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A Climatologically Rare November Morning Hailstorm in Southwest Lower Michigan: Using the Airmass RGB to Diagnose an Intense, Localized PV Intrusion

T.J. Turnage discusses a thunderstorm complex that produced hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter just north of Grand Rapids, MI on the morning of November 6, 2023. This is a very rare time to experience severe weather in Lower Michigan and this particular event turned out to be the only severe weather of the day across the entire CONUS. The GOES-East Airmass RGB provided a clear depiction of a sharp, narrow PV intrusion that quickly contributed a significant amount of shear and conditional instability to Southwest Lower Michigan, making conditions much more favorable for severe weather. This case illustrates how the Airmass RGB might be used to identify situations in which environments could rapidly change to become supportive of severe thunderstorms.


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