Cold pool effects – RKW theory

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Any organized convection typically requires a favorable combination of instability and shear. The instability produces the convection, while the shear provides the mechanism for organization. This diagram shows how low-level westerly shear acts to enhance the lift along the leading edge of an eastward moving thunderstorm cold pool. The result is a system that maintains itself longer, and becomes more intense, than a convective system that develops in the absence of shear.