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Severe and Unusual Weather Final Exam

Terms in this set (153)

dry adiabatic lapse rate
-for sub-saturated air, rate of cooling is 10-degrees/km
moist adiabatic lapse rate
-for saturated air, rate of cooling is 6-degrees/km
environmental lapse rate
-actual (balloon measured) rate of cooling
absolutely stable environmental lapse
environmental lapse rate of 2 C/km
conditionally stable environmental lapse
environmental lapse rate of 8 C/km
absolutely unstable environmental lapse
environmental lapse rate of 12 C/km
severe thunderstorm characterisitcs
-tornado
-hail at least 1 inch in diameter
-wind gusts @ surface of 58+ mph
life cycles
a. ordinary storms
b. multi-cellular storms
c. supercell storms
ordinary storms (a.k.a air mass thunderstorm)
-form in areas w/ weak vertical wind shear, means wind speed & direction don't abruptly change w/ height
-last for 20-30 mins
-not strong
-no tornadoes
-weak updrafts

3 STAGES
1. cumulus
2. mature
3. dissipating
cumulus stage
ORDINARY STORM
-cumulus cloud form as warm, moist air rises
-cloud top evaporation moistens & cools above cloud layer
-condensation & deposition release latent heat
-no thunder/lightening or precipitation
-dominated solely by updraft
mature stage
ORDINARY STORM
-formation of down draft, series of updrafts & downdrafts may form
-cloud top reaches stable part of atmosphere
-lightening/thunder & heavy rain
-rapid downrush of cold air at surface
gust front
-when cool air (from evaporated rain) spreads outwards away from thunderstorm after reaching the surface
-when a large thunderstorm is approaching, the rain is often preceded by a blast of noticeably cooler air.
dissipating stage
ORDINARY STORM
-storm updrafts weakens as gust front becomes decoupled from system
-dominated by downdrafts
multicellular storms
-contain numerous cells
-each cell is in a diff. stage of development
-form in regions of moderate-to-strong vertical wind speed shear
windshear
-wind changes with altitude

1. most often occurs along frontal boundaries, fronts & drylines are favored locations for multi-cell storms
2. b/c precipitation doesn't kill updraft, strength of updraft can be stronger than single cell storm, leads to...
--overshooting tops
--production of hail
--weak tornados
3. multi cell storms are most likely to be severe than single cell
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