Microburst Composite

The Microburst Composite is a weighted sum of the following individual parameters: SBCAPE, SBLI, lapse rates, vertical totals (850-500 mb temperature difference), DCAPE, and precipitable water. The specific terms and weights are listed below:

SBCAPE term -> < 3100 set to 0; 3100-3999 set to 1; >= 4000 set to 2; SBLI term -> > -8 set to 0; <= -8 set to 1; <= -9 set to 2; <= -10 set to 3; 0-3 km lapse rate term -> <= 8.4 set to 0; > 8.4 set to 1; vertical totals term -> < 27 set to 0; >= 27 set to 1; >= 28 set to 2; >= 29 set to 3; DCAPE term -> < 900 set to 0; >= 900 set to 1; >= 1100 set to 2; >= 1300 set to 3; precipitable water term -> <= 1.5 set to -5; > 1.5 set to 0.

All six of the terms are summed to arrive at the final microburst composite value. The values can be interpreted in the following manner: 3-4 infers a "slight chance" of a microburst; 5-8 infers a "chance" of a microburst; >= 9 infers that microbursts are "likely". These values can also be viewed as conditional upon the existence of a storm.