Severe Storms Research and Forecasting in Subtropical South

South America is known to be a hotspot for severe storms in the world. Environments favorable for severe storms often occur east of the Andes in subtropical latitudes, where extratropical weather systems interact with moisture transported poleward from the Amazon Basin by the low-level jet. This talk will cover research on severe storms in Subtropical South America with focus on the recent efforts to better document and understand severe storms characteristics and environments in the region. The severe storm environments will be discussed and exemplified using recent severe weather outbreaks. Case studies of strong tornadoes indicate that a very strong low-level jet is often present in these environments and these conditions are more common during the cold season. Subtropical South America is also prone to derechos, both serial and progressive. Additionally, giant hail (>10 cm diameter) was broadly documented east of the Andes, with gargantuan hail (> 15 cm) being more restricted to the Andes foothills. The talk will also cover the RELAMPAGO field campaign, which occurred in 2018 in central Argentina. Lastly, a recent international collaboration to maintain a severe storm reports database in South America, as well as efforts to issue semi-operational convective outlooks, will be discussed.