Meteorology

Aviation meteorology deals with the impact of weather on air traffic management. It is
important for air crews to understand the implications of weather on their flight plan as
well as their aircraft, as noted by the Aeronautical Information Manual

Ionosphere: is the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an
important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere.
It has practical importance because, among other functions, it influences radio
propagation to distant places on the Earth. It is located in the thermosphere and is
responsible for auroras.

Density Air is the mass per unit volume of Earth's atmosphere, Air density and air
pressure decrease with increasing altitude. The addition of water vapor to air (making the
air humid) reduces the density of the air, which may at first appear contrary to logic.

Density altitude is the altitude in the International Standard Atmosphere at which the air
density would be equal to the actual air density at the place of observation. "Density
Altitude" is the pressure altitude adjusted for non-standard temperature.

Both increase in temperature and increase in humidity cause a reduction in air density.
Thus in hot and humid conditions the density altitude at a particular location may be
significantly higher than the geometric altitude.

Density altitude is the altitude corrected for non-ISA conditions at which the air density
is unequal to ISA conditions. Aircraft performance depends on density altitude, which is
affected by barometric pressure and temperature. On a very hot day, density altitude at
an airport may be so high as to preclude takeoff, particularly for helicopters or a heavily
loaded aircraft.

True altitude is the elevation above mean sea level

Absolute altitude is the height of the aircraft above the terrain over which it is flying

Indicated altitude is the reading on the altimeter.

Pressure altitude is the elevation above a standard datum plane (typically, 1013.2
millibars or 29.92" Hg and 15°C).

Height is the elevation above a ground reference point, commonly the terrain elevation.

ICAO Standard Atmosphere

Height km & ft Temperature °C Pressure hPa Lapse Rate °C/1000ft
0km MSL 15.0 1013.25 1.98 (Tropospheric)
11km 36,000ft -56.5 226.00 0.00 (Stratospheric)
20km 65,000ft -56.5 54.70 -1.00 (Stratospheric)
32km 105,000ft -44.5 8.68

Density is mass m per unit volume V. For the common case of a homogeneous substance,
it is expressed as:

where, in SI units:

ρ (rho) is the density of the substance, measured in kg·m-3

m is the mass of the substance, measured in kg
V is the volume of the substance, measured in m3

The lapse rate is defined as the negative of the rate of change in an atmospheric variable,
usually temperature, with height observed while moving upwards through an atmosphere

There are two types of lapse rate:

 Environmental lapse rate - which refers to the actual change of temperature
with altitude for the stationary atmosphere (i.e. the temperature gradient)

 The adiabatic lapse rates - which refer to the change in temperature of a mass
of air as it moves upwards. There are two adiabatic rates:[4]
o Dry adiabatic lapse rate
o Moist adiabatic lapse rate

The environmental lapse rate (ELR), is the negative of the actual change of temperature
with altitude of the stationary atmosphere at a specific time and specific location. The
ELR at a given place varies from day to day and even during each day. As an average the
ICAO defines an international standard atmosphere with a temperature lapse rate of + 6.5
°C per km (+ 3.57 °F/1000 ft or + 1.98°C/1000 ft) from sea level to 11 km. From 11 km
up to 20 km, the constant temperature is -56.5 °C, which is the lowest assumed
temperature in ISA. It is important to remember that the standard atmosphere contains no
moisture, and that the temperature of the atmosphere does not always fall steadily. For
example there can be an inversion layer in which the temperature rises with increasing
height.

The dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) is the negative of the rate at which a rising parcel
of unsaturated air, such as a thermal, changes temperature with increasing height.
Unsaturated air has less than 100% relative humidity, i.e. its temperature is higher than its
dew point. The term 'adiabatic' means that no heat is gained or lost from outside the
parcel. The DALR is approximately constant at + 9.78 °C/km (+ 5.37 °F/1000 ft, or about
+ 3°C/1000 ft).[4]

Saturated adiabatic lapse rate.When the air is saturated with water vapour (at its dew
point), the moist adiabatic lapse rate (MALR) or saturated adiabatic lapse rate
(SALR) applies. It varies strongly with the moisture content,[4] which depends on
temperature, and lightly with pressure from 3 (high temperature near surface) to +
9.78°C/km (very low temperature) as one can see in the diagram. However, at
temperatures above freezing it is usually near + 4.9 °C/km (+ 2.7 °F/1000 ft or +
1.51°C/1000 ft). The reason for the difference is that latent heat is released when
water condenses. Until the moisture starts condensing, the parcel of air cools at
the DALR so any air that is unsaturated can be assumed to be 'dry'.

The dew point of a given parcel of air is the temperature to which the parcel must be
cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to condense into water, called
dew. When the dew point temperature falls below freezing it is called the frost point, as
the water vapor no longer creates dew but instead creates frost or hoarfrost by deposition.

The dew point is associated with relative humidity. A high relative humidity indicates that
the dew point is closer to the current air temperature. If the relative humidity is 100%, the
dew point is equal to the current temperature. Given a constant dew point, an increase
in temperature will lead to a decrease in relative humidity. It is for this reason that
equatorial climates can have low relative humidity, yet still feel humid.

Precipitation (also known as hydrometeor) is any product of the condensation of

atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface. It occurs when the
atmosphere (being a large gaseous solution) becomes saturated with water vapour and the
water condenses and falls out of solution (i.e., precipitates).[1] Air becomes saturated via
two processes, cooling and adding moisture.

Virga is precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground.
At high altitudes the precipitation falls mainly as ice crystals before melting and finally
evaporating; this is usually due to compressional heating, because the air pressure
increases closer to the ground. It is very common in the desert and in temperate climates.
It is also common in the Southern United States during summer.

Virga can cause very interesting weather effects, because as rain is changed from liquid to
vapor form, it removes heat from the air due to the high heat of vaporization of water. In
some instances, these pockets of colder air can descend rapidly, creating a dry
microburst which can be extremely hazardous to aviation.

Fog is a cloud in contact with the ground. Fog forms when water vapor in the air at the
surface begins to condense into liquid water. Fog normally occurs at a relative humidity
of 100%. This can be achieved by either adding moisture to the air or dropping the
ambient air temperature. Fog can form at lower humidities, and fog can sometimes not
form with relative humidity at 100%. A reading of 100% relative humidity does not mean
that the air can not hold any more moisture, but the air will then becomes known as
supersaturated.

The type of fog are;

Radiation fog is formed by the cooling of land after sunset by thermal radiation in calm
conditions with clear sky. The cool ground produces condensation in the nearby air by
heat conduction. In perfect calm the fog layer can be less than a metre deep but
turbulence can promote a thicker layer. Radiation fogs occur at night, and usually do not
last long after sunrise. Radiation fog is common in autumn, and early winter. Examples
of this phenomenon include the Tule fog.

Ground fog is fog that obscures less than 60% of the sky and does not extend to the base
of any overhead clouds. However, the term is sometimes used to refer to radiation fog.

Advection fog occurs when moist air passes over a cool surface by advection (wind) and
is cooled. It is common as a warm front passes over an area with significant snowpack.
It's most common at sea when tropical air encounters cooler waters, or in areas of
upwelling, such as along the California coast.

Steam fog, also called evaporation fog, is the most localized form and is created by cold
air passing over much warmer water or moist land. It often causes freezing fog, or
sometimes hoar frost.

Valley fog forms in mountain valleys, often during winter. It is the result of a temperature
inversion caused by heavier cold air settling into in a valley, with warmer air passing over
the mountains above. It is essentially radiation fog confined by local topography, and can
last for several days in calm conditions.

The trade winds are a pattern of wind that is found in bands around the Earth's equatorial
region. The trade winds are the prevailing winds in the tropics, blowing from the high-
pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the low-pressure area around the equator. The
trade winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the northern hemisphere and from
the southeast in the southern hemisphere.

Their name derives from the Middle English 'trade', meaning "path" or "track," and thus
the phrase "the wind blows trade," that is to say, on track. In German they are known as
Passat winds.

In the zone between about 30° North and 30° South, the surface air flows toward the
equator and the flow aloft is poleward. A low-pressure area of calm, light variable winds
near the equator is known to mariners as the doldrums. Around 30° N. and S., the
poleward flowing air begins to descend toward the surface in subtropical high-pressure
belts. The sinking air is relatively dry because its moisture has already been released near
the Equator above the tropical rain forests. Near the center of this high-pressure zone of
descending air, called the "Horse Latitudes," the winds at the surface are weak and
variable. The name for this area is believed to have been given by colonial sailors, who,
becalmed sometimes at these latitudes while crossing the oceans with horses as cargo,
were forced to throw some overboard to conserve water.

The surface air that flows from these subtropical high-pressure belts toward the Equator
is deflected toward the west in both hemispheres by the Coriolis effect. Because winds
are named for the direction from which the wind is blowing, these winds are called the
northeast trade winds in the Northern Hemisphere and the southeast trade winds in the
Southern Hemisphere. The trade winds meet at the doldrums. Surface winds known as
"westerlies" flow from the Horse Latitudes toward the poles. The "westerlies" meet
"easterlies" from the polar highs at about 50-60° N. and S.

Coriolis Force: is the force created by the rotation of the earth, which is winds moving
along the surface of the earth will deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and
will deflected to the left in the southern hemisphere.

This effect is caused by the rotation of the Earth and is responsible for the direction of the
rotation of large cyclones: winds around the center of a cyclone rotate clockwise on the
northern hemisphere and counterclockwise on the southern hemisphere.

The face that the Coriolis force is zero at the equator and very week near the equator,
explains why tropical cyclones such as hurricanes and typhoons won't form on the
equator even though the other factors there, such as warm ocean water, would make them
likely.

Coreolis Force on Earth

The prevailing winds are the trends in speed and direction of wind over a particular point
on the earth's surface. A region's prevailing winds often reflect global patterns of
movement in the earth's atmosphere.

The prevailing surface winds are calm at the equator (the doldrums), then they blow
from the northeast immediately north of the equator and from the southeast immediately
south of the equator: these are called the trade winds because they allowed early
European ships to sail from east to west to the Americas. Around 25 degrees north and
south, near the tropics, the winds calm again in the horse latitudes.

Horse latitudes or Subtropical High are subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35

degrees both north and south. This region is an area of variable winds mixed with calm,
and it owes its name to the fact that the confused sea, muggy heat, and rolling and
pitching of waves (variably stilled and aerated by winds) often slowed colonial ships for
days to weeks due to lack of propulsion. In order to reduce the weight of the ship, the
crew would dump horses and cattle into the water, subsequently increasing the speed of
the ship in the low winds.[1]

The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), also known as the Intertropical Front,
Monsoon trough, Doldrums or the Equatorial Convergence Zone, is a belt of low
pressure girdling Earth at the equator. It is formed by the vertical ascent of warm, moist
air from the latitudes above and below the equator.

The air is drawn into the intertropical convergence zone by the action of the Hadley cell,
a macroscale atmospheric feature which is part of the Earth's heat and moisture
distribution system. It is transported aloft by the convective activity of thunderstorms;
regions in the intertropical convergence zone receive precipitation more than 200 days in
a year.
Effects on weather

Vertical velocity at 500 hPa, July average. Ascent (negative values) is a tracer for the
ITCZ and is concentrated close to the solar equator; descent (positive values) is more
diffuse.

Variation in the location of the intertropical convergence zone drastically affects rainfall
in many equatorial nations, resulting in the wet and dry seasons of the tropics rather than
the cold and warm seasons of higher latitudes. Longer term changes in the intertropical
convergence zone can result in severe droughts or flooding in nearby areas.

Within the ITCZ the average winds are slight, unlike the zones north and south of the
equator where the trade winds feed in. Early sailors named this belt of calm the
doldrums because of the inactivity and stagnation they found themselves in after days of
no wind.[1] To find oneself becalmed in this region in a hot and muggy climate could
mean death in an era when wind was the only major motive force.

Tropical cyclogenesis depends upon low-level vorticity as one of its six requirements,
and the ITCZ/monsoon trough fills this role as it is a zone of wind change and speed,
otherwise known as horizontal wind shear. As the ITCZ migrates more than 500 km from
the equator during the respective hemisphere's summer season, increasing coriolis force
makes the formation of tropical cyclones within this zone more possible. In the north
Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific oceans, tropical waves move along the axis of the
ITCZ causing an increase in thunderstorm activity, and under weak vertical wind shear,
these clusters of thunderstorms can become tropical cyclones.

Monsoon Trough; The Glossary of Meteorology defines a monsoon trough simply: A

line in a weather map showing the locations of minimum sea level pressure in a monsoon
region.

The monsoon trough is one such area of strong low-level vorticity.

Increases in the relative vorticity of a monsoon trough is normally a product of increased

wind convergence. Wind surges can lead to this increase in convergence. A strengthening
or equatorward movement in the subtropical ridge can cause a strengthening of a
monsoon trough as a wind surge moves southward towards its location. As fronts move
through the subtropics of one hemisphere during their winter, wind surges can cross the
equator in oceanic regions and enhance a monsoon trough in the other hemisphere's
summer. A key way of detecting whether a wind surge has reached a monsoon trough is
the formation of a burst of thunderstorms within the feature.

Tropicalcyclogenesis is the technical term describing the development and strengthening

of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere.[1] The mechanisms through which tropical
cyclogenesis occurs are distinctly different from those through which mid-latitude
cyclogenesis occurs. Tropical cyclogenesis involves the development of a warm-core
cyclone, due to significant convection in a favorable atmospheric environment

A minimum distance of 500 km (300 miles) from the equator is normally needed for
tropical cyclogenesis. The role of the Coriolis force is to provide for gradient wind
balance by correcting the interaction of the pressure gradient force (the pressure
difference that causes winds to blow from high to low pressure[7] ) and geostrophic winds
(the force that causes winds to blow parallel to straight isobars) for centripetal
acceleration (which is introduced by curved isobars).

Map of the cumulative tracks of all tropical cyclones during the 1985–2005 time period.
The Pacific Ocean west of the International Date Line sees more tropical cyclones than
any other basin, while there is almost no activity in the Atlantic Ocean south of the
Equator.

A tropical cyclone is a meteorological term for a storm system characterized by a low

pressure center and thunderstorms that produces strong wind and flooding rain. A tropical
cyclone feeds on the heat released when moist air rises and the water vapor it contains
condenses. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic
windstorms such as nor'easters, European windstorms, and polar lows, leading to their
classification as "warm core" storm systems.

The noun "cyclone" refers to such storms' cyclonic nature, with counterclockwise rotation
in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise rotation in the Southern Hemisphere.

While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they
are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge. They develop over large
bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land. This is the reason
coastal regions can receive significant damage from a tropical cyclone, while inland
regions are relatively safe from receiving strong winds. Heavy rains, however, can
produce significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal
flooding up to 25 mi (40 km) from the coastline. Although their effects on human
populations can be devastating, tropical cyclones can also relieve drought conditions.
They also carry heat and energy away from the tropics and transport it towards temperate
latitudes, which makes them an important part of the global atmospheric circulation
mechanism. As a result, tropical cyclones help to maintain equilibrium in the Earth's
troposphere, and to maintain a relatively stable and warm temperature worldwide.

Many tropical cyclones develop when the atmospheric conditions around a weak
disturbance in the atmosphere are favorable. Others form when other types of cyclones
acquire tropical characteristics. Tropical systems are then moved by steering winds in the
troposphere; if the conditions remain favorable, the tropical disturbance intensifies, and
can even develop an eye. On the other end of the spectrum, if the conditions around the
system deteriorate or the tropical cyclone makes landfall, the system weakens and
eventually dissipates.

A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather
system, typically a tropical cyclone. Storm surge is caused primarily by high winds
pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the
ordinary sea level. Nine out of ten people (90%) who die in hurricanes in the United
States have historically been killed by storm surges.

Impact of a storm surge

At least five processes can be involved in altering tide levels during storms. These
include the pressure effect, the direct wind effect, the effect of the earth's rotation, the
effect of waves, and the rainfall effect (Harris 1963). The pressure effects of a tropical
cyclone will cause the water level in the open ocean to rise in regions of low pressure and
fall in regions of high pressure. Wind stresses cause a phenomenon referred to as "wind
set-up", which is the tendency for water levels to increase at the downwind shore, and to
decrease at the upwind shore.

Graphic illustrating storm surge.

Thunderstorm

A thunderstorm, also called an electrical storm or lightning storm, is a form of

weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its attendant thunder produced
from a cumulonimbus cloud.[1] The lightning is caused by an electrical charge that builds
up inside the storm due to the movement of water droplets or crystals carried by the wind.
Thunderstorms are usually accompanied by heavy rainfall (heavy downpours), strong
winds, hail, and sometimes tornadoes. During the winter months, snowfall can
occasionally take place in a thunderstorm. This occurrence is often termed thundersnow.

Thunderstorms are associated with the various monsoon seasons

Formation

Thunderstorms form when significant condensation— resulting in the production of a

wide range of water droplets and ice crystals— occurs in an atmosphere that is unstable
and supports deep, rapid upward motion. This often occurs in the presence of three
conditions: sufficient moisture accumulated in the lower atmosphere, reflected by high
temperatures; a significant fall in air temperature with increasing height, known as a steep
adiabatic lapse rate; and a force such as mechanical convergence along a cold front to
focus the lift.[2] The process to initiate vertical lifting can be caused by:

1. unequal warming of the surface of the Earth

2. orographic lifting due to topographic obstruction of air flow, and
3. dynamic lifting because of the presence of a frontal zone.[3]

As the air begins to lift, it eventually starts to cool and condensation takes place. When
the moisture condenses, heat is released which further aids in the lifting process. If
enough instability is present in the atmosphere, this process will continue long enough for
cumulonimbus clouds to form, which supports lightning and thunder.

Life Cycle
All thunderstorms, regardless of type, go through three stages: the cumulus stage, the
mature stage, and the dissipation stage. Depending on the conditions present in the
atmosphere, these three stages can take anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours to
occur.

Airflow diagrams showing three stages of a thunderstorm life cycle.

Front

A weather front is a boundary between two masses of air of different densities, and are
the principal cause of significant weather. Within surface weather analyses, they are
depicted using various colored lines and symbols. The air masses usually differ in
temperature and may also differ in humidity.

Cold fronts feature narrow bands of thunderstorms and severe weather, and may be
preceded by squall lines and dry lines. Warm fronts are preceded by stratiform
precipitation and fog. The weather quickly clears after a moving front passes. Cold and
occluded fronts move from west to east, while warm fronts move poleward. Cold fronts
and cold occlusions move faster than warm fronts and warm occlusions, due to the
greater density of air in their wake.

Fronts are the principal cause of significant weather. Convective precipitation

(showers, thundershowers and related unstable weather) is caused by air being lifted and
condensing into clouds by the movement of the cold front or cold occlusion under a mass
of warmer, moist air. If the temperature differences of the two air masses involved are
large and the turbulence is extreme due to wind shear and the presence of a jet max, "roll
clouds" and tornadoes may occur.

Orographic precipitation is precipitation created through the lifting action of air moving
over terrain such as mountains and hills, which is most common behind cold fronts that
move into mountainous areas. It may sometimes occur in advance of warm fronts moving
northward to the east of mountainous terrain. But precipitation along warm fronts is
relatively steady, as in rain or drizzle. Fog, sometimes extensive and dense, often occurs
in pre-warm-frontal areas.[8] But not all fronts produce precipitation or even clouds:
moisture must be present in the air mass which is being lifted.

A squall line is a line of severe thunderstorms that can form along or ahead of a cold
front. In the early 20th century, the term was used as a synonym for cold front. It contains
heavy precipitation, hail, frequent lightning, strong straight line winds, and possibly
tornadoes and waterspouts..

Wind shear

Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in

wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Wind
shear can be broken down into vertical and horizontal components, with horizontal wind
shear seen across weather fronts. Wind shear itself is a microscale meteorological
phenomenon, but it may be associated with mesoscale or synoptic scale weather features.
It is commonly observed near microbursts and downbursts, weather fronts, low level
wind maxima known as low level jets, near mountains, radiation inversions, buildings,
wind turbines, and sailboats. Wind shear has a significant effect during take-off and
landing of aircraft, and was a significant cause of aircraft accidents involving large loss of
life within the United States.

Airplane pilots generally regard significant windshear to be a change in airspeed of 15

knots (7.7 m/s) and/or a change in azimuth of 30 degrees or greater per thousand feet
(300 m) of altitude change. Wind shear can affect aircraft airspeed during take off and
landing in disastrous ways. It is also a key factor in severe thunderstorms. An additional
hazard is turbulence often associated with wind shear.

Weather situations where shear is observed include:

 Weather fronts. Significant shear is observed, when the temperature difference

across the front is 5 °C or more, and the front moves at 15 kt or faster. Because
fronts are three-dimensional phenomena, frontal shear can be observed at any
altitude between surface and tropopause, and therefore be seen both horizontally
and vertically.
 Low Level Jets. When a nocturnal low-level jet forms above the boundary layer
ahead of a cold front, significant low level vertical wind shear can develop near
the lower portion of the low level jet. This is also known as nonconvective wind
shear.

 Mountains. When winds blow over a mountain, vertical shear is observed on the
lee side. If the flow is strong enough, turbulent eddies known as rotors associated
with lee waves may form, which are dangerous to ascending and descending
aircraft.[1]

 Inversions. When on a clear and calm night, a radiation inversion is formed near
the ground, the friction does not affect wind above the inversion top. Change in
 wind can be 90 degrees in direction and 40 kt in speed. Even a nocturnal low level
jet can sometimes be observed. Density difference causes additional problems to
aviation.

 Downbursts. When an outflow boundary moves away from a thunderstorm due to

a shallow layer of rain-cooled air spreading out at ground level, both speed and
directional wind shear can result at the leading edge of the three dimensional
boundary. The stronger the outflow boundary, the stronger the resultant vertical
wind shear.

1. Microburst schematic from NASA. Note the downward motion of the air until it hits
ground level, then spreads outward in all directions. The wind regime in a microburst is
completely opposite to a tornado.

2. Mountain wave schematic. The wind flows towards a mountain and produces a first
oscillation (A). A second wave occurs farther and higher with lenticular clouds stuck on
top of the flow (B). Usually a turbulent horizontal vortex is generated around the first
trough, the so called rotor.

The rotor turbulence may be harmful for other small aircraft such as balloons, hang
gliders and para gliders. It can even be a hazard for large aircraft; the phenomenon is
believed responsible for many aviation accidents and incidents including the in-flight
break up of BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707, near Mt. Fuji, Japan in 1966, and the in-
flight separation of an engine on an Evergreen International Airlines Boeing 747 cargo jet
near Anchorage, Alaska in 1993.[5]

The rising air of the wave, which allows gliders to fly at high speed, can also result in
high altitude upset in jet aircraft trying to maintain level cruising flight in lee waves.
Rising, descending or turbulent air in or above the lee waves can cause overspeed or stall,
resulting in mach tuck and loss of control, especially when the aircraft is operated near
the "coffin corner".

Down Burst
A downburst is created by an area of significantly rain-cooled air that, after hitting
ground level, spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. Unlike winds in a
tornado, winds in a downburst are directed outwards from the point where it hits land or
water. Dry downbursts are associated with thunderstorms with very little rain, while wet
downbursts are created by thunderstorms with high amounts of rainfall. Microbursts
and macrobursts are downbursts at very small and larger scales respectively. Another
variety, the heat burst, is created by vertical currents on the backside of old outflow
boundaries and squall lines where rainfall is lacking. Heat bursts generate significantly
higher temperatures due to the lack of rain-cooled air in their formation. Downbursts
create vertical wind shear which is dangerous to aviation.

Downbursts, particularly microbursts, are exceedingly dangerous to aircraft which are

taking off or landing. A number of fatal crashes have been attributed to downbursts.

Microburst

A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent

and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to but distinguishable from
tornadoes which generally have convergent damage.

Dry microbursts

When rain falls below cloud base or is mixed with dry air, it begins to evaporate and this
evaporation process cools the air. The cool air descends and accelerates as it approaches
the ground. When the cool air approaches the ground, it spreads out in all directions and
this divergence of the wind is the signature of the microburst.

Dry microbursts, produced by high based thunderstorms that generate little surface
rainfall, occur in environments characterized by a thermodynamic profile exhibiting an
inverted-V at thermal and moisture profile, as viewed on a Skew-T log-P thermodynamic
diagram. (Wakimoto, 1985) developed a conceptual model (over the High Plains) of a dry
microburst environment that comprised of three important variables: mid-level moisture,
a deep and dry adiabatic lapse rate in the sub-cloud layer, and low surface relative
humidity.

Wet microbursts

Wet microbursts are downbursts accompanied by significant precipitation at the surface

(Fujita, 1985) which are warmer than their environment (Wakimoto, 1998). These
downbursts rely more on the drag of precipitation for downward acceleration of parcels
than negative buoyancy which tend to drive "dry" microbursts. As a result, higher mixing
ratios are necessary for these downbursts to form (hence the name "wet" microbursts).
Melting of ice, particularly hail, appears to play an important role in downburst formation
(Wakimoto and Bringi, 1988), especially in the lowest one kilometer above ground level
(Proctor, 1989). These factors, among others, make forecasting wet microbursts a difficult
task.
A microburst often causes aircraft to crash when they are attempting to land. The
microburst is an extremely powerful gust of air that, once hitting the ground, spreads in
all directions. As the aircraft is coming in to land, the pilots try to slow the plane to an
appropriate speed. When the microburst hits, the pilots will see a large spike in their
airspeed, caused by the force of the headwind created by the microburst. A pilot
inexperienced with microbursts would try to decrease the speed. The plane would then
travel through the microburst, and fly into the tailwind, causing a sudden decrease in the
amount of air flowing across the wings. The sudden loss of air moving across the wings
causes the aircraft to literally drop out of the air. The best way to deal with a microburst
in an aircraft would be to increase speed as soon as the spike in airspeed is noticed. This
will allow the aircraft to remain in the air when traveling through the tailwind portion of
the microburst and also pass through the microburst with less difficulty, although it is
possible that for light aircraft, the descent rate induced by the microburst will exceed
their maximum climb rate, leading to an unavoidable crash.

A microburst often has high winds that can knock over full grown trees. They usually last
for a couple of seconds

Q &A

What is the expected duration of an individual microburst? Seldom longer than 15

minutes from the time the burst strikes the ground until dissipation

What is an important characteristic of wind shear?

It may be associated with either a wind shift or a wind speed gradient at any level in
the atmosphere.

What is the recommended technique to counter the loss of airspeed and resultant lift
from wind shear?

Maintain, or increase, pitch attitude and accept the lower-than-normal airspeed

indications.
Which is a definition of "severe wind shear"?

Any rapid change in wind direction or velocity which causes airspeed changes
greater than 15 knots or vertical speed changes greater than 500 ft/min.

What is a difference between an air mass thunderstorm and a steady-state

thunderstorm?

Air mass thunderstorm downdrafts and precipitation retard and reverse the
updrafts.

Hail

Hail is a form of precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice

(hailstones). Hailstones on Earth usually consist mostly of water ice and measure
between 5 and 50 millimetres in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe
thunderstorms.[1]

Hail is always produced by cumulonimbi (thunderclouds), usually at the front of the

storm system, and is composed of transparent ice or alternating layers of transparent and
translucent ice at least 1 mm thick. Small hailstones are less than 5 mm in diameter, and
are reported as SHGS. Unlike ice pellets, they are layered and can be irregular and
clumped together.

Hail forms on condensation nuclei such as dust, insects, or ice crystals, when supercooled
water freezes on contact. Hailstones are usually from the size of a pea to the size of a
golfball. In clouds containing large numbers of supercooled water droplets, these ice
nuclei grow quickly at the expense of the liquid droplets because the saturation vapor
pressure over ice is slightly less than the saturation vapor pressure over water. If the
hailstones grow large enough, latent heat released by further freezing may melt the outer
shell of the hailstone. The growth that follows, usually called wet growth, is more
efficient because the liquid outer shell allows the stone to accrete other smaller hailstones
in addition to supercooled droplets. These winds hold the rain and freeze it. As the
process repeats, the hail grows increasingly larger. Once a hailstone becomes too heavy to
be supported by the storm's updraft it falls out of the cloud. When a hailstone is cut in
half, a series of concentric rings, like that of an onion, is revealed. These rings reveal the
total number of times the hailstone had traveled to the top of the storm before falling to
the ground.

Hail forms in strong thunderstorm clouds, particularly those with intense updrafts, high
liquid water content, great vertical extent, large water droplets, and where a good portion
of the cloud layer is below freezing (0 °C (32 °F)). The growth rate is maximized at about
-13 °C (9 °F), and becomes vanishingly small much below -30 °C (-22 °F) as supercooled
water droplets become rare. For this reason, hail is most common in midlatitudes during
early summer where surface temperatures are warm enough to promote the instability
associated with strong thunderstorms, but the upper atmosphere is still cool enough to
support ice.

Accordingly, hail is actually less common in the tropics despite a much higher
frequency of thunderstorms than in the midlatitudes because the atmosphere over the
tropics tends to be warmer over a much greater depth.[citation needed] Also, entrainment of dry
air into strong thunderstorms over continents can increase the frequency of hail by
promoting evaporational cooling which lowers the freezing level of thunderstorm clouds
giving hail a larger volume to grow in.

Hail is also much more common along mountain ranges because mountains force
horizontal winds upwards (known as orographic lifting), thereby intensifying the updrafts
within thunderstorms and making hail more likely. One of the most notorious regions for
large hail is northern India and Bangladesh, which have reported more hail-related deaths
than anywhere else in the world and also some of the largest hailstones ever measured.
Mainland China is also notorious for killer hailstorms. Certain locations in North
America (such as the area around Calgary, Alberta) have gained the nickname "Hailstorm
Alley" among meteorologists for the frequency of hailstorms and their severity.[1]

Jet Stream

Jet stream is narrow band of wind with speed of 100 – 200 mph, usually associated with
Tropopause. They are formed by temperature differences in the upper atmosphere,
between the cold polar air and the warm tropical air. This abrupt change in temperature
causes a large pressure difference, which forces the air to move. Wind speeds can reach
300 miles per hour. Jet streams play a fundament role in our weather.

Clear air turbulence (or CAT as it is called), is the result of the air that is disrupted
around the jet stream. Picture a garden hose swirling around in the upper atmosphere
(picture above on the right). That is exactly what the jet stream looks like. At the inner
most part of the jet stream called the core, the velocity may be as high as 250 mph. As
you move away from the core, the velocity drops off so that at the edge it may be only 50
mph. At each point at which two differing velocities rub against each other, eddies
form causing the airflow to be disrupted from its nature to want to be smooth. Now
imagine we are flying through this area in our airplane. The variability in the disruption
will cause variations in the lift produced by the wings causing the airplane to bounce.

Q &A

Under what conditions would clear air turbulence (CAT) most likely be
encountered?
When constant pressure charts show 20-knot isotachs less than 60 NM apart.

Which action is recommended regarding an altitude change to get out of jet stream
turbulence?
Descend if ambient temperature is failing.

Clear air turbulence (CAT) associated with a mountain wave may extend as far as
5,000 feet above the tropopause.

What is a likely location of clear air turbulences?

in an upper trough on the polar side of a jet stream.

Which type jet stream can be expected to cause the greater turbulence?

A curving jet stream associated with a deep low pressure trough.

What action is recommended when encountering turbulence due to a wind shift

associated with a sharp pressure trough?
Establish a course across the trough.

Hazardous vortex turbulence that might be encountered behind large aircraft is

created only when that aircraft is
developing lift.

What effect would a light crosswind have on the wingtip vortices generated by a
large airplane that has just taken off?
The upwind vortex will tend to remain on the runway longer than the downwind
vortex.

Which type frontal system is normally crossed by the jet stream?

Occluded front.

A strong wind shear can be expected

on the low pressure side of a 100-knot jet stream core.
Where jetstreams are normally located? At the tropopause where intensified
temperature gradients are located.

A dry line, dew point line, or Marfa front[1] is an important factor in severe weather
frequency in the Great Plains of North America. It typically lies north-south across the
central and southern High Plains states during the spring and early summer, where it
separates moist air from the Gulf of Mexico (to the east) and dry desert air from the
south-western states (to the west).

The dry line is also sometimes important for severe convective storms in other smaller
regions of the world, particularly Bangladesh and adjacent eastern India, and south-
eastern South America.

Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by
snow and diffuse lighting from overcast clouds.