AllSkyLAP Layer K Index: First Impressions

Decided to take a look at the 1758Z AllSkyLAP Layer K Index (KI) image and compare it to the 1800Z KI product on SPC's Mesoscale Analysis Page. At first, I liked the AllSkyLAP Layer KI color scheme, but the more I look at it, the more I don't like it. It seems like higher values should be those areas in red (to highlight the highest values for severe wx potential considerations), but that is not the case.

Areas where there are clouds/precip (such as northeast MT/NW ND, cntrl MN and over the mtns of northern CO) have lower KI values, probably because of the model background being used.

Elsewhere, such as across central/northeast NE and southeast SD, where there are high values on the AllSkyLAP Layer KI image, these values are actually higher than what the K Index product shows on SPC's Mesoscale Analysis Page.

Outside of the aforementioned areas where the model is probably the background, the AllSkyLAP Layer KI image does show high and low KI "areas" and gradients similar to the KI product on SPC's Mesoscale Analysis site.

- Thomas Bell