Severe and Hazardous Weather

by Rauber, Robert M.; Charlevoix, Donna J.; Walsh, John E.

• ISBN13: 9780787294199
• ISBN10: 0787294195
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-01
• Publisher: Kendall Hunt Pub Co

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
Acknowledgments	xxv
Properties of the Atmosphere	1	(22)
Temperature	2	(6)
Focus 1.1 Extreme Cold in the Arctic	6	(2)
Pressure	8	(4)
Focus 1.2 Dangerous Weather Is Always Nearby	10	(2)
Moisture	12	(6)
Focus 1.3 Extreme Indoor Relative Humidity in Winter	16	(2)
On-line 1.1 Clouds	18	(1)
Wind	18	(2)
On-line 1.2 Scales of Atmospheric Motions	19	(1)
Test Your Understanding	20	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	21	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	22	(1)
Meteorological Measurements	23	(28)
Surface Measurements	24	(4)
Focus 2.1 The U.S. National Weather Service	25	(1)
On-line 2.1 ASOS Instruments	26	(1)
Focus 2.2 Weather Buoys---Sentinels of the Coastlines	27	(1)
Rawinsondes	28	(5)
Focus 2.3 Hodographs	31	(2)
Doppler Radar	33	(7)
Focus 2.4 Interpreting Radar Reflectivity	33	(3)
Focus 2.5 Doppler Radar and Tornadoes	36	(1)
Focus 2.6 Radar Estimated Precipitation and Flood Forecasting	37	(3)
Wind Profilers	40	(1)
Satellites	41	(3)
On-line 2.2 Six Views of Weather from Space	43	(1)
Commercial Aircraft Measurements	44	(1)
Lightning Detection	45	(2)
Test Your Understanding	47	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	47	(3)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	50	(1)
Weather Maps	51	(18)
The Surface Station Model and Surface Weather Maps	52	(3)
On-line 3.1 The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald---The Anniversary Storm	54	(1)
Pressure as a Vertical Coordinate	55	(1)
Constant Pressure Maps	55	(7)
Focus 3.1 500 mb Maps and Vorticity	59	(3)
Cross Sections	62	(3)
Focus 3.2 Upper Air Maps and the Internet	63	(1)
On-line 3.2 Upper Air Weather Maps and the 10-13 April 2001 Cyclone	63	(2)
Test Your Understanding	65	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	65	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	66	(3)
Forecasting and Simulating Severe Weather	69	(26)
Weather Forecasting by Computer Models	71	(12)
Focus 4.1 An Example for the Effect of the Initialization of a Model	76	(2)
Focus 4.2 The Origin of Numerical Weather Prediction	78	(3)
Focus 4.3 Synopsis of Operational NWP Models	81	(2)
On-line 4.1 Uncertainties in Numerical Weather Prediction Models	83	(1)
Limitations of Weather Forecast Models	83	(3)
On-line 4.2 An Illustration of Ensemble Forecasting	85	(1)
Research Models	86	(4)
On-line 4.3 Model Simulations Showing the Effect of Wind Shear on Thunderstorms	86	(2)
On-line 4.4 View a Simulation of a Hurricane, a Thunderstorm, a Tornado and a Landspout	88	(1)
Focus 4.4 A Perspective on Weather Prediction	89	(1)
Test Your Understanding	90	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	91	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	92	(3)
Atmospheric Stability	95	(20)
The Concept of Stability	96	(1)
Lapse Rates	97	(2)
Determining Stability	99	(6)
On-line 5.1 Infrared Satellite Imagery Captures the Diurnal Cycle of Atmospheric Stability	104	(1)
Lifting Mechanisms	105	(6)
Focus 5.1 Thunderstorms Over Mountains	107	(1)
On-line 5.2 Clear Daytime Skies Favor Severe Thunderstorm Development	108	(1)
Focus 5.2 Stability, Capping Inversions and Severe Storms	109	(1)
Focus 5.3 Some Other Practical Indices of Atmospheric Stability	110	(1)
Test Your Understanding	111	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	111	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	112	(3)
Forces and Force Balances	115	(16)
Forces That Affect Atmospheric Motion	116	(6)
Focus 6.1 Experience the Change of Pressure Across a Hurricane Wall	118	(2)
On-line 6.1 Experience the Coriolis Force	120	(2)
Newton's Laws of Motion	122	(1)
Force Balances	123	(1)
On-line 6.2 The Geostrophic Wind	124	(1)
Geostrophic Balance and the Jetstream	124	(4)
Focus 6.2 Flying and the Jetstream	126	(2)
Test Your Understanding	128	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	129	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	130	(1)
The Development of High- and Low-Pressure Systems	131	(18)
Force Imbalances	132	(8)
Focus 7.1 Multiple Jetstreaks	137	(3)
The Friction Layer	140	(2)
On-line 7.1 Effects of Friction on the Flow in High- and Low-Pressure Systems	142	(1)
Effects of Heating and Cooling	142	(2)
Focus 7.2 The World's Semi-Permanent High-Pressure Centers	144	(1)
The Development of High- and Low-Pressure Centers	144	(2)
On-line 7.2 Jetstreaks, Flow Curvature, and Low-Pressure Systems	145	(1)
Test Your Understanding	146	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	147	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	148	(1)
Airmasses and Fronts	149	(16)
Airmasses	150	(2)
Fronts	152	(9)
Focus 8.1 Frontal Symbols	153	(3)
Focus 8.2 Mountain Ranges and Fronts	156	(4)
On-line 8.1 Finding Cold and Warm Fronts in Surface Data	160	(1)
Test Your Understanding	161	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	161	(2)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	163	(2)
Extratropical Cyclones Forming East of the Rocky Mountains	165	(22)
The Environment Prior to the Development of a Cyclone	168	(1)
Focus 9.1 The Environment on the Great Plains During Cyclone Formation	168	(1)
The Initial Development of the Cyclone	169	(2)
Initial Movement of the Airmasses	171	(1)
Early Weather Along the Fronts	171	(5)
On-line 9.1 Alberta Clippers	175	(1)
Storm Intensification	176	(5)
Focus 9.2 Tracks of Cyclones Forming East of the Rockies	180	(1)
On-line 9.2 The 11 April 2001 Cyclone, a Spring Cyclone Associated with Many Types of Hazardous Weather	181	(1)
Storm Dissipation	181	(2)
On-line 9.3 Cutoff Lows	182	(1)
Test Your Understanding	183	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	183	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	184	(3)
Extratropical Cyclones Forming Along the East and Gulf Coasts	187	(20)
East Coast Cyclones	189	(9)
On-line 10.1 The Subtropical Jetstream and Water Vapor Satellite Imagery	192	(1)
Focus 10.1 Beach Erosion	193	(1)
Focus 10.2 A Meteorological ``Bomb''	194	(1)
Focus 10.3 The Blizzard of 1888	195	(2)
On-line 10.2 An Example of an East Coast Cyclone: The New Year Nor'easter	197	(1)
Focus 10.4 Name a Nor'easter?	198	(1)
Gulf Coast Cyclones	198	(4)
On-line 10.3 The Superstorm of 12 to 14 March 1993	199	(3)
Forecasting Coastal Cyclones	202	(2)
Test Your Understanding	204	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	205	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	206	(1)
Freezing Precipitation and Ice Storms	207	(16)
Supercooled Water	208	(1)
Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere during Freezing Precipitation	208	(9)
Focus 11.1 Wind and Ice Storms	210	(1)
Focus 11.2 The Roselawn, Indiana, ATR72 Aircraft Accident and Freezing Drizzle Aloft	211	(1)
Weather Patterns Associated with Freezing Precipitation	212	(1)
On-line 11.1 The 29-31 January 2002 Ice Storm in the Central United States	212	(2)
Focus 11.3 Warm Air Aloft!	214	(1)
On-line 11.2 The 1998 Northeast Ice Storm	215	(2)
Distribution of Freezing Precipitation in North America	217	(2)
Test Your Understanding	219	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	220	(2)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	222	(1)
Lake Effect Snowstorms	223	(18)
The Large-Scale Weather Pattern for Lake Effect Snowstorms	224	(1)
Lake Effect Snowstorm Development	225	(3)
Focus 12.1 The 1996 Veteran's Day Snowstorm in Cleveland, Ohio	227	(1)
Climatology of Lake Effect Snows	228	(3)
Organization of Lake Effect Snowfall	231	(7)
Focus 12.2 A Forecaster's Nightmare	233	(1)
Focus 12.3 Christmas in Buffalo	234	(3)
On-line 12.1 Lake Effect Circulations	237	(1)
Test Your Understanding	238	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	238	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	239	(2)
Cold Waves	241	(22)
Cold Outbreaks over North America	243	(10)
On-line 13.1 A Pacific Storm Builds a Ridge Over Western North America	245	(2)
On-line 13.2 A Polar Outbreak Reaches Florida in Late February 2002	247	(1)
Focus 13.1 Snow Cover: Nature's Refrigerator	248	(2)
Focus 13.2 The January 1999 Cold Air Outbreak: On the Heels of a Blizzard	250	(2)
Focus 13.3 A Generational Perspective on 20th Century Cold Waves	252	(1)
Extreme Cold in Europe and Asia	253	(3)
Wind Chill	256	(2)
Cold Wave Warnings	258	(2)
Focus 13.4 The Greatest Arctic Outbreak in the United States: February 1899	258	(2)
Test Your Understanding	260	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	261	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	262	(1)
Great Plains Blizzards	263	(14)
Focus 14.1 Hypothermia, Frostbite, and Blizzards	264	(2)
Focus 14.2 Wind Chill Factors and Blizzards	266	(1)
Cold, Wind, and Snow	266	(1)
Colorado Cyclones and Blizzards	267	(4)
Focus 14.3 The Winter of Blizzards	269	(2)
Alberta Clippers and Blizzards	271	(1)
Ground Blizzards	272	(1)
On-line 14.1 A Ground Blizzard from Space	273	(1)
Blizzard Safety	273	(1)
Test Your Understanding	274	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	274	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	275	(2)
Mountain Snowstorms	277	(18)
Focus 15.1 Avalanche!	279	(2)
Focus 15.2 Cloud Seeding	281	(1)
Source of Mountain Snowstorms	282	(3)
Characteristics of Snowstorms over Individual Mountain Ranges	285	(2)
Focus 15.3 The Chain Law	286	(1)
Storms on the East Slope of the Rockies	287	(5)
On-line 15.1 The 1 March 2002 Upslope Storm	289	(1)
Focus 15.4 The Christmas Blizzard of 1982	290	(2)
Test Your Understanding	292	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	293	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	294	(1)
Mountain Windstorms	295	(18)
Focus 16.1 Downslope Winds of the World	296	(2)
The Dynamics of Downslope Windstorms	298	(3)
On-line 16.1 Wave Cloud over the Western Plains	299	(2)
Cold versus Warm Chinooks	301	(2)
Focus 16.2 Chinook-The Legend	302	(1)
Focus 16.3 Rapid Temperature Fluctuations	303	(1)
Forecasting Chinooks	303	(3)
Santa Ana Windstorms of California	306	(2)
On-line 16.2 Weather Conditions during the Santa Ana	308	(1)
Katabatic Winds	308	(1)
Focus 16.4 Katabatic Winds in North America	309	(1)
Test Your Understanding	309	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	310	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	310	(3)
Thunderstorms	313	(24)
Airmass Thunderstorms	314	(2)
Focus 17.1 How Much Water Is in a Thunderstorm?	316	(1)
Squall Lines	316	(6)
On-line 17.1 A Strong Squall Line	319	(2)
Focus 17.2 The Bow Echo and Strong Straight-line Winds	321	(1)
On-line 17.2 Parallel Squall Lines	322	(1)
Multicell Thunderstorm Complexes	322	(3)
Focus 17.3 Colliding Gust Fronts	324	(1)
Supercell Thunderstorms	325	(8)
On-line 17.3 Vertical Wind Shear and Storm Structure	327	(1)
On-line 17.4 View of Supercells	328	(2)
Focus 17.4 Low Precipitation (LP) Supercells	330	(3)
Test Your Understanding	333	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	333	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	334	(3)
Tornadoes	337	(32)
On-line 18.1 A Tornado Gallery	338	(1)
Tornado Formation in Supercells	338	(11)
Focus 18.1 Tornado Winds	343	(3)
Focus 18.2 The Tri-State Tornado of 1925	346	(2)
Focus 18.3 The Worst Tonrado Outbreak in Recorded History: 3 to 4 April 1974	348	(1)
Tornado Formation within Non-supercell Thunderstorms	349	(3)
On-line 18.2 Non-supercell Tornadoes	349	(2)
Focus 18.4 Other Tornado-like Vortices	351	(1)
Tornado Statistics	352	(6)
On-line 18.3 Seasonal Variation of Tornado Frequency in the United States	357	(1)
Tornado Detection	358	(3)
Focus 18.5 Mobile Doppler Radars	360	(1)
On-line 18.4 The 3 May 1999 Oklahoma City Tornado	361	(1)
Tornado Forecasting	361	(2)
Tornado Safety	363	(1)
Test Your Understanding	364	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	365	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	366	(3)
Hailstorms	369	(22)
Focus 19.1 How Big Is a Hailstone?	372	(1)
Hail Embryo Formation	372	(2)
Hailstone Growth	374	(3)
Focus 19.2 Hail and ``Green'' Thunderstorms	376	(1)
Forecasting and Detection of Hail	377	(2)
Distribution and Impacts of Hail	379	(7)
Focus 19.3 Radar Polarization	380	(4)
Focus 19.4 Hail Suppression-Can Hail Damage Be Reduced?	384	(1)
On-line 19.1 Seasonal Variation of Hail in the United States	385	(1)
Test Your Understanding	386	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	387	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	388	(3)
Lightning	391	(16)
Focus 20.1 Lightning and Forest Fires	392	(2)
Electricity and Charge	394	(1)
Charging Mechanisms in Thuderstorms	394	(4)
Focus 20.2 Lightning in Hurricanes	397	(1)
The Lightning Stroke	398	(2)
On-line 20.1 Lightning from Space	400	(1)
Distribution of Lightning in the United States	400	(1)
Focus 20.3 Ball Lightning	401	(1)
Other Phenomena Associated with Electrical Discharges in the Atmosphere	401	(3)
Lightning Safety	404	(1)
Test Your Understanding	405	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	405	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	406	(1)
Downbursts	407	(22)
Downburst Formation	408	(2)
Downburst Structure	410	(5)
Focus 21.1 How Common Are Microbursts?	414	(1)
On-line 21.1 Animation of a Downburst Simulated by a Numerical Model	414	(1)
Types of Microbursts	415	(2)
Focus 21.2 Heatbursts: Warm Blasts from Downdrafts	417	(1)
The Problem for Aircraft	417	(5)
Focus 21.3 The JFK International Airport Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 66	420	(1)
Focus 21.4 The Andrews Air Force Microburst of 1983	421	(1)
Modern Technology to Detect Microbursts	422	(3)
On-line 21.2 Doppler Radar Detects a Microburst over Utah	423	(1)
Focus 21.5 Prediction of Conditions Favorable for Microbursts	424	(1)
Test Your Understanding	425	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	426	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	427	(2)
El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscillation	429	(18)
The Southern Oscillation	431	(2)
Evolution of an ENSO Event	433	(3)
On-line 22.1 Animation of the Sea Surface Temperatures during an El Nino Event	435	(1)
Consequences of El Nino	436	(3)
Focus 22.1 El Nino and Hurricane Activity	437	(1)
Focus 22.2 El Nino and Severe Winter Storms over North America	438	(1)
The La Nina Phase of the Southern Oscillation	439	(1)
On-line 22.2 A Three-Dimensional View of the El Nino/La Nina Cycle in the Ocean	439	(1)
Monitoring the Southern Oscillation	439	(3)
Focus 22.3 Monitoring the Tropical Pacific Ocean	441	(1)
Test Your Understanding	442	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	443	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	444	(3)
Tropical Cyclones	447	(34)
Focus 23.1 Hurricane Mitch---The Deadliest Atlantic Hurricane of the 20th Century	452	(2)
Focus 23.2 Hurricane Mitch---The Costliest Atlantic Hurricane of the 20th Century	454	(2)
Worldwide Hurricane Occurrences	456	(1)
Hurricane Tracks	456	(2)
Hurricane Structure	458	(5)
On-line 23.1 Hurricane Georges (1998)---An Example of an Asymmetric Eyewall	458	(3)
Focus 23.3 The Double Eyewall	461	(2)
Tropical Cyclone Development	463	(10)
On-line 23.2 Cloud Clusters and Tropical Cyclones from Space	466	(2)
On-line 23.3 Global Sea Surface Temperature	468	(1)
On-line 23.4 Wind Shear	469	(4)
Destructive Forces in a Hurricane	473	(2)
Focus 23.4 Disasters Waiting to Happen---the Threat of Storm Surge	475	(1)
Forecasting Hurricane Tracks and Intensity	475	(3)
Test Your Understanding	478	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	479	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	480	(1)
Floods	481	(32)
Focus 24.1 Worldwide Floods	482	(3)
Focus 24.2 Watersheds, River Stages, and Floodplains	485	(2)
Flooding Following Landfall of Tropical Cyclones	487	(3)
On-line 24.1 Tropical Storm Allison	487	(3)
Flooding from Squall Lines and Multicell Thunderstorm Complexes	490	(7)
Focus 24.3 Taming the Mighty Mississippi?	492	(1)
Focus 24.4 The Great Flood of 1993	493	(4)
Flooding from Frontal Overrunning	497	(1)
Flooding Compounded by Snowmelt	497	(3)
Mountain Thunderstorms and Flash Floods of the Southwest	500	(2)
West Coast Floods	502	(4)
On-line 24.2 Flooding in the Central Valley of California	506	(1)
Flood Forecasting and Safety	506	(3)
Focus 24.5 The Cleanup---Who's Responsible?	508	(1)
Test Your Understanding	509	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	510	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	511	(2)
Drought	513	(24)
Focus 25.1 Drought Disasters Occur Worldwide	514	(1)
Focus 25.2 Indices of Drought	515	(1)
Drought in the Central United States	516	(9)
Focus 25.3 Hotter Days and Cooler Nights during a Drought	520	(5)
Drought in the Eastern United States	525	(3)
On-line 25.1 Evolution of the 1999 Drought in the Eastern United States	527	(1)
Drought in the Western United States	528	(3)
Focus 25.4 Drought and Population Migration in the United States	530	(1)
On-line 25.2 The West Coast Ridge Prevails, Then Yields, during the 1991 Drought	531	(1)
Historical Perspective on Drought	531	(1)
Test Your Understanding	532	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	533	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	534	(3)
Heat Waves	537	(26)
Measures of Heat Stress	538	(4)
Focus 26.1 Heat Disorders and Safety Tips	540	(2)
Meteorological Conditions Associated with Heat Waves	542	(2)
Memorable Heat Waves of the Twentieth-Century	544	(14)
Focus 26.2 The ``Urban Heat Island:'' Oppressive Conditions for Millions	546	(2)
On-line 26.1 The Heat Index Soars in July 1995	548	(7)
On-line 26.2 The Heat Returns in August 2000	555	(3)
Focus 26.3 The 1930s and the Advent of Air-Conditioning	558	(1)
Temporal Perspective on Heat Waves	558	(1)
Test Your Understanding	559	(1)
Test Your Problem-Solving Skills	560	(1)
Use the Severe and Hazardous Weather Website	561	(2)
Appendix A Units, Conversions, and Constants	563	(4)
Appendix B Blank Maps and Charts	567	(6)
Appendix C Geography Overview	573	(4)
Appendix D Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Severe and Hazardous Weather	577	(4)
Sources and Additional Reading	581	(8)
Glossary	589	(18)
Index	607