Extreme Weather Chapter 8
Exodus 9:23 • When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt;
Thunderstorms •Thunderstorms, one of nature’s most awesome phenomena, occur in about 40,000 locations across the world every day. •The majority of these storms happen in spring and summer in tropical and subtropical areas; they are absent only in Antarctica.
Thunderstorms •Thunderstorms are formed when cumulus clouds continue to grow until they extend throughout the troposphere, forming mountains of moisture that can reach up to 50,000 ft in height.
Thunderstorms •There are three phases: –Cumulus phase the cloud grows and updrafts prevent the rain from falling, there is no lightning. –Mature stage ice particles grow in the upper cloud and become sufficiently large to create precipitation. Downdrafts form; the air becomes colder, more turbulent and electrically charged. Lightning and perhaps rain or hail falls. –Storm dissipates as precipitation and downdrafts rob the storm of its energy. The cloud evaporates and the storm subsides.
Thunderstorms •An advancing cold front drives under the existing air mass, producing an upward motion in the air. •Updrafts and downdrafts form and the cloud flattens as it reaches the top of the troposphere where it forms the anvil shape.
Lightning • The most obvious feature of thunderstorms are, of course, lightning and thunder. • Areas of opposite charge build up within cumulonimbus clouds, with a positive charge tending to gather along the cloud tops and a negative charge nearer the base of the cloud. • Air is a poor conductor of electricity so charges tend to accumulate until enormous electrical differences are generated.
Lightning
Lightning • Friction between updrafts & downdrafts create regions of air with opposite charges. • Eventually the differences in charges break down and a stepped leader forms. A stepped leader is a channel of charged air that moves from the center of the cloud toward the ground.
Lightning • When the stepped leader nears the ground, a return stroke rushes up to meet it. • The return stroke surges from the ground to the cloud creating an illuminating channel with 100 million volts of electricity.
Lightning • Stepped leader
• Return stroke
Lightning •The imbalance in the electrical charges is corrected abruptly by a gigantic dischargelightning. •Lightning heats the air to over 54,000oF, producing an explosive expansion of airthunder. •The thunder you hears is the sound of this superheated air that rapidly expands & contracts. •The sight and sound of thunder and lightning can be truly dramatic.
•The popular belief that lightning never strikes twice is untrue. •The Empire State Building was once hit 15 times in 15 minutes.
Lightning •Some lightning strikes reach the ground, others dissipate in the surrounding atmosphere. •The luminous area toward the middle of the cloud mass indicates that the main lightning flash may have traveled several miles through the atmosphere in a generally horizontal direction before discharging into the ground.
Lightning •The color of the lightning flash indicates the nature of the surrounding air. –Red if there is rain in the cloud. –Blue if there is hail. –Yellow if the air is dusty. –White if the humidity is low. (greatest risk of fire)
Lightning
Lightning
Lightning •Lightning strikes in urban areas can produce sudden power surges that disable electrical supplies. •This problem has increased in recent times, with electronic equipment such as computer systems which are particularly vulnerable.
Lightning •One of the best known incidents of lightning striking a person involved the professional golfer Lee Trevino. •On June 17, 1975, playing in Chicago, Trevino was struck by lightning. •It permanently damaged the flexibility and sensitivity of his lower back. He later commented, “If you are caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God can hit a 1iron.” •Weather is watched carefully during tournaments.
Types of Lightning • Cloud-to-air • Cloud-to-cloud • Cloud-to ground
Ball lightning
Ball lightning
Heat lightning
sheet lightning
• Ball • Heat • sheet
Sheet lightning
Red sprite •June 10, 1999 •NASA
Blue-jet • Not discovered until 1994 • Can extend for several miles
Hailstorms and microbursts •Severe thunderstorms generate hailstones and wild, gusty winds. •Hailstorms are most common in midlatitudes, particularly in the spring and summer. •While most hailstones are the size of a pea, some grow as large as golf balls or even oranges. •In 1888, baseball-sized hail in northern India killed 250 people.
Hailstorms and microbursts •Hail can damage aircraft, automobiles, smash through roofs, injure livestock and people. •Ice particles are swept aloft again in the updraft, and gather more ice. •After several such cycles, large hailstones composed of different layers of ice eventually fall to the ground. •Hailstones consisting of 25 layers have been recorded.
Hailstorms and Microbursts •March 28, 2000 •Ft. Worth, TX •Tornado and subsequent hail •A grapefruit sized hailstone killed a person.
Hailstorms and microbursts • Microbursts are thunderstorm-created winds: blasts of air that reach the ground from thunderstorm downdrafts, gusting in excess of 100 mph. • Wet microbursts are accompanied by rain and may be almost invisible. • Dry microbursts occur in clear air beneath the cloud base and can also be hard to detect. • Areas of dust spreading out from beneath the cloud may be the only sign.
Wet microburst
Dry Microburst- Oct. 3, 2005
Hailstorms and microbursts •Microbursts are a major hazard to airplanes landing or taking off.
•Typically begins 3 miles above the ground. •Precipitation falls inside a towering cloud, dragging nearby air with it. •As the air hits the ground, it spreads rapidly from its touchdown point, bring a burst of very strong winds.
Hailstorms and microbursts • Note the “curl” of the microburst.
Hailstorms and Microbursts • Since 1964, more than 500 lives have been claimed due to wind shear. • 26 airline accidents have occurred. • Two significant accidents finally made NASA and the FAA jointly begin to study this problem. • 1982, Flight 759 a Pan American World Airways Boeing 727 departing New Orleans crashed, killing 145 on the plane and 8 on the ground.
Hailstorms and Microbursts •July 9, 1982 •Flight 759 from Miami to Las Vegas with an en route stop at New Orleans •Conditions at the time of take off: showers over the east end of the airport and to the east of the takeoff path.
Microbursts • Winds were gusty, variable and swirling. • The airplane climbed 95-150 feet and then began to descend. • It struck a line of trees 2,376 feet beyond departure and continued another 2,234 feet hitting trees, houses and crashing into a residential area. • The impact, explosion and ground fire destroyed six houses, and 5 houses were severely damaged.
Microbursts • The cause of the accident as stated by the National Transport Safety Board was – the aircraft’s encounter with a microburst – induced wind shear during lift off and the climbing phase – This imposed a downdraft and a decreasing headwind.
Microburst
Microbursts • The 2nd major crash was August 2, 1985 at DFW airport, Delta Flight 191. • An L1011 jumbo jet with 163 passengers and crew took off during a thunderstorm & lightning. • 15-30 seconds after entering the weather the plane was buffeted by up and down drafts. • The headwind increased to 26 knots, then switched to a 46 knot tailwind.
Microbursts •The plane was 800 feet above the ground and crashed, 38 seconds later. •Killing all but 26.
Microbursts • Now wind shear has become a household word. • Wind shear is defined as a sudden change in wind velocity and/or direction. • A microburst wind shear poses a particular deadly threat to airplanes. • A microburst occurs when precipitation in a rising column of air evaporates.
Microbursts •The air cools quickly, •Becomes more dense and falls rapidly •Spreading out in all directions with a great deal of force near the ground.
Microbursts •Microbursts are difficult to detect •They are sometimes less than 2.5 miles in diameter •They may last only a few minutes
•What was being done? •The FAA developed LLWAS in 1976. •Low Level Windshear Alert System •It consists of an array of velocity measuring instruments at various locations around the airport.
Microbursts • LLWAS
Microbursts- LLWAS • If a 15 knot difference occurs from different sensors an alert is given to the air traffic controller. • Limitations: – Did not measure wind above the ground sensors – A localized microburst might not be recorded by the sensors – Alerts took a few minutes to reach the controller
Microbursts • JAWS- Joint Airport Weather Studies • NCAR- National Center for Atmospheric Research • Jointly these two organizations studied wind shear experiments in the summer of 1982. • They concluded that a microburst creates wind shear too severe for a landing or departure to survive if less than 300,500 feet above the ground.
Microbursts • LLWAS did trigger an alert during the crash of Flight 759 out of New Orleans………….the controller received the alert 2 seconds after the Boeing 727 hit the trees. • LLWAS did not issue an alert in the Dallas/Ft. Worth crash until several minutes after the plane had hit the ground.
Microbursts •NASA windshear researches intentionally flew into microbursts in the Florida area to study windshear with CRT navigation systems and TDWR displays
Microbursts • Occur mainly in the summer months and in the late afternoon. • The research efforts had to be cancelled, because the planes used developed engine trouble and problems with rivets. • Studies resumed in July, 1992 • Conclusions of study – Invention of an F factor dial to warn pilot – Development of a Doppler radar based system that can detect wind shear about 40 seconds before a plane enters it
Microbursts • Microburst damage to a strip mall in Toronto, Canada • June 8, 1999
Agencies of importance • http://www.srh.weather.gov/ • National Weather Service, Southern Regional Headquarters • http://www.spc.noaa.gov/ • NOAA’s National Weather Service, Storm Prediction Center
Agencies, continued • http://www.2.ucar.edu • The University Corporation of Atmospheric Research. Over 60 university members combine to understand the behavior of our atmosphere
Blizzards and ice storms •During the winter months, blizzards and ice storms occur over large areas of Europe and North America. •They can seriously disrupt everyday life by paralyzing transport and creating a dramatic increase in the demand for power, as well as exposing those who have to venture outside to dangerous conditions.
Blizzards and ice storms •A blizzard is a storm with strong winds35 mph or more and heavy falls of snow, along with very cold temperatures. •The combination of these elements creates blowing snow, with near zero visibility, deep snow drifts, and potentially lethal wind-chill.
Blizzards and ice storms •When a high wind picks up tiny droplets of supercooled water and drives them along, the droplets sometimes lodge on solid objects to form these peculiar formations popularly known as ice feathers.
Blizzards and ice storms
Winter Storms • http://www.infoplease.com/spot/blizz ard1.html • The Great White Hurricane, 1888 • http://weathereye.kgan.com/expert/b lizzard/wnstorms.html • Winter storms, why are they so dangerous?
Tornadoes • Tornadoes are commonly associated with a particularly severe type of storm known as a supercell thunderstorm. • Such storms are usually characterized by extremely powerful updrafts that sometimes extend to the top of the cloud, producing a bulge in the classic anvil shape, called an overshoot.
Tornadoes • As the wind speed increases rapidly with height, and the wind changes direction, the updraft near the storm’s center rotates rapidly- a phenomenon called a wind shear. • This rotational characteristic is one of the main forces behind the savage, spinning energy of the tornado.
Tornadoes •The power of a tornado is emphasized by the deafening roar that usually accompanies it; the sound of the wind can be heard several miles away and is at its peak when the tornado is touching down to the ground.
Tornadoes • The Fujita Scale classifies the intensity of tornadoes by analyzing the nature of the wreckage trail they leave behind them. • When an F5 tornado moves across a populated area, almost total destruction can result, as happened in the devastating Tri-State Tornado of March 1925 in the USA. • Most tornado damage result from high, rotating winds, but some is caused by extreme differences in pressure.
Tornadoes •The tornado scale was developed by Professor Theodore Fujita (19201998) a meteorologist at the University of Chicago. •Large tornadoes are often accompanied by intense lightning. Weather forecasts at night are vitally important. Without them, the only warning of the tornadoes approach may be when it is sighted in the glow of a lightning flash.
Tornadoes
Fujita Scale • F0- damage to sign boards, pushes over shallow trees. • F1- peels shingles off roofs, mobile homes overturned, can move autos off the road. • F2- roofs torn off well constructed homes, mobile homes demolished. • F3- roof and walls off well constructed buildings, trains overturned, most trees uprooted.
Fujita Scale • F4- Well constructed homes leveled, cars thrown • F5- frame houses lifted, carried & disintegrated, autos in the air for over 100 m, trees debarked.
Tornadoes •A supercell thunderstorm is a severe storm that contains a strong rotating updraft called a mesocyclone. •Under the right circumstances this system extends downward to become more compact, causing it to rotate faster, finally reaching the ground as a tornado. •Large hailstones and intense lightning activity sometimes accompany tornadoes, causing even more damage
•F5
Tornadoes • Two signs are useful in assessing whether a storm will develop into a tornado. • The first is the overshoot phenomenon, when the usual flat top of the anvil develops an ominous bulge. • This indicates the rush of air near the center of the storm is so powerful that it has pushed through the troposphere into the stratosphere. • The second is the development of mammatus clouds. (from downdrafts instead of updrafts)
Tornadoes • mammatus clouds
Tornadoes •Supercell
Tornadoes •Very low pressure inside the funnel causes atmospheric moisture to condense, making the funnel visible. •Sometimes debris drawn aloft by the powerful spiral updraft can color the funnel. •The bulge at the base of the thunderstorm is known as the wall cloud. •Severe weather conditions may produce a line of storms that result in a series of tornadoes.
Tornadoes •Supercell hook
Months of Peak Tornado Occurrence
Tornadoes
Tornadoes
Waterspouts •Tornadoes moving over lakes or rivers can draw up water to produce a waterspout. •Waterspouts do not usually require a supercell to form. •They are weaker than tornadoes over land and those over rivers and lakes are weaker than those over the ocean.
•Typically F0-F2
Waterspouts •Multiple Waterspouts off the Bahamas
Tornado Information • http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/to rnadoes.shtm • Tornado preparedness •http://www.qsl.net/w5www/tornado.ht ml • Texas tornadoes
Tornadoes • http://www.k12.nf.ca/stannesacadem y/weather/RatingTornadoes.html • •Fujita Scale • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/torna do/damage.html • •Rate tornadoes
Tornado Alley • Tornadoes have been reported in every continent except Antartica, but the U. S. experiences these devastating storms most frequently. • As the Great Plains heat up during summer, the air expands and rises, sucking more air in to take its place. • Tropical moist air from the Gulf of Mexico blows into the Plains and collides with cold, dry air from the Rockies to the west. • This is a dangerous combination!
Super Outbreak •Largest tornado outbreak for a single 24 hour period. •148 tornadoes hit 13 states, killing 315 people and injuring more than 5300.
SUPER OUTBREAK F0
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
19
33
32
34
24
6
Super Outbreak • Never before had so many F5 and F4 tornadoes been observed in a single occurrence. • This series of tornadoes occurred at the end of a record breaking La Nina.
• F5 hit Xenia, Ohio
Xenio, Ohio
Tornado Alley • http://www.tornadoch aser.net/tornalley.htm l •Tornado alley, Tornado chase videos • http://www.april31974. com/ • Tornado Super Outbreak
Tornadoes
Tornado Alley •Most tornadoes last only a few minutes and have a path 165 ft wide and 3 miles long, so their damage is narrow. •The most severe, however, can last for an hour and have damage paths of 1 mile across and 60 miles long.
Tornado Watch •Situations that may result in the formation of tornadoes are carefully monitored by national weather services •When meteorologists believe that atmospheric conditions are suitable for the generation of a tornado over a particular area, they issue a tornado watch to media outlets.
Tornado Watch •When a weather observer sights a tornado approaching, a tornado warning is issued. •While the U. S. is the most tornado-prone country, experiencing about 750 tornadoes each year, tornadoes also occur in Australia, southern Asia, and occasionally, in other regions such as Europe and the United Kingdom.
Tornado Watch • http://www.tornadoproject.com/inde x.html • Tornado project online; recent and past tornadoes, Tornado stories, Tornado myths, Top Tens
Whirlwinds and dust devils • Apart from tornadoes, there are other kinds of rotating winds that are known by different names in various parts of the world: – – – – –
dust devils sand devils dancing dervishes dancing devils willy-willies
• These winds are produced in hot, dry areas and can generate rising funnels of air that are similar to tornadoes, although they are nowhere near as powerful and have no connection with thunderstorms.
Whirlwinds and dust devils •Dust devils are small whirlwinds. •Other wind-related phenomena include socalled snow-devils, thought to be produced by frictional effects near the ground, and firetornadoes that are generated in the intense heat of wildfires. •Rotating wind eddies can also be experienced in urban areas when winds are deflected around tall buildings.
Whirlwinds and dust devils • The hot air is often tilted by natural obstacles: hills, ridges and sand dunes.
Whirlwinds and dust devils • http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/msss/c amera/images/8_10_99_releases/mo c2_171/ • Mars Orbiters Camera
• Complete WS on Tornadoes