Microburst Forecasting - Question 1

Hypothetical sounding for microburst question

Here is a morning (1200 UTC) sounding on a day in which you expect afternoon convection. You can open the Interactive Skew-T with this Sounding.

Determine the type of microburst activity and the associated wind gusts that might occur with afternoon convection.

Based upon the morning sounding, what type of convection might you expect to occur?
Choose the best answer.

a) High-based (>6000 ft) convection
b) Low-based (<6000 ft) convection

The correct answer is a) High-based convection. While there is a very shallow moist layer at the surface, relatively strong winds just above the surface and surface heating will likely mix out this moist layer resulting in a very dry lower troposphere. The resulting CCL and convective cloud base will likely be 750-700 hPa, or 8-10 kft above the surface.
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