Thunderstorms and the Dry Line

Margaret W. Lamb

Saturday, February 08, 2014 at 02:01 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Dry line thunderstorms are extremely dangerous weather phenomena on the Great Plains, formed by the collision of dry and moist air masses, leading to rapid development, severe updrafts/downdrafts, and extreme turbulence.
Pilots flying in the Great Plains, especially in late spring/early summer, must proactively check dry line forecasts (depicted as an orange line on prog charts) and be vigilant for in-flight warning signs like virga, rapidly building cumulus, lightning, and funnel clouds.
Due to their unpredictable and lethal nature, pilots are strongly advised to immediately retreat if any signs of a dry line thunderstorm are encountered, as seemingly "scattered" conditions can quickly escalate into a life-threatening situation.

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Illustrations by Matthew Laznicka|

Clayton, New Mexico — way east of the Rocky Mountains, out on the Great Plains. A humid June afternoon. We had finished up in court and were sitting around in the judge’s office. The phone rang. The judge handed it to me. My friend, the airport weather forecaster, spoke abruptly: “Margaret, if you’re gonna go, you’d better git!” So after a quick weather briefing — scattered thunderstorms — I preflighted my Navion and took off on the 160-mile flight west to Taos.