Severe Prairie Thunderstorms, Tornadogenesis and Storm Chasing

Accurately predicting the location and timing of thunderstorm initiation (called convection initiation) and which storm(s) will produce tornadoes (called tornadogenesis) are currently two of the most perplexing issues in meteorology today. There are many factors that control both convection initiation and tornadogenesis, making these difficult to accurately predict on any given potential severe weather day. Weather forecasters, scientists and storm chasers (who can sometimes be all one and the same!) share the difficulties in making their predictions and improving our knowledge about convection initiation and tornadogenesis. The presentation will discuss what is currently known about these two phenomena, how they relate to storm chasing and the critical need for data, and will highlight some of the remaining issues yet to be resolved on the scientific frontier. The critical importance of weather warning dissemination and being prepared for summer severe weather will also be raised.