A thunderstorm that produces large amounts of precipitation which reaches the ground should have deep moisture stratums in unstable conditions, causing enough convection to be restricted to the electrification level of the atmosphere, or being lifted by orographic or frontal systems (Rorig and Ferguson, 1999). However, some thunderstorms produce small amounts of precipitation or none. Colson (1960) explained this phenomenon as a result of high-level thunderstorms with high cloud bases where the appropriate conditions for triggering lightning flashes accompanied by precipitation are situated in the upper levels. Rorig and Ferguson (1999) analysed the synoptic patterns of dry thunderstorms and concluded that low moisture levels in the inferior part of the atmosphere coupled with high instability, leads to the evaporation of precipitation prior to reaching the ground level, this way reducing the moisture content of the underlying surface.
As a result, in many areas of the world, dry thunderstorms cause lightning-induced fires, and many authors have found this relationship suitable for quantitative investigation (Hall, 2005; Rorig and Ferguson, 2002). Hall (2005) investigated 15000 wildfires correlated with the total number of CG lightings that occurred from 1990 to 1998 in Arizona and New Mexico using precipitation data derived from historical gauge data. His results show that 75% of wildfires were initiated when there was zero precipitation, thus the source of ignition was attributed to dry lightning. Based on this study, a percentage of 0.0026 (112.5 CG) of the total CG lightning over a 9-year period accounting for dry lightning was derived. However, this number accounts for only a portion of the dry lightning, namely the ones th...
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... input parameters, efficiency of the lightning detection system and the observation period (Smorgonskiy et al.,2013). They proposed two new methods, namely, a gradient-based method and a subarea decomposition method, which provided positive results for the direct proportionality of elevation with lightning density even for altitudes above 1500 m across Switzerland and Austria. These results generally coincided with Schulz’s and Diendorfer’s (1999) study in Austria. As opposed to the findings of Smorgonskiy et al. (2013), Schulz and Diendorfer (1999) focused on a smaller area where the lightning location system had the best performance, and they overlapped it with elevations given by the GLOBE digital elevation model. They discovered that after an increase in flash density with altitude, beyond 2000, the flash density starts decreasing due to proximity of cloud bases.
Appears in Preprints, 18 th AMS Conf. Severe Local Storms (San Francisco, CA), 19-23 February 1996, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 471-473. Typos and other minor problems have been fixed in this Web version.
Wildfires started as an annual and seasonal occurrence in the south western region of California since the early 1930’s in part because of the hot dry summers and the hot dry turbulent Santa Ana winds that blow in from the desert during the fall months. Now it has become a yearlong event (Mckay, 2010). These conditions greatly contribute to the “fire season” throughout this area. This set of circumstances in conjunction with downed power lines and humans that ignited fires took place in October of 2007. This led to a series of fires that burned more than 500,000 acres, destroyed 1,500 homes, killed 9, injured 85, and forced the successful evacuation of around 500,000 people out of harm’s way.
As evening approached, several thunderstorms began to take on the characteristics of a supercell thunderstorm. Supercells, which are intense, broadly rotating thunderstorms, are the most v...
"Weather: An Introduction." UXL Encyclopedia of Weather and Natural Disasters. Vol. 1: Weather Overview. Detroit: UXL, 2008. 1-55. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Dec. 2013.
Hurricane Sandy, also commonly referred to as Superstorm Sandy, is known as the most devastating, destructive, and deadliest hurricane that hit the Atlantic in 2012. The storm emerged in late October of that year. In terms of fatalities, over 286 people were killed in seven different countries. 117 were killed in the US and an additional 69 were killed in other countries throughout the world. [2] In terms of costly damage, this natural disaster was the second most expensive hurricane in US History. [3] Hurricane Sandy was a Category 3 storm at its peak when it had first hit Cuba. Eventually, Sandy had turned into a Category 2 storm once it had moved up and hit off the coast of the Northeastern US. The storm was named the largest Atlantic hurricane that was ever recorded, with measurements that included winds reaching an upwards of 1,100 miles per hour. [3]
Ćurić, M., Janc, D., Vučković V. (2007, February 1). Cloud seeding impact on precipitation as revealed by cloud-resolving mesoscale model. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00703-006-0202-y#page-1
This article is about a lake with a unique geographical landscape. This landscape and the wind conditions allow it to host frequent thunderstorms. The lake's name is Lake Maracaibo. There are thunderstorms approximately 300 days a year there. There are more thunderstorms there than anywhere else in the world.
It is possible for thunderstorms and tornadoes to form when the lower troposphere is conditionally stable when the air is cloudy. Conditional stability means that for clear air the atmosphere is stable; but for cloudy air, the atmosphere becomes unstable, causing the uplift necessary for storms.
Everyone goes through a grieving stage in their lives. Lose of a loved one like a mother or just personal problems can cause a person to be upset and grieving. In the novel Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn, the main character Lara gives an example of the stages of grieving. And how she learnt to overcome her mother's death.
The kind of thunderstorms that produce our summer rains are called ordinary thunderstorms, or air mass thunderstorms. They form when warm, humid air rises in an unstable atmosphere. Warm air cools down as it rises, and once it becomes colder than the air around it, it will begin to fall back down. In an unstable atmosphere, the temperature of the surrounding air decreases faster with height than the temperature of the rising warm air. This causes the warm, moist air to continually be warmer than the atmosphere, and continue rising to large heights. When this happens, we have the basis for a thunderstorm. Thunderstorm formation occurs in three stages - the cumulus stage, the mature stage, and the dissipating stage.
Once upon a time high above the earth, fluffy white clouds drifted through the atmosphere. In the clouds lived a family Droplet of water, round and content with life. For as long as I could remember, I spent my days lying on my back, relaxing and soaking up the sun's warm rays. One day, I took my usual place in the sun but the light didn't seem to be as bright. In fact, as the day went on, it grew darker and darker, loud claps of thunder shook the cloud, and the Droplet felt as if he were getting so heavy he could hardly move. This is called precipitation.
Hurricane Sandy, nicknamed “Superstorm Sandy,” struck the New Jersey area on October 29, 2012. Over 1,000 miles in diameter, the hurricane was the largest Atlantic tropical storm in history, and the second costliest hurricane in United States history, following Hurricane Katrina. In preparation for the hurricane, Federal, State and City authorities moved into emergency mode as the storm approached. On Sunday, October 28, 2012 President Obama declared a state of emergency in several states across the east cost, including New Jersey. This allowed federal support to become available, allowing FEMA to provide resources directly to state and local governments, as well as allowing states to request funding for actions before Sandy’s landfall. The National Guard positioned more than 61,000 personnel along the east coast, FEMA positioned more than 1,500 personnel, and the American Red Cross provided disaster response workers and shelters in communities. Amtrak canceled certain branches and services for October 29 and 30th, and more than 13,000 flights were cancelled on October 29th. To avoid casualties, Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency in New Jersey, ordered evacuations of NJ barrier islands from Sandy Hook South to Cape May by Sunday, October 28th at 4pm as well as closing all state offices for that Monday. On October 28, Mayor of Hoboken Dawn Zimmer ordered residents of basement and street level residence units to evacuate due to possible flooding. On October 29 residents of Logan Township were ordered to evacuate as well.
It was an average school day at Lakeview Elementary in Yorba Linda, California. I was learning about writing essays, just like every other normal Tuesday. RING RING! The bell rang, informing the students to move to their designated math classes, which required going outside and walking around the building. As I was moving to mine the sky exploded. BAM! Lightning struck a couple miles out. I did not believe that there could really be a lightning storm in southern California, so I kept casually walking.Then, rain started to pour out of the sky and the wind was howling like a wolf. At this point I go into a faster walk because I thought, “It’s only rain what’s the worst that could happen.” Trees were swaying back and forth as though they were
A storm can be destructive or helpful, it all depends on your perspective. My storm did not like to go unnoticed. It brought all sorts of destruction, but not enough rainfall. The rivers were drying, and houses were being torn up by the tornadoes. As much as the storm liked chasing me, I am finally clear of its destructive path. I am who I am because of all the events that brought me here, pastimes that gave me a new perspective, and the people who have helped me find my way home after the tornadoes. These experiences and people showed me how to outsmart the storm and to collect the water for future droughts.
A solar storm refers to space weather involving solar activities like solar flares and coronal mass ejection. Although most solar storms may only have minor effect on the Earth, a particularly strong one like the 1859 Carrington Event is likely to cause damage of spacecraft and satellites, as well as radio and electricity blackout of large regions on the Earth. In the age that people’s lives are greatly dependent on electronic and telecommunication technologies, our modern civilization is under a constant threat posed by a hazardous solar storm. This paper will examine a few past solar storm observations and attempt to analyze the effects of the major components of solar storms on human technologies and people’s lives.