Frontogenesis Frontogenesis: • The generation of intensity of a front • Warm air merged onto colder air • Temperature gradient amplified at least one order of magnitude A good example of non-frontal zone boundary is . Mesoscale fronts: land-sea breeze, storm outflow (a few hours) Synoptic scale fronts: fronts on the weather maps Frontogenesis: the formation of a front Frontolysis: the decay of a front dryline
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Frontogenesis Frontogenesis: The generation of intensity of a front Warm air merged onto colder air Temperature gradient amplified at least one order of.
Frontogenesis Assume that winds do no vary along the front and x axis // lines, y x 0 Inhomogeneous diabatic heating Confluence/diffluence Tilting effect [ ]
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Frontogenesis
Frontogenesis:• The generation of intensity of a front• Warm air merged onto colder air• Temperature gradient amplified at least one order of magnitude
A good example of non-frontal zone boundary is .Mesoscale fronts: land-sea breeze, storm outflow (a few hours)Synoptic scale fronts: fronts on the weather maps (many days)
Frontogenesis: the formation of a frontFrontolysis: the decay of a front
dryline
Frontogenesis
Kinematics and thermodynamics of Frontogenesis:
2D frontogenesis (F):
θDtDF p Frontogenesis function
DtDQ
Cpp
DtθD
p
CRo p 1
First law of thermodynamics
Diabatic heating (e.g., latent heat, radiation)
Frontogenesis
Assume that winds do no vary along the front and x axis // lines,
The upper part usually composes ice and is spread out as anvils.Types:1. Short-lived cell
2. Multicell3. Suepercell or split cell (can have hails and tornados)
• Short-lived cell : when shear is weak, shear < 10 ms-1 below 6 km,• Multicell : moderate shear, 10 ~ 20 ms-1, • Supercell : strong shear, shear > 20 ms-1.Storms propagation speed = mean wind speed + propagation due to new formation of cell.
ThunderstormsLife time: short-lived cell: ~ 30 min
multicell: ~ 10-15 min for each cell supercell: ~ nearly steady state (several hours)
Storm dissipates because of: water loading, cut of energy supply, dry air entrainment, mixing, etc.
Thunderstorms
Storm types are strongly related to the Bulk Richardson number
Parameters: Bulk Richardson number ( ) iR
2v+u
CAPE=ShearCAPE=R 2
T2
Ti
wdzθθθgCAPE EL
LFCp 2
21
Tm500=zm6000=zT v for same ,u - u=u
(an overestimated w)
- Rsupercell ,R10
cell ordinary or multicell ,R
i
i
i
40
45
Reference for what type of storms but not their severity.
Why CAPE? Need energy to develop a storm (no help from large scales, like upper level trough to winter
storms)
Thunderstorms
Why shear? 1. The ability of a gust front to trigger a new cell (for
multicell)2. The ability of an updraft to interact with environment wind
shear to produce an enhanced quasi-steady storm structure. (supercell)
Shear and Storm Types
Supercell
• Isolated convetive storms (life time - several hours)• Usually requires large CAPE and strong wind shear• Low level moist, upper level dry ( - strong downdraft)• Shear too strong is not good either (destroy the storm structure)• Can potentially produce tornados
Supercell
Supercell
Supercell
Shear and Storm Splitting
Uni-directionalshear
Multi-directionalshear
Shear and Storm Moving
Uni-directional shear
Multi-directional shear
Supercell
Supercell
Note: The wind vectors in the middle latitude of the northern hemisphere usually turn clockwise with height (Coriolis force effect). So, usually the split right-moving storm survives.
Supercell
Supercell
Anticyclonic circulationCyclonic circulation
Survival
Uni-directionalshear
Multi-directionalshear
Storms and Floods
For multicell and supercell, if the system is quasi-stationary or slowly moving, Produce heavy rainfall Flashflood can occur