Surface Based CAPE

What is it?

It's the

What does it tell us?

Example Soundings

here is an unrealistically warm surface-temperature situation for March. Notice how the parcel profile starts at the surface temperature (red curve)

but see how changing the surface dewpoint has a huge effect on increasing the CAPE values, because the LCL is lower, making the pseudoadiabat the new trajectory.

Interesting weather associated with high levels of Surface-based CAPE:

Dust Devils! 🌪

As ~rotating~ air warmer than its surroundings rises, it rotates faster and faster. This is known as vortex stretching

the inital rotation may be driven by density currents turbulence facilitated by topographic features