Other Instabilities » CSI Caveats / Other Resources

While CSI analyses based on observations or model output cannot be used to diagnose or forecast the precise location of precipitation bands, they can be used to infer the character of the precipitation (e.g., broad and uniform vs. organized bands). It is important to note that when assessing CSI, one must first check for convective or potential instability. If potential instability exists, upright convection will dominate and the CSI analysis is moot.
A detailed explanation of CSI and its analysis is beyond the scope of this skew-T module; however, more details regarding CSI and cross-section analysis techniques may be found in the following COMET modules:
Slantwise Convection
The Use and Misuse of Conditional Symmetric Instability
Mesoscale Banded Precipitation