GEOL 2207 Lecture Notes - Leading Edge, Fujita Scale, Haboob
Document Summary
Sometimes a very large, rotating single-cell thunderstorm forms, called a supercell tstorm. 2 heat sources forms fuel storms: explain the main characteristics that make a supercell thunderstorm so much nastier than a normal thunderstorm, it has one rotating cell, and lasts 30+ minutes due to wind shear. Windshear is from wind speed or direction changes with altitudes, and it will continuously draw humid boundary air as fuel. Heavier rain causes a stronger echo, which is often coloured as yellow and red on radar displays. The lighter rain is shown with the blues and greens. Negative strikes are more frequent, come from cloud base. Positive strikes are less frequent, come from anvil, primary cause of natural wild fires: explain the behavior of downbursts and gust fronts, and identify their associated cloud & dust features. What: downburst - cold (dense) air sinking. Why: tstorm can create dense air where rain falls; due to precipitation drag & evaporative cooling.
