In Case You've Wondered

My blog is where my wandering thoughts are interspersed with stuff I made up. So, if while reading you find yourself confused about the context, don't feel alone. I get confused, too.

If you're here for the stories, I started another blog: scratchingforchange.blogspot.com

One other thing: sometimes I write words you refuse to use in front of children, or polite company, unless you have a flat tire, or hit your thumb with a hammer.

I don't use them to offend; I use them to embellish.

jescordwaineratgmail.com

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Outflow Boundary

We have an outflow boundary approaching. What's that? It's where rain cooled air from a large cluster of thunderstorms pushes under warmer, moister air and causes it to rise. The result is a line of thunderstorms, or showers that is usually pretty impressive on the radar. They look like a cold front on radar; and they are, in a way, but instead of a cool, high pressure dome to clear away the system, the unstable air can remain until a real front arrives and pushes the entire mess away.
Posted by at
Labels:

4 comments:

  1. B.C.October 11, 2014 at 11:47 PM

    We get 'em here in West-Central FL almost every day in the summer. Beautiful things if they're not bringing trees or limbs down on you. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JessOctober 12, 2014 at 8:05 AM

      We get some really powerful outflows. One, which I wrote about, traversed from North Texas to the coast. At the time, I didn't know anything about the systems. Since then, I've watched them on radar, or in water vapor satellite loops.

      The most interesting, to me, are what appear like a smoke ring; when there is nothing to steer a large thunderstorm, and it remains nearly still. The super cooled bow cloud traverses in all directions and creates a large ring on the radar.

      Delete
    2. B.C.October 13, 2014 at 6:25 PM

      Yup. Things of beauty, they are. Here, we also get almost-daily seabreezes that show up on the radar. Watching the seabreeze run into outflow boundaries and create new thunderstorms is one of the things I do for fun. [It also helps in figuring out which part of the county might be dry enough to set on fire the next day. :-) ]

      Delete
    3. JessOctober 13, 2014 at 6:32 PM

      They can appear from nowhere. A group of thunderstorms build dozens of miles away, the cold air creates more, and the entire system rolls in on what started as a clear, beautiful day.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)