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10-04-2004, 09:01 AM
Midwest Thunderstorm Study Points Toward Better Forecasts
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Description
Newly documented small-scale circulations embedded in thunderstorm squall lines not only spew destructive straight-line winds, but may spawn up to 20% of all U.S. tornadoes.
Newswise - Newly documented small-scale circulations embedded in thunderstorm squall lines not only spew destructive straight-line winds, but may spawn up to 20% of all U.S. tornadoes. Remnant circulations from large thunderstorm clusters can survive for days, triggering new storm cells.
Scientists expect these and other findings to improve forecasts of damaging winds and heavy rain.
The results emerge from three-dimensional portraits of thunderstorms collected across the stormy Midwest in a field study coordinated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. Based just east of St. Louis, the Bow Echo and MCV Experiment (BAMEX) employed aircraft and ground-based storm chasers to document a wide range of storm types that prowled the Midwest from May to July 2003. Funding for the $4 million study was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR's primary sponsor.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/507377/
Libraries
Medical News Keywords
GEOSCIENCES
Contact Information
Available for logged-in reporters only
Description
Newly documented small-scale circulations embedded in thunderstorm squall lines not only spew destructive straight-line winds, but may spawn up to 20% of all U.S. tornadoes.
Newswise - Newly documented small-scale circulations embedded in thunderstorm squall lines not only spew destructive straight-line winds, but may spawn up to 20% of all U.S. tornadoes. Remnant circulations from large thunderstorm clusters can survive for days, triggering new storm cells.
Scientists expect these and other findings to improve forecasts of damaging winds and heavy rain.
The results emerge from three-dimensional portraits of thunderstorms collected across the stormy Midwest in a field study coordinated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. Based just east of St. Louis, the Bow Echo and MCV Experiment (BAMEX) employed aircraft and ground-based storm chasers to document a wide range of storm types that prowled the Midwest from May to July 2003. Funding for the $4 million study was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR's primary sponsor.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/507377/