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AOS 3 Final > Thunderstorms > Flashcards

Thunderstorms Flashcards

1
Q

What does a strong thunderstorm have?

A

Separation between the warm updraft and cold downdraft

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2
Q

Vertical Wind Shear

A

How the horizontal wind changes with height

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3
Q

What role does wind shear play in thunderstorm development?

A

It allows the the storm to separate the updraft from the downdraft and keep the storm alive by allowing rising air to feed additional moisture into the storm

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4
Q

Gust front

A

winds driving cold dense air forward in the front of the thunderstorm

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5
Q

How does the gust front impact the boundary layer of air?

A

It allows the boundary layer of air (usually mT) to be lifted off the ground, similarly to a cold front

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6
Q

What causes the updraft in a thunderstorm?

A

Instability in the atmosphere

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7
Q

What causes the downdraft in a thunderstorm?

A

Downdraft forms due to falling precipitation that drags air downward – the falling precipitation evaporates and causes cooling, makes the air more dense so negative buoyancy causes downdraft

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8
Q

What are the three components of a thunderstorm?

A
  1. Hail with a diameter of 1 inch or longer
  2. Winds in excess of 68 mph
  3. Tornadoes
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9
Q

Why are thunderstorms more common in the eastern US?

A

Because mT air from the Gulf of Mexico, cP air from Canada, and cT from desert southwest all meet

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10
Q

What types of air does a dry line separate?

A

cT and mT

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11
Q

What are the most common type of thunderstorms?

A

Single cell thunderstorm

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12
Q

Why don’t single cell thunderstorms have severe conditions?

A

Because they form in the absence of wind shear

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13
Q

What triggers single cell thunderstorm development?

A

surface heating or orographic lifting

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14
Q

What air masses do single cell thunderstorms usually arise from?

A

mT

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15
Q

Lifecycle of a Single Cell Thunderstorm

A
  1. Large updraft velocities provide strong convection
  2. Moist adiabatic lapse rate within cloud
  3. Formation of ice crystals via Bergeron process
  4. Cumulus clouds grow
  5. Precipitation drags air downward, creating a downdraft
  6. Downdraft slowly suppresses updraft and eventually cuts of the source of water moisture
  7. Outflow of cool air produces a gust front that possibly seeds a new thunderstorm
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16
Q

Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs)

A

thunderstorms that develop into organized clusters

17
Q

Two types of MCSs

A
  1. Mesoscale Convective Complexes (MCCS)
  2. Squall lines
18
Q

Squall lines

A

linear bands of thunderstorms

19
Q

MCCs

A

circular complexes

20
Q

Why is wind shear important to MCSs?

A

strong winds aloft push updraft ahead and prevents the downdrafts from suppressing updraft and cutting moisture source off

21
Q

Derechos

A

large scale horizontal winds associated with MCCs that last for several hours and can exceed hurricane force

22
Q

Development of Squall Lines

A
  1. Disorganized cluster of thunderstorm
  2. Storms organize into a linear band
  3. One segment of the squall bows outward producing a bow echo
  4. Widespread less intense precipitation develops in the stratiform region behind the squall line
  5. Stratiform region grows and a gust front detaches from storm
  6. Thunderstorms decay, leaving wide stratiform region and new thunderstorm develop
23
Q

Where do frontal squall lines usually form?

A

In the warm section of midlatitude cyclones, just ahead of the cold front
-sometimes in front of dry lines

24
Q

What clouds are associated with frontal squall lines?

A

Shelf clouds and roll clouds

25
Q

What is the difference between a shelf cloud and a roll cloud

A

A shelf cloud is attached to a cloud while a roll cloud is detached from the cloud

26
Q

Characteristics of a Supercell Thunderstorm

A

-contains a single updraft zone
-more severe and powerful
-presence of a persistent rotating updraft called a mesocyclone
-wall cloud that descends beneath LCL

27
Q

Where are supercell thunderstorms usually found?

A

usually found in warm sector of a low pressure system

28
Q

What is the source of rotation for a mesocyclone?

A

the vorticity is caused by wind shear
-wind shear sets the air spinning, the updraft tilts the air upwards and make it have horizontal vorticity

29
Q

What is needed for a mesocyclone to form?

A

Strong wind shear and an unstable environment

30
Q

Characteristics of a supercell

A

-tilted updraft that rotates
-rear flanking downdraft
-overshoot caused by instability the goes up into the stratosphere

AOS 3 Final (10 decks)

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