Make discussion paragraph about meteorology

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1. Post either asks a question related to the corresponding module or shares/describes something interesting (any sources are cited) and weather related. The post is thoughtful, well written, and is of substantial meaning to the discussion as a whole. The post doesn’t just regurgitate course material, but expresses your understanding and reflection of the material.2. Reply to someone else’s post, either answering their question, or building on the information provided in the original post.

In first part, you must ask one question about the module. Once, you finish first part, and give the first part to me I will give back some’s discussion to write the second part.

Each discussion should be more than 50 words

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Meteorology 10
Terrence J. Mullens
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Understand how weather behaves in the
tropics.
Detect tropical waves from a series of
streamlines.
Explain the key ingredients in the formation
of a tropical cyclone.

The tropics are typically defined as a belt
around the world from Latitude 23.5°N to
23.5°S (which covers the equator).
 Here, seasons are defined more by the positions
of Monsoonal winds and the Inter tropical
Convergence Zone (ITCZ) than Solar Angle (which
is always high at these latitudes!)
 Lots of moisture and heat… Lots of
Thunderstorms!

The belt of low pressure systems that forms
in the tropical regions due to solar heating.
 Because the sun is in the Northern Hemisphere in
the Spring/Summer, the ITCZ is north of the
Equator in the Spring/Summer… It’s south of the
Equator in the Fall/Winter.

Winds
 Typically blow from East to West
 Differences in Sea-Level pressure are tiny at these
latitudes, and so Streamlines, which are lines of wind flow,
are typically used to view weather patterns here.
 A weak disturbance in the winds occurs by a small trough
of low pressure called a Tropical Wave… Many Tropical
Storms are formed from Tropical Waves!
 These waves form on the ITCZ, where convergence
promotes lift.
Winds blow from Subtropical Highs
(at 30°N/S) towards the Equator.
As the winds blow towards the
Equator, they turn towards the
west.
Typical Tropical Wave…
Evolution of Tropical
Waves into a Tropical
Storm…

When conditions are favorable (warm water
and low wind shear)…
 A trough of slightly lower pressure can deepen,
and organize into a Tropical Cyclone.
 Tropical Cyclones have three stages of
development…
▪ Tropical Depression
▪ Tropical Storm
▪ Hurricane
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Understand the key ingredients for hurricane
formation
Explain the anatomy of a hurricane.
Explain the difference between a hurricane
watch and a hurricane warning.

The largest-scale single extreme weather
event.

Typically occur from June to November in
the Atlantic.

Called “Hurricane Season”

Form in the tropical regions, where there
is a lot of HEAT.

Typically move from South/East to
North/West

Fueled by warm ocean temperatures and
ideal atmospheric conditions


Low upper level wind shear, and moist air
Also called Typhoons in the Western
Pacific, and Cyclones in the Southern
Pacific/Indian Ocean

Tropical Depression: A weak “warm cored” center of
low pressure with maximum wind speeds below 39
mph
 All Hurricanes start out as tropical depressions
Tropical Storm: A stronger center of low pressure
with maximum winds of 39-73 mph
 Hurricane: A very strong tropical low pressure
center with maximum wind speeds above 74 mph!

 Other names: Typhoons, Cyclones, Tropical Cyclones, Willy
Willies.
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Rain Bands: Lines of clouds
and precipitation that spiral
into the center of the
storm.
Eye-Wall: The location of
the greatest winds and
storms, the convection that
wraps around the eye itself.
Eye: The center of the
storm. Very calm and clear
with the lowest pressure of
the storm.

Similar to Tornados, the location of the
strongest winds depends on where the
hurricane is moving, the speed at which it is
moving, and the rotation of the storm.


Issued by federal governments (National
Hurricane Center for Americans)
Watches and Warnings (TS/Hurricane)
 Watch: A storm may potentially affect your area
within 24-48 hours
 Warning: A storm is expected to affect your area
in the next 24 hours
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

Explore the main hazards of hurricanes and
tropical cyclones
Learn the difference between a hurricane and
typhoon
Discuss some notable hurricane events.

Wind Damage (Major Hurricanes which are Cat 3 and Higher
have winds similar to mid-strength tornados!)
 Winds are strongest on the right half of the storm (when viewed from
direction of movement)

Flooding: Slow Moving Tropical Systems can produce
massive flooding due to heavy rainfall!
 Tropical Storm Allison flooded Houston with over 38 inches of rain, IN
SIX DAYS… It killed 41 people and went on to be retired!
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Storm Surge: Deadliest element of Tropical Systems: Winds
from the storm ‘pull’ water up (Eckman Transport) and thus
water levels rise… this is in addition to large waves!
Tornados: Vertical shear is present when the storm makes
landfall!
Internationally agreed upon (so that there is no
confusion).
 Storms are named by the hurricane laboratory that
are tracking them, which is determined by the
location of the storm.

 In the Northern Hemisphere, storms in the Atlantic and
Eastern Pacific (Roughly Longitude 140W to the Prime
Meridian) are tracked and named by the US National
Hurricane Center.
 The US Central Pacific Hurricane Center Names and
Monitors storms in the Central Pacific (hardly ever any!)
The List of Hurricane Names is Recycled is recycled every six years
However, if a storm is so severe that the name will always be associated with that
disaster (I.e. Katrina or Sandy), the name gets retired.

Absolutely Nothing… Except the location!
Hurricane Irma
Typhoon Haima

Tropical Storm Katrina was a weak tropical
storm (Max Winds 40mph, Pressure 999mb),
that struck Central America.
The most damaging
Hurricane in United
States History!
 Struck the eastern
portion of Louisiana on
August 29, 2005
 Maximum Strength: 175
mph winds (Cat 5)
 Strength at Landfall: 125
mph winds (Cat 3)
 Total Damage: $108
BILLION
 Total Deaths: ~1700

Name was retired, and will never
be used again!

Hurricane Ivan (Cat 3 at landfall)
 $18.1 billion damage, 123 deaths

Hurricane Charley (Cat 4 at landfall)
 $18.6 billion damage, 35 deaths

Hurricane Andrew (Cat 5 at landfall)
 $40.7 billion damage, 65 deaths

Hurricane Hugo (Cat 4 at landfall)
 $14.1 billion damage, 61 deaths

Total for these four storms…
 $91.5 billon damage, 283 deaths… MUCH LESS THAN
KATRINA… WHY???
 Katrina wasn’t an exceptionally strong storm at landfall…
but it hit the worst possible place… New Orleans!

Extremely Active Season!
 5th most active on record.
 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, 6 major hurricanes (Category 3+)

Notable Hurricanes
 Hurricane Harvey: Hit Texas as a Category 4 hurricane and then
produced devastating flooding rains in Eastern Texas.
 Hurricane Irma: Devastated the island of Barbuda, became one of the
strongest hurricanes in Atlantic record… and then hit Florida as a
Category 4 hurricane!
 Hurricane Maria: Devastated Dominica and Puerto Rico as a Category
5 hurricane.


Learn the key ingredients in Superstorm
formation.
Explore some other types of extreme
weather.

As previously mentioned, the major driving cause of weather
is imbalance.
 Pressure Gradient Forces (Air moves from high to low pressure)
 Thermal Circulations (Differences in Temperature cause differences in
Pressure)
 Clashing Air Masses (See above…)

But what happens when all of these things happen… but to
an extreme?
 Example, when a warm mT air mass clashes with an arctic cA air
mass? Or a Hurricane interacts with a Northeaster?

SUPERSTORMS HAPPEN!

Superstorms occur when the extremes of
weather clash!
 The 1991 Perfect Storm and “Superstorm” Sandy
were examples of Warm-cored tropical systems
clashing with Cold, Polar air. Instead of
weakening, they feed off of each other.
 Another good example of this was the 1993
“Storm of the Century,” which was a blizzard that
stretched all the way from Canada to Cuba.



AKA the “1993 Superstorm”
March 12-15, 1993
Began as a Gulf Low
pressure that rapidly moved
up the Eastern Seaboard.
 Had a cold front (with cA air
behind it and warm mT air in
front of it) that stretched from
New York to Central America!
 Northern half of the storm was
an extreme blizzard and
southern half was a sharp
squall line of Severe
Thunderstorms.

Formed because of extremely cold air clashed
with warm, moist air.
 The result was a severe blizzard, squall line that
produced 11 confirmed tornados, as much as 55
inches of snow dumped, snow as far south as
North Florida, and a severe storm surge!
 Killed 310 people!

Sound Somewhat similiar to Sandy?
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Formed from the clash of a strong polar Cold
Front and Hurricane Grace, in Late October,
1991.
The low eventually moved south and became
an unnamed hurricane.
This storm stayed off the coast, mainly
impacting coastal areas and shipping.
 The loss of the Andrea Gail, and the 6 people on
board is blamed on this storm!

Other extreme Weather Events include:
 Heat Waves
 Droughts
 Ice Storms and Blizzards
 Fire Weather
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A Prolonged period of above
average Air Temperatures.
Heat Waves are typical almost
everywhere on Earth.
However, some heat waves can
be exceptionally hot and long,
leading to record breaking
temperatures that can last for
days, or even weeks.
Heat Waves are typically caused
by a large upper-level ridge of
high pressure.
Example: 2003 European Heat
Wave
https://farmersalmanac.com/weather/2010/04/12/what-causes-a-heat-wave/


A drought is a long period
(months, years) of
abnormally low water
supply.
Droughts have numerous
causes.
 Disrupted Storm Track
 A drought in another part of
the Country
 Increased Water Use

Things to consider
 Have weather patterns
changed?
 Have populations
changed?
 Has land use changed?
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Ice Storms are incidents where
tremendous amounts of
Freezing Rain are present.
Freezing Rain weighs down
tree branches, power lines, and
other flimsy structures.
Freezing Rain also makes
driving hazardous.
A strong, but shallow inversion
is necessary for ice storms to
form.
 Warm Fronts provide this kind of
inversion


More common here in
California, especially in
Summer and Fall
Wildfires can start easily in
warm, dry, windy air.
 Warm Air makes brush near the
ground substantially warmer and
closer to the ignition
temperature.
 Dry Air allows sparks to occur,
which can trigger combustion.
 High winds provide more oxygen
to a fire and allow the fire to
travel quickly.

Extreme Weather involves some kind of abnormal
weather condition or a weather event that can pose
a danger to lives and property:
 Severe Thunderstorms
 Tornadoes
 Hurricanes
 Heat Waves
 Blizzards
 Droughts
 Fire Weather

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