BIG COUNTRY, TEXAS (KTAB/KTAB) – In this episode of Carter and Kat’s Weather Chat, our meteorologists break down what a “capped environment” is and how it can affect severe weather days.

A capped environment is essentially a warm layer of air aloft that acts like a cap, similar to the cap on a soda bottle. If you shake the bottle, you stir up the carbonation, but if the cap is tightly in place so nothing happens. In weather terms, the atmosphere may have plenty of instability and moisture, but storms struggle to form because that warm layer prevents air from rising.

However, in an uncapped environment with lots of instability and moisture, storms can rapidly become intense. Think of shaking a soda bottle with a loose cap, eventually the pressure builds and the soda bursts out everywhere. The atmosphere can behave in a similar way, allowing storms to quickly develop and strengthen.

Here in the Big Country over the last few days, we’ve seen this type of setup, so it’s important for viewers to understand how these conditional severe weather days work.

Over the next few days, several events are continuing to take place across the area, but there are also severe weather threats developing across portions of the Big Country and the Heartland. A more widespread threat is expected on Sunday, which also happens to be Mother’s Day.

With the current slight risk in place for Sunday, the primary threats at this time appear to be large hail and damaging winds. As we get closer to the event and confidence increases, an upgrade to the risk level is possible.

The timeline is still subject to change, but current forecast models indicate a line of storms moving in from the northwest during the early afternoon hours and tracking across the area through the early evening.

As we continue gathering more information about this severe weather event, we’ll keep you updated with the latest forecasts and timing details.

Be sure to have weather alerts enabled on your phone and stay weather aware throughout the weekend!

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