Characteristics of Supercellular Satellite Tornadoes
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Squall Lines: Meteorology, Skywarn Spotting, & a Brief Look at the 18
Squall Lines: Meteorology, Skywarn Spotting, & A Brief Look At The 18 June 2010 Derecho Gino Izzi National Weather Service, Chicago IL Outline • Meteorology 301: Squall lines – Brief review of thunderstorm basics – Squall lines – Squall line tornadoes – Mesovorticies • Storm spotting for squall lines • Brief Case Study of 18 June 2010 Event Thunderstorm Ingredients • Moisture – Gulf of Mexico most common source locally Thunderstorm Ingredients • Lifting Mechanism(s) – Fronts – Jet Streams – “other” boundaries – topography Thunderstorm Ingredients • Instability – Measure of potential for air to accelerate upward – CAPE: common variable used to quantify magnitude of instability < 1000: weak 1000-2000: moderate 2000-4000: strong 4000+: extreme Thunderstorms Thunderstorms • Moisture + Instability + Lift = Thunderstorms • What kind of thunderstorms? – Single Cell – Multicell/Squall Line – Supercells Thunderstorm Types • What determines T-storm Type? – Short/simplistic answer: CAPE vs Shear Thunderstorm Types • What determines T-storm Type? (Longer/more complex answer) – Lot we don’t know, other factors (besides CAPE/shear) include • Strength of forcing • Strength of CAP • Shear WRT to boundary • Other stuff Thunderstorm Types • Multi-cell squall lines most common type of severe thunderstorm type locally • Most common type of severe weather is damaging winds • Hail and brief tornadoes can occur with most the intense squall lines Squall Lines & Spotting Squall Line Terminology • Squall Line : a relatively narrow line of thunderstorms, often -
Quantifying the Impact of Synoptic Weather Types and Patterns On
1 Quantifying the impact of synoptic weather types and patterns 2 on energy fluxes of a marginal snowpack 3 Andrew Schwartz1, Hamish McGowan1, Alison Theobald2, Nik Callow3 4 1Atmospheric Observations Research Group, University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia 5 2Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government, Brisbane, 4000, Australia 6 3School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia 7 8 Correspondence to: Andrew J. Schwartz ([email protected]) 9 10 Abstract. 11 Synoptic weather patterns are investigated for their impact on energy fluxes driving melt of a marginal snowpack 12 in the Snowy Mountains, southeast Australia. K-means clustering applied to ECMWF ERA-Interim data identified 13 common synoptic types and patterns that were then associated with in-situ snowpack energy flux measurements. 14 The analysis showed that the largest contribution of energy to the snowpack occurred immediately prior to the 15 passage of cold fronts through increased sensible heat flux as a result of warm air advection (WAA) ahead of the 16 front. Shortwave radiation was found to be the dominant control on positive energy fluxes when individual 17 synoptic weather types were examined. As a result, cloud cover related to each synoptic type was shown to be 18 highly influential on the energy fluxes to the snowpack through its reduction of shortwave radiation and 19 reflection/emission of longwave fluxes. As single-site energy balance measurements of the snowpack were used 20 for this study, caution should be exercised before applying the results to the broader Australian Alps region. 21 However, this research is an important step towards understanding changes in surface energy flux as a result of 22 shifts to the global atmospheric circulation as anthropogenic climate change continues to impact marginal winter 23 snowpacks. -
A Preliminary Investigation of Derecho
7.A.1 TROPICAL CYCLONE TORNADOES – A RESEARCH AND FORECASTING OVERVIEW. PART 1: CLIMATOLOGIES, DISTRIBUTION AND FORECAST CONCEPTS Roger Edwards Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK 1. INTRODUCTION those aspects of the remainder of the preliminary article Tropical cyclone (TC) tornadoes represent a relatively that was not included in this conference preprint, for small subset of total tornado reports, but garner space considerations. specialized attention in applied research and operational forecasting because of their distinctive origin within the envelope of either a landfalling or remnant TC. As with 2. CLIMATOLOGIES and DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS midlatitude weather systems, the predominant vehicle for tornadogenesis in TCs appears to be the supercell, a. Individual TCs and classifications particularly with regard to significant1 events. From a framework of ingredients-based forecasting of severe TC tornado climatologies are strongly influenced by the local storms (e.g., Doswell 1987, Johns and Doswell prolificacy of reports with several exceptional events. 1992), supercells in TCs share with their midlatitude The general increase in TC tornado reports, noted as relatives the fundamental environmental elements of long ago as Hill et al. (1966), and in the occurrence of sufficient moisture, instability, lift and vertical wind “outbreaks” of 20 or more per TC (Curtis 2004) probably shear. Many of the same processes – including those is a TC-specific reflection of the recent major increase in involving baroclinicity at various scales – appear -
A 10-Year Radar-Based Climatology of Mesoscale Convective System Archetypes and Derechos in Poland
AUGUST 2020 S U R O W I E C K I A N D T A S Z A R E K 3471 A 10-Year Radar-Based Climatology of Mesoscale Convective System Archetypes and Derechos in Poland ARTUR SUROWIECKI Department of Climatology, University of Warsaw, and Skywarn Poland, Warsaw, Poland MATEUSZ TASZAREK Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland, and National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma, and Skywarn Poland, Warsaw, Poland (Manuscript received 29 December 2019, in final form 3 May 2020) ABSTRACT In this study, a 10-yr (2008–17) radar-based mesoscale convective system (MCS) and derecho climatology for Poland is presented. This is one of the first attempts of a European country to investigate morphological and precipitation archetypes of MCSs as prior studies were mostly based on satellite data. Despite its ubiquity and significance for society, economy, agriculture, and water availability, little is known about the climatological aspects of MCSs over central Europe. Our results indicate that MCSs are not rare in Poland as an annual mean of 77 MCSs and 49 days with MCS can be depicted for Poland. Their lifetime ranges typically from 3 to 6 h, with initiation time around the afternoon hours (1200–1400 UTC) and dissipation stage in the evening (1900–2000 UTC). The most frequent morphological type of MCSs is a broken line (58% of cases), then areal/cluster (25%), and then quasi- linear convective systems (QLCS; 17%), which are usually associated with a bow echo (72% of QLCS). QLCS are the feature with the longest life cycle. -
Observations and Laboratory Simulations of Tornadoes in Complex Topographical Regions Christopher D
Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2012 Observations and Laboratory Simulations of Tornadoes in Complex Topographical Regions Christopher D. Karstens Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Atmospheric Sciences Commons, and the Meteorology Commons Recommended Citation Karstens, Christopher D., "Observations and Laboratory Simulations of Tornadoes in Complex Topographical Regions" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 12778. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/12778 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Observations and laboratory simulations of tornadoes in complex topographical regions by Christopher Daniel Karstens A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Meteorology Program of Study Committee: William A. Gallus, Jr., Major Professor Partha P. Sarkar Bruce D. Lee Catherine A. Finley Raymond W. Arritt Xiaoqing Wu Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2012 Copyright © Christopher Daniel Karstens, 2012. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. -
Template for Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology
Lyza, A. W., A. W. Clayton, K. R. Knupp, E. Lenning, M. T. Friedlein, R. Castro, and E. S. Bentley, 2017: Analysis of mesovortex characteristics, behavior, and interactions during the second 30 June‒1 July 2014 midwestern derecho event. Electronic J. Severe Storms Meteor., 12 (2), 1–33. Analysis of Mesovortex Characteristics, Behavior, and Interactions during the Second 30 June‒1 July 2014 Midwestern Derecho Event ANTHONY W. LYZA, ADAM W. CLAYTON, AND KEVIN R. KNUPP Department of Atmospheric Science, Severe Weather Institute—Radar and Lightning Laboratories University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama ERIC LENNING, MATTHEW T. FRIEDLEIN, AND RICHARD CASTRO NOAA/National Weather Service, Romeoville, Illinois EVAN S. BENTLEY NOAA/National Weather Service, Portland, Oregon (Submitted 19 February 2017; in final form 25 August 2017) ABSTRACT A pair of intense, derecho-producing quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs) impacted northern Illinois and northern Indiana during the evening hours of 30 June through the predawn hours of 1 July 2014. The second QLCS trailed the first one by only 250 km and approximately 3 h, yet produced 29 confirmed tornadoes and numerous areas of nontornadic wind damage estimated to be caused by 30‒40 m s‒1 flow. Much of the damage from the second QLCS was associated with a series of 38 mesovortices, with up to 15 mesovortices ongoing simultaneously. Many complex behaviors were documented in the mesovortices, including: a binary (Fujiwhara) interaction, the splitting of a large mesovortex in two followed by prolific tornado production, cyclic mesovortexgenesis in the remains of a large mesovortex, and a satellite interaction of three small mesovortices around a larger parent mesovortex. -
ESSENTIALS of METEOROLOGY (7Th Ed.) GLOSSARY
ESSENTIALS OF METEOROLOGY (7th ed.) GLOSSARY Chapter 1 Aerosols Tiny suspended solid particles (dust, smoke, etc.) or liquid droplets that enter the atmosphere from either natural or human (anthropogenic) sources, such as the burning of fossil fuels. Sulfur-containing fossil fuels, such as coal, produce sulfate aerosols. Air density The ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume occupied by it. Air density is usually expressed as g/cm3 or kg/m3. Also See Density. Air pressure The pressure exerted by the mass of air above a given point, usually expressed in millibars (mb), inches of (atmospheric mercury (Hg) or in hectopascals (hPa). pressure) Atmosphere The envelope of gases that surround a planet and are held to it by the planet's gravitational attraction. The earth's atmosphere is mainly nitrogen and oxygen. Carbon dioxide (CO2) A colorless, odorless gas whose concentration is about 0.039 percent (390 ppm) in a volume of air near sea level. It is a selective absorber of infrared radiation and, consequently, it is important in the earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect. Solid CO2 is called dry ice. Climate The accumulation of daily and seasonal weather events over a long period of time. Front The transition zone between two distinct air masses. Hurricane A tropical cyclone having winds in excess of 64 knots (74 mi/hr). Ionosphere An electrified region of the upper atmosphere where fairly large concentrations of ions and free electrons exist. Lapse rate The rate at which an atmospheric variable (usually temperature) decreases with height. (See Environmental lapse rate.) Mesosphere The atmospheric layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. -
The Interactions Between a Midlatitude Blocking Anticyclone and Synoptic-Scale Cyclones That Occurred During the Summer Season
502 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW VOLUME 126 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Interactions between a Midlatitude Blocking Anticyclone and Synoptic-Scale Cyclones That Occurred during the Summer Season ANTHONY R. LUPO AND PHILLIP J. SMITH Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 20 September 1996 and 2 May 1997 ABSTRACT Using the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres Goddard Earth Observing System 5-yr analyses and the Zwack±Okossi equation as the diagnostic tool, the horizontal distribution of the dynamic and thermodynamic forcing processes contributing to the maintenance of a Northern Hemisphere midlatitude blocking anticyclone that occurred during the summer season were examined. During the development of this blocking anticyclone, vorticity advection, supported by temperature advection, forced 500-hPa height rises at the block center. Vorticity advection and vorticity tilting were also consistent contributors to height rises during the entire life cycle. Boundary layer friction, vertical advection of vorticity, and ageostrophic vorticity tendencies (during decay) consistently opposed block development. Additionally, an analysis of this blocking event also showed that upstream precursor surface cyclones were not only important in block development but in block maintenance as well. In partitioning the basic data ®elds into their planetary-scale (P) and synoptic-scale (S) components, 500-hPa height tendencies forced by processes on each scale, as well as by interactions (I) between each scale, were also calculated. Over the lifetime of this blocking event, the S and P processes were most prominent in the blocked region. During the formation of this block, the I component was the largest and most consistent contributor to height rises at the center point. -
Mesoscale Convective Systems and Their Synoptic-Scale Environment in Finland
182 WEATHER AND FORECASTING VOLUME 30 Mesoscale Convective Systems and Their Synoptic-Scale Environment in Finland ARI-JUHANI PUNKKA Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland MARJA BISTER Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland (Manuscript received 9 December 2013, in final form 14 October 2014) ABSTRACT The environments within which high-latitude intense and nonintense mesoscale convective systems (iMCSs and niMCSs) and smaller thunderstorm clusters (sub-MCSs) develop were studied using proximity soundings. MCS statistics covering 8 years were created by analyzing composite radar imagery. One-third of all systems were intense in Finland and the frequency of MCSs was highest in July. On average, MCSs had a duration of 10.8 h and traveled toward the northeast. Many of the linear MCSs had a southwest–northeast line orienta- tion. Interestingly, a few MCSs were observed to travel toward the west, which is a geographically specific feature of the MCS characteristics. The midlevel lapse rate failed to distinguish the environments of the different event types from each other. However, in MCSs, CAPE and the low-level mixing ratio were higher, the deep-layer-mean wind was stronger, and the lifting condensation level (LCL) was lower than in sub- MCSs. CAPE, low-level mixing ratio, and LCL height were the best discriminators between iMCSs and niMCSs. The mean wind over deep layers distinguished the severe wind–producing events from the nonsevere events better than did the vertical equivalent potential temperature difference or the wind shear in shallow layers. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that dry air at low- and midlevels would increase the likelihood of severe convective winds. -
A Preliminary Investigation of Derecho-Producing Mcss In
P 3.1 TROPICAL CYCLONE TORNADO RECORDS FOR THE MODERNIZED NWS ERA Roger Edwards1 Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK 1. INTRODUCTION and BACKGROUND since 1954 was attributable to the weakest (F0) bin of damage rating (Fig. 1). This is the very class of Tornadoes from tropical cyclones (hereafter TCs) tornado that is most common in TC records, and most pose a specialized forecast challenge at time scales difficult to detect in the damage above that from the ranging from days for outlooks to minutes for concurrent or subsequent passage of similarly warnings (Spratt et al. 1997, Edwards 1998, destructive, ambient TC winds. As such, it is possible Schneider and Sharp 2007, Edwards 2008). The (but not quantifiable) that many TC tornadoes have fundamental conceptual and physical tenets of gone unrecorded even in the modern NWS era, due midlatitude supercell prediction, in an ingredients- to their generally ephemeral nature, logistical based framework (e.g., Doswell 1987, Johns and difficulties of visual confirmation, presence of swaths Doswell 1992), fully apply to TC supercells; however, of sparsely populated near-coastal areas (i.e., systematic differences in the relative magnitudes of marshes, swamps and dense forests), and the moisture, instability, lift and shear in TCs (e.g., presence of damage inducers of potentially equal or McCaul 1991) contribute strongly to that challenge. greater impact within the TC envelope. Further, there is a growing realization that some TC tornadoes are not necessarily supercellular in origin (Edwards et al. 2010, this volume). Several major TC tornado climatologies have been published since the 1960s (e.g., Pearson and Sadowski 1965, Hill et al. -
Rapid Assessment of Tree Damage Resulting from a 2020 Windstorm in Iowa, USA
Article Rapid Assessment of Tree Damage Resulting from a 2020 Windstorm in Iowa, USA Thomas C. Goff 1,*, Mark D. Nelson 1, Greg C. Liknes 1, Tivon E. Feeley 2 , Scott A. Pugh 1 and Randall S. Morin 1 1 Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Madison, WI 53726, USA; [email protected] (M.D.N.); [email protected] (G.C.L.); [email protected] (S.A.P.); [email protected] (R.S.M.) 2 Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, IA 50319, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: A need to quantify the impact of a particular wind disturbance on forest resources may require rapid yet reliable estimates of damage. We present an approach for combining pre-disturbance forest inventory data with post-disturbance aerial survey data to produce design-based estimates of affected forest area and number and volume of trees damaged or killed. The approach borrows strength from an indirect estimator to adjust estimates from a direct estimator when post-disturbance remeasurement data are unavailable. We demonstrate this approach with an example application from a recent windstorm, known as the 2020 Midwest Derecho, which struck Iowa, USA, and adjacent states on 10–11 August 2020, delivering catastrophic damage to structures, crops, and trees. We 3 estimate that 2.67 million trees and 1.67 million m of sound bole volume were damaged or killed on 23 thousand ha of Iowa forest land affected by the 2020 derecho. Damage rates for volume Citation: Goff, T.C.; Nelson, M.D.; were slightly higher than for number of trees, and damage on live trees due to stem breakage was Liknes, G.C.; Feeley, T.E.; Pugh, S.A.; more prevalent than branch breakage, both likely due to higher damage probability in the dominant Morin, R.S. -
Environments of Supercellular Satellite Tornadoes
P51 ENVIRONMENTS OF SUPERCELLULAR SATELLITE TORNADOES Roger Edwards1 and Andrew R. Dean Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK 1. BACKGROUND suggested that as an area for further study. Summary updates to ST analyses from E14 will be offered in A satellite tornado (ST, Edwards 2014; hereafter section 2. In section 3, we follow up by applying an E14) is defined as a discrete tornadic vortex occurring objectively analyzed, storm-environment dataset to a under all of these conditions: filtered ST case list, and compare results with a Within a supercell (even if genesis occurs outside broader national dataset of non-ST-producing a mesocyclone), thus precluding nonsupercellular tornadic supercells spanning a similar timespan. tornadoes (e.g., Wakimoto and Wilson 1989); Resulting conclusions and discussion appear in Adjacent to a longer-lasting and/or larger, section 4. mesocyclonic, main tornado (hereafter, MT) and within the MT lifespan; 2. TORNADO DATA and ANALYSES Translating around the MT for at least part of its own lifespan, in the direction matching the MT’s E14 documented 51 STs, starting with two rotational sense—thus having a common accompanying the “Tri-State” tornado of 18 March physical, mesocyclonic influence; 1925 (Johns et al. 2013), continuing through 6 June Documented as a distinct tornado, not developing 2018. All but seven cases occurred after 1992, as part of a multiple-vortex MT circulation, based indicating the influence of storm spotting and chasing, on evidence in photographs (Fig. 1), video, and associated photographic and video material, in mobile-radar data, and/or clear description in the documentation of STs.