As strong thunderstorms enter an area, they are often preceded by a noticeable drop in temperature and a very strong wind. Is there a name for that wind?
— Scott Marckini
Dear Scott,
There are several names that have been associated with this phenomenon, among them gust front, downburst, outflow boundary and plough wind. As rain-cooled air surges downward through the thunderstorm, it strikes the ground and rushes outward ahead of the storm. Its arrival is marked by a sharp wind shift (blowing from the direction of the approaching storm) and an abrupt temperature drop. Density differences between cool outflow air and warm air ahead of the boundary reflect the beam of weather radar scanning the storm, producing a noticeable fine line in radar imagery and making it relatively easy to track.
There are several names that have been associated with this phenomenon, among them gust front, downburst
downburst
In meteorology, a downburst is a strong downward and outward gushing wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the area of impact at surface level.
, outflow boundary and plough wind. As rain-cooled air surges downward through the thunderstorm, it strikes the ground and rushes outward ahead of the storm.
A gust front is the leading edge of rain-cooled air that clashes with warmer thunderstorm inflow. Gust fronts are characterized by a wind shift, temperature drop, and gusty winds out ahead of a thunderstorm. Sometimes the winds push up air above them, forming a shelf cloud or detached roll cloud.
A derecho (pronounced similar to "deh-REY-cho") is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.
Short bursts of high speed wind are termed gusts. Strong winds of intermediate duration (around one minute) are termed squalls. Long-duration winds have various names associated with their average strength, such as breeze, gale, storm, and hurricane.
Gale. Gale refers to a current of air that measures in the range of 32 to 63 miles per hour on the Beaufort scale. More generally, it's any strong wind: On this links-style course, autumn gales blow fiercely across the moors - so fiercely that a misstruck shot can turn on you like a rogue boomerang.
The gust front is most prominent beneath the rain-free base and on the leading edge of an approaching thunderstorm. It often precedes the thunderstorm precipitation by several minutes. Shelf and roll clouds sometimes accompany gust fronts, especially when the gust front precedes a line of thunderstorms.
You can use the calm before the storm to refer to a quiet period in which there is little or no activity, before a period in which there is a lot of trouble or intense activity.
Raindrops hit the ground and stop, but air coming down with the rain cannot do this and so the air pushes out ahead of the rain, producing the gusty “outflow” that we experience at the storm's outset.
A cyclone and a typhoon are types of violent tropical storms with very strong winds. A squall is a sudden strong, violent wind, usually in a rain or snow storm.
The strong winds at the surface are usually a reflection of dry air intruding into the line of storms, which when saturated, falls quickly to ground level due to its much higher density before it spreads out downwind.
What is the strongest wind in the world? The strongest wind anywhere on Earth was in the 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado in Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999. These winds reached 301 mph, which is approximately 484 km/h, 441 ft/s and 135 m/s.
Gust front - the leading edge of the thunderstorm's downdraft of air as it spreads out away from the storm. It is usually felt as a change to gusty cool winds and often precedes the thunderstorm's rain by several minutes.
What causes the fresh smell we experience just before the onset of a storm or shower of rain, which is especially noticeable after an extended dry spell? The smell is probably ozone, which typically has a sweet, pungent aroma. In stormy weather, lightning splits atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen molecules.
Introduction: My name is Corie Satterfield, I am a fancy, perfect, spotless, quaint, fantastic, funny, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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