SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Tuesday afternoon's storm system has a lot of the classic ingredients for severe weather and meteorologist Oliver Moster has a breakdown of those ingredients.
We use the acronym. SLIM, for Shear, Lifting, Instability, and Moisture.
Shear is the difference in wind at different levels, whether that be in direction or speed.
Lifting is usually something like a frontal system, something that will force air from the surface into the atmosphere.
Instability is the available energy that storms have, usually gained with warm moist air.
Moisture is of course the measure of moisture in the air.
Moisture and instability are the easiest to “feel” as you step out the door, with the warm humid air that most of Michiana is seeing even right now.
Our lifting component will be seen, especially on Tuesday evening, with the cold front that will sweep through Michiana, lifting all of this warm moist air into the atmosphere where it can become clouds and storms.
If a tornado were to spin up, we would need wind shear to cause rotation. At the moment, our shear is on the low side, present, but low.
If all these ingredients come together at the right time, we could see something spin up, but our bigger threats Tuesday are going to be gusty winds, intense downpours, and a hail chance with any storm that does pop up.