Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
- CAPE is a robust indicator of the potential for deep
convection and convective intensity.
- CAPE provides a measure of stability integrated over the depth of the sounding,
as opposed to other indices, such as LI, that use
data from only a few mandatory levels.
Limitations
- The computation of CAPE is extremely sensitive to the mean mixing ratio in the
lowest 500 m. For instance, a 1 g/kg increase can increase CAPE by 20%.
- Since the computation of CAPE is based on parcel theory, it does not take into account processes
such as mixing, water loading and freezing.
- Surface layer based CAPE computations may underestimate the convective potential in situations
with elevated convection.
- Since CAPE, by itself, does not account for wind shear, it may underestimate the potential for
severe convection where strong wind shear is present.