Rain and Flash Flooding Concerns in California; Heavy Snow in the Sierra

An atmospheric river will bring heavy rainfall to lower elevations of California this week, and heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Flash flooding, some of which may be locally considerable, will be a concern on the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains through Tuesday. Landslides, rockfalls and mudslides are possible in the Southern California mountains. Read More >

Automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy.

 

Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy. Thumbnail of an automatically generated image showing areas of convective available potential energy.
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CAPE 

This is a surface based Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) measurement only.  In the cool season, elevated instability may be much higher than surface based cape.

On average, CAPE of 1000 J/Kg is usually sufficient for strong to severe storms. CAPE of 3,000 to 4,000 J/Kg or higher is usually a signal of a very volatile atmosphere that could produce severe storms if other environmental parameters are in place.

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