MCS season in full swing in Mid-Missouri

On any given day across the world, there are roughly 1,800 thunderstorms occurring. While they can be a hazard, they also provide important rainfall for a region. Here in the United States, roughly 125,000 thunderstorms occur each year, with our fair share here in Mid-Missouri falling during the spring and summer months.

Satellite images from this morning across the Plains and Midwest show some of those thunderstorms tracking through the region this morning, along with a large cloud shield. It can have drastic effects on temperatures during the day, with thicker clouds keeping temperatures on the cooler side.

These thunderstorms known as a Mesoscale Convective Systems, or MCS are a cluster of storms that typically develop during the evening hours and how they form is quite unique. MCS’s commonly develop during the merging of thunderstorms which grows in intensity during the night thanks to the influence of a lower level jet.

The lower level jet is a fast ribbon of air that is located anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 feet above the surface of the earth, which feeds the thunderstorms warm air and moisture continuously through the night.

Studies show that many locations across the Central United States receive a large portion of their warm-season precipitation during the MCS’s that track through a region. Many MCS’s can actually alleviate dry periods and cause flooding concerns during the spring and summer months.

Unfortunately, MCS’s are difficult to forecast because it’s often small-scale triggers in the atmosphere that get them going.

Stay with ABC 17 News as we continue to track any rain chances and follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.