Storms

[smiles]

Anyone know the way that a storm be created ?

In which season, they appear a lot and its movement depend on which ones ?

Thanks !!!

[mooeypoo]

Uhm, I learned about this a while ago (very LONG while ago ) so I am not quite sure, but since no one else answered this post, here are a few links I found, hope they help:

 

http://www.abc.net.au/spark/scienceof/storms.htm (for kids, but.. it explains )

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/science/29stor.html (this is about scientists attempt to 'outwit' storms like Katrina)

 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=10&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myfloridahouse.gov%2FFileStores%2FWeb%2FHouseContent%2FApproved%2FAnnouncements%2FUploads%2FDocuments%2Fins%2FScience%2520of%2520Storms%2520presentation.pdf&ei=TjpcR7uZEZuUggKR8pHtDw&usg=AFQjCNGJEYoSfngAuJZpUBwRHovs3Zd3yw&sig2=-SWswuBCeysTGYNsZ9kHrA (The science of hurricanes)

 

from "FirstScience":

http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/earth/weird-weather_1265.html (Weird Weather)

http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/earth/the-hidden-life-of-thunderstorms_1271.html (Thunderstorms)

 

... hope these help. Maybe you should be more specific? What kind of storms? Thunderstorms? Hurricanes? In sea? In land?

 

I am not sure how accurately we *know* how storms operate, otherwise we would be able to predict them better, but I guess the "how they're created" is pretty sorted out..

 

~moo

[Chris C]

Anyone know the way that a storm be created ?

In which season, they appear a lot and its movement depend on which ones ?

Thanks !!!

 

For *thunderstorms* it is mainly vigorous convection that extends high up into the troposphere (maybe even into the stratosphere). Frontal or orographic lifting, converging surface winds, solar heating produces forced convection and you might get a thunderstorm.

[Taq_is_hot]

Any storm happens when there is some form of lifting.

*Convectional lifting happens when a parcel of air is warmer than the air around it, becomes less dense and starts to rise. To create thunderstorms like these, you usually need it to be rather warm out and these storms usually happen in the late afternoon or evening when the air is heated up. Once this air begins to go higher into the atmosphere, it gets cooler. Once it cools to its dew point, which is the point where it can't hold any more water vapor (it is saurated), the water vapor condenses and you get liquid water droplets which cause a cloud. The higher the air goes, the cooler it gets and the more water vapor condenses into liquid. Soon, if conditions are unstable enough, it will form a cumulonimbus cloud and a thunderstorm will form. These storms are usually not severe and don't spawn tornados. These are called "air mass thunderstorms"

 

*Frontal lifting can cause more severe storms. Cold air is more dense than warm air so warm air gets lifted above the cold air and it goes through the same process as mentioned above.

 

*You need to have a high environmental lapse rate (ELR) to create a good storm. This is the rate at which the temperature decreases as you go higher up into the atmosphere.

 

*If the air has a high specific humidity, then there will be a better chance of precipitation. Specific humidity is how much water vapor is in the air. So, if you have more moist air, then there will be more water vapor to condense.

 

*Orographic lifting is when wind blows up a mountain. When the air reaches a higher altitude, it cools and the water vapor condenses. Clouds and rain appear. This is why it is always wet on the west side of mountain ranges in the US and dry on the east side. When the air loses all its moisture to the rain, it becomes very dry when it goes over the other side of the mountain.

 

*What you need for hurricanes is ocean water to be at least 80 F at least 200 ft deep. This warm water helps to feed the storm and provides a lot of moistre to it. Once a hurricane reaches land, it can't grab all that energy from the ocean anymore and it dies out.

 

*Storm clouds can't extend into the stratospere because there is a temperature inversion. The very second that the air gets warmer, the relative humidity becomes less than 100%, therefore it is not saturated anymore and can't condense into liquid. This is why storm clouds are flat on top. When you see the flat top, that is the top of the Troposphere.