Less Than 50 |
Weak Cap...Easily Broken By Surface Heating |
50 to 200 |
Moderate Cap...Can Be Broken By Strong Heating/Synoptic Scale Forcing |
Greater Than 200 |
Strong Cap...Typically Impedes Thunderstorm Development |
Convective Inhibition (or CIN) provides a measure of the amount of energy needed in order to initiate convection. Values of CIN typically reflect the strength of
capping inversions (layer of relatively warm air aloft, usually several thousand feet above the ground, which suppresses or delays the development of thunderstorms).
Whereas, CAPE is indicative of positive (upward) buoyancy, CIN reflects negative (downward) buoyancy. CIN must be overcome and replaced with sufficient
CAPE in order for convection to form.
