The thunderstorm in an essay
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Definition of Thunderstorms:
Thunderstorms are local storms characterized by swift upward movement of air and heavy rainfall with cloud thunder and lightning. According to A.N. Strahler “a thunderstorm is an intense local storm associated with large, dense cumulonimbus clouds in which there are very strong updraft of air.”
Because of heavy downpour associated with thunderstorms they are also called ‘cloud bursts’ but the rainfall is of very short duration. Thunderstorms differ from cyclones in that the latter are almost circular in shape wherein winds blow from outside towards the centre while the former is characterized by strong updraft of air. They are considered to be special case of convective mechanism.
Structure of Thunderstorms:
A thunderstorm consists of several convective cells which are characterized by strong updraft of air. Each cell passes through a phase of life cycle consisting of youth, mature and old stages. It may be pointed out that different cells in a single thunderstorm may be in varying stages. The first stage (youth) is called cumulus stage when warm air rises strongly upward and helps in the formation of clouds.
The second stage or mature stage is characterized by both upward and downward movement of winds and occurrence of rainfall. The third stage or senile stage or dissipating stage is characterized by downward movement of winds which spread over the ground surface and stop vertical movement of winds. Clouds spread in the sky in umbrella shape and become altostratus and cirrostratus resulting into dissipation of thunderstorm.
Conditions for Thunderstorm Development:
Atmospheric instability, updraft of potentially unstable air, abundant supply of warm and moist air, thick clouds etc. are the factors which favour the development of thunderstorms. The upward movement of warm and moist air is prerequisite condition for the origin of thunderstorms. Surface heating through intense insolation causes convective mechanism resulting into updraft of air and atmospheric instability.
This is why thunderstorms originate mainly during summer season, warm days of a season, and warm hours of a day. It appears that warm, moist and rising unstable air is the most important factor in the development of thunderstorms.
This becomes possible when normal lapse rate of temperature is greater than adiabatic rate of temperature change. Besides convective mechanism, warm and moist winds also rise and become unstable due to orographic obstacles. The greater the instability of warm and moist air, the greater the intensity and duration of thunderstorms.
There must be greater thickness of clouds between cloud base (i.e., level at which condensation and cloud formation begin) and icing level (i.e., the level at which water droplets change into ice particles). The higher the icing level above cloud base, the greater the thickness of clouds and thus the greater the intensity of convection.
Since the icing level is at very low height in the middle latitudes, thunderstorms do not develop there. On the other hand, thunderstorms are common features in the weather of low latitudes because of the higher height of icing level and greater thickness of cloud cover.
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Thunderstorms are local storms characterized by swift upward movement of air and heavy rainfall with cloud thunder and lightning. According to A.N. Strahler “a thunderstorm is an intense local storm associated with large, dense cumulonimbus clouds in which there are very strong updraft of air.”
Because of heavy downpour associated with thunderstorms they are also called ‘cloud bursts’ but the rainfall is of very short duration. Thunderstorms differ from cyclones in that the latter are almost circular in shape wherein winds blow from outside towards the centre while the former is characterized by strong updraft of air. They are considered to be special case of convective mechanism.
Structure of Thunderstorms:
A thunderstorm consists of several convective cells which are characterized by strong updraft of air. Each cell passes through a phase of life cycle consisting of youth, mature and old stages. It may be pointed out that different cells in a single thunderstorm may be in varying stages. The first stage (youth) is called cumulus stage when warm air rises strongly upward and helps in the formation of clouds.
The second stage or mature stage is characterized by both upward and downward movement of winds and occurrence of rainfall. The third stage or senile stage or dissipating stage is characterized by downward movement of winds which spread over the ground surface and stop vertical movement of winds. Clouds spread in the sky in umbrella shape and become altostratus and cirrostratus resulting into dissipation of thunderstorm.
Conditions for Thunderstorm Development:
Atmospheric instability, updraft of potentially unstable air, abundant supply of warm and moist air, thick clouds etc. are the factors which favour the development of thunderstorms. The upward movement of warm and moist air is prerequisite condition for the origin of thunderstorms. Surface heating through intense insolation causes convective mechanism resulting into updraft of air and atmospheric instability.
This is why thunderstorms originate mainly during summer season, warm days of a season, and warm hours of a day. It appears that warm, moist and rising unstable air is the most important factor in the development of thunderstorms.
This becomes possible when normal lapse rate of temperature is greater than adiabatic rate of temperature change. Besides convective mechanism, warm and moist winds also rise and become unstable due to orographic obstacles. The greater the instability of warm and moist air, the greater the intensity and duration of thunderstorms.
There must be greater thickness of clouds between cloud base (i.e., level at which condensation and cloud formation begin) and icing level (i.e., the level at which water droplets change into ice particles). The higher the icing level above cloud base, the greater the thickness of clouds and thus the greater the intensity of convection.
Since the icing level is at very low height in the middle latitudes, thunderstorms do not develop there. On the other hand, thunderstorms are common features in the weather of low latitudes because of the higher height of icing level and greater thickness of cloud cover.
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