Linear Storms
- Supercells
also produce severe damaging ______, even when they don’t have ___________
- Many damaging _____ events
also form from storms that organize into ______
Damaging Winds!
Squall Lines
- Linear severe thunderstorm
development is favored over supercell development when there is strong favorable ______ shear, but not much
____________ shear
- _____ lines of
strong-to-severe thunderstorms are called squall lines
Squall Line Example
Squall Lines
- Squall lines sometimes form
in advance of _____ fronts or drylines, but not always
- Many are long-lived,
lasting ___ or more hours, on average
- Some can persist for more
than a ____!
- As their _____ ______
spread out they create new thunderstorm cells to keep the squall line
going
Cold Pool--New Cells
Squall Line Animation
Bow Echoes
- Sometimes, a line of storms organizes into a ____ _____
- Bow echoes produce ___________
______ along the line--especially where the line is "bowing out"
- ____________ ______ are therefore their main threat
- ____________ CAN also occur
with bow echoes and squall lines but are usually _______ and infrequent
Bow Echo Radar Examples
Iowa Rainfall
Iowa Rainfall
- Mult.
Choice Answer:
- This is due in part to the
________________ (____)
- Just like the jet stream is
the fastest winds near the __________, sometimes around ____ mb we get an area of fast winds (the ____) in the
Plains
LLJ
- When conditions are right, a LLJ develops ______ sunset and _______ warm, moist air
northward and eastward
- Its formation focuses
_________ and _____, often helping storms persist that developed in the
afternoon
LLJ
LLJ
- Organized T-storms (like
squall lines) often form in the Plains (like SD, NE, KS, etc.) in the afternoon/early evening
- Then the LLJ
kicks in later and helps the storms progress farther east, where they
could affect Iowa
and wake you up in the middle of the night
MCSs/MCCs
- Most of these __________
storm systems are mesoscale convective systems
(_____)
- A ______ _____ is an MCS
- Many MCSs
have shorter lines of convection, and have an area of lighter rain behind
the lines so they look _________
- The _________ MCSs are called _____ (mesoscale
convective ___________)
MCC—Fig. 10-13
Tornadoes
- Tornado: a violently rotating
column of air extending from cloud to ground
- The column of air does not
have to be visible!
- Often you just see a funnel
hanging down from the cloud and debris swirling on the ground with nothing
in between
Tornadoes
- If the rotation extends from
the cloud base but not all the way to the ground, it is called a _______
______
Tornadoes
- Pressures are ____ in the
center of the tornado, so air flows _________ and _____ the
tornado, not _____ _____ the center
- Many tornadoes (especially
larger ones), called multiple vortex tornadoes, have smaller "__________ ___________" rotating
around the main vortex
Suction Vorticies—Fig. 10-19
Tornado Alley—Fig. 10-22
Tornado Alley—See Fig. 10-22
- Tornado Alley is in the Great Plains because it is often the battleground
between contrasting air masses we’ve discussed before
- The Rockies and Gulf of Mexico provide a unique environment
conducive to tornado production here more than anywhere else in the world
Tornadoes—See Fig. 10-22
- Tornadoes occur during every
month of the year, but April through June is the period of greatest
tornado frequency
Tornadoes
- In winter and early spring,
tornadoes are more frequent in the ______ and __________
- In spring, it's the
___________ _______
- In late spring to summer,
it's the __________ _______ and ______ ______
- The 1 am and 5 am
images showed the bow shape to the convection—the signature of a bow echo
- Bow echoes produce
damaging winds along the line—especially where the line is "bowing
out"
- Tornadoes CAN also
occur with bow echoes and squall lines