The short and the long of storms: Tracing a storm's life with a trifecta of data
Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - 10:30
in Earth & Climate
(Phys.org)—The genesis of a thunderstorm determines its duration. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that the lifetime of large storm systems lasting less than six hours can be traced to the intensity of the storm's initial onset. In storms lasting longer than six hours, they found the storm magnifies when the relative humidity is up to 50 percent higher and, as the storm deepens, has a 40 percent change in the difference between the winds at the top and bottom of the storm. These two conditions feed a continuous growth of the system's rain area which prolongs the storm lifetime.