View
218
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
PHSH 3033: Meteorology Supercells
Figure 18.1: Severe Thunderstorm Event Frequency (2006)
Figure 18.17
Supercell development requires wind shear (among other things)
Supercell Thunderstorms
Rotating Updraft --- Mesocyclone A very large single cell storm (requires vertical wind shear) Quasi-steady in physical structure: Lifetime several hours.
Persistent updraft/downdraft couplet
Potentially the most dangerous of storms:
High winds Large and damaging hail Large and long-lived tornadoes
Figure 18.16: Supercell Favorable Environment
Figure 18.18: Multiple Supercells Erupting Along Frontal Boundary
Supercell
Supercell Hook Echo (old-school radar)
Hook Echo
Figure 18.22: Supercell Thunderstorm Reflectivity 1999 May 3
Figure 18.21: Supercell Thunderstorm Anatomy 1999 May 3
Radar Supercell
Heaviest Precipitation
(core)
4 OCT 1998 2120 UTC
KTLX
Kansas
Oklahoma Woods County, Oklahoma
Supercell Cross Section
Heaviest Precipitation
(core)
4 OCT 1998 2120 UTC
KTLX
Kansas
Oklahoma Woods County, Oklahoma
Figure 18.19: Supercell Cross section
Low Precipitation (LP) Supercell
Figure 18C: LP Supercell
Tornadic LP Supercell
Hail Core and Hook Echo
Figure 18.24: Supercell Structure
Tornadic LP Supercell
Wind Shear
• Creating rotation by vertical wind shear.
Fast Wind
Slower Wind
Rotation • Air travelling along a frontal zone will develop a
horizontal rotation.
Updraft Tilting
Supercell Downdrafts
Inflow
Forward Flank Downdraft
Rear Flank Downdraft
© 1993 Oxford University Press -- From: Bluestein, Synoptic-Dynamic Meteorology -- Volume II: Observations and Theory of Weather Systems
Formation of the RFD
• Imagine a river flowing straight in a smooth channel.
• The water down the center flows smoothly at essentially a constant speed.
• The pressure down the center of the channel is constant along the channel.
Formation of the RFD
• Let us now place a large rock in the center of the channel.
• The water must flow around the rock. • A region of high pressure forms at the front
edge of the rock -- Here the water moves slowly -- Stagnation Point
Figure 18.23
Supercells in Motion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=551OwJKBv9A LP Supercell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xmvToEMwa4 Supercell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLrJADfkd1I Supercell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbELuEGG5zs Wall Cloud http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgmZ9JEPM6w Wall Cloud http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ACU8N9k3M Wall Cloud http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEFdT9OMeHs Funnel Cloud http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkavH9aZue8 Microbursts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDLyssxqabc Microburst
Recommended