When it comes to a bread and butter surface boundary for storm chasers, it is hard to argue with the dryline being anything but that.

Present each spring where the dry and hot airmass of the desert SW interfaces with the warm and moist airmass of the Gulf of Mexico, drylines are what make a storm chaser’s season many years in tornado alley.

Why Target Drylines

Drylines are potentially one of the best targets for a storm chaser. We are quite high on them as most of the big historical plains outbreak days were also dryline days.

You should target these boundaries especially when forcing and capping are both moderate. This results in impressive, isolated storms which are incredible for photography.

Avoid When…

If capping is strong along the dryline, find a new target. Sometimes boom or bust days are fun. But, there are other days when it is better to just find a better target.

Also if the instability axis is super narrow, it’s a good bet storms will struggle.

Also, it goes without saying, but sometimes there are just better targets for the day to pursue.