Using the Downdraft Convective Inhibition (DCIN) to Evaluate Severe Weather Threats from Elevated Convection

Several dozen cases of severe weather from elevated convection are evaluated, and compared to cases of non-severe elevated convection. Representative soundings were examined for each of these cases, in particular the downdraft convective available potential energy (DCAPE), the downdraft convective inhibition (DCIN), and the ratio (DCIN/DCAPE) between them. Ongoing analyses support the idea that surface-level winds meeting the severe criterion (>50 kt) are curtailed when DCIN/DCAPE > 1. Although not sufficiently robust to constitute a climatology, the spatial and temporal characteristics of these severe events is also examined.