Sting jet
A sting jet is a meteorological phenomenon which is believed to be the cause of the most damaging winds in European windstorms.
Following reanalysis of the Great Storm of 1987, led by Professor Keith Browning at the University of Reading, researchers identified a mesoscale flow where the most damaging winds were shown to be emanating from the evaporating tip of the hooked cloud head on the southern flank of the cyclone. This cloud, hooked like a scorpion's tail, gives the wind region its name the "Sting Jet".[1]
It is thought that a zone of strong winds, originating from within the mid-tropospheric cloud head of an explosively deepening depression, are enhanced further as the "jet" descends, drying out and evaporating a clear path through snow and ice particles. The evaporative cooling leading to the air within the jet becoming denser, leading to an acceleration of the downward flow towards the tip of the cloud head when it begins to hook around the cyclone centre. Windspeeds in excess of 80 kn (150 km/h) can be associated with the Sting jet.[2]
It has since been reproduced in high-resolution runs with the mesoscale version of the Unified Model. The Sting jet is distinct from the usual strong-wind region associated with the warm conveyor belt and main cold front. There are indications that conditional symmetric instability also plays a role in its formation but the importance of these processes remains to be quantified.[3][4]
One storm, Cyclone Tilo (November 6-11, 2007) has also been analysed and found not to display a sting jet, despite displaying strong surface winds and a fractured cold front.[4]
Contents |
[edit] Extratropical cyclones displaying sting jet phenomena
| Cyclone | Type | Date | Reference | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Storm of 1987 | European windstorm | October 15-17, 1987 | [5][6][7] | Southern England |
| Oratia | European windstorm | October 30, 2000 | [7] | unknown |
| Anna | European windstorm | February 26, 2002 | [8] | Central Pennines, England |
| Jeanette | European windstorm | October 27, 2002 | [9][10] | unknown |
| Erwin | European windstorm | January 2005 | [10][11][12] | Northern England |
[edit] Extratropical cyclones proposed as displaying sting jet phenomena
| Cyclone | Type | Date | Reference | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friedhelm | European windstorm | December 8, 2011 | [13][14][15] | Scottish Central Belt |
| Ulli | European windstorm | January 3–4, 2012 | [16][17][18] | Scottish Central Belt |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Damaging winds from European cyclones The Royal Society, retrieved 2007-17-10
- ^ Meteorological glossary Booty.org, retrieved 2007-17-10
- ^ Cyclonic storms UWERN newsletter, retrieved 2007-17-10
- ^ a b Gray, S. L.; Martínez-Alvarado, O., Baker, L. H. and Clark, P. A. (2011). "Conditional symmetric instability in sting-jet storms". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 137: 1482–1500. doi:10.1002/qj.859.
- ^ Browning, K. A. (2004). "The sting at the end of the tail: Damaging winds associated with extratropical cyclones". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 130 (597): 375–399. doi:10.1256/qj.02.143.
- ^ Clark, P. A.; Browning, K. A. and Wang, C. (2005). "The sting at the end of the tail: Model diagnostics of fine-scale three-dimensional structure of the cloud head". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 131 (610): 2263–2292. doi:10.1256/qj.04.36.
- ^ a b "A sting in the tale of the Great Storm". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/4793429/A-sting-in-the-tale-of-the-Great-Storm.html. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Martínez-Alvarado, Oscar; Florian Weidle, Suzanne L. Gray (2010). "Sting Jets in Simulations of a Real Cyclone by Two Mesoscale Models". Monthly Weather Review 138 (11): 4054–4075. doi:10.1175/2010MWR3290.1.
- ^ Parton, G. A.; Vaughan, G., Norton, E. G., Browning, K. A. and Clark, P. A. (2009). "Wind profiler observations of a sting jet". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 135 (640): 663–680. doi:10.1002/qj.398.
- ^ a b Baker, Laura (2009). "Sting jets in severe northern European wind storms". Weather 64 (6): 143–148. doi:10.1002/wea.397.
- ^ Knox et al. (2011). "Non-Convective High Winds Associated with Extratropical Cyclones" (pdf). Geography Compass 5/2. http://sercc.com/Knox_etal_Compass.pdf). Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "stingjets". Geographical Association. http://www.geography.org.uk/download/GA_FloodingCarlisleStingJets.pdf. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ "Weather: A storm called Friedhelm". Meteogroup. http://www.meteogroup.co.uk/weather-news/news/ch/3d9003faf69698553efe8e9eb170ae75/article/a_storm_called_friedhelm.html. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "Northern UK, Scotland Battered by Windstorm Friedhelm: AIR Analysis". AIR worldwide. http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2011/12/12/226928.htm. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "Cyclone Friedhelm: a potential sting jet case". NCAS blog, Leeds University. http://ncasweb.leeds.ac.uk/diamet/index.php?view=article&catid=48%3Ablog&id=101%3Acyclone-friedhelm-a-potential-sting-jet-case&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=60. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Winter storm blasts the UK" (flash). BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/feeds/16394412. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "“Sting Jet” signature associated with a high wind event in Scotland". Space Science and Engineering Center CIMSS Satellite Blog. http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/9502. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ Grumm, Richard H.. "Scottish Windstorm 3 January 2012". National Weather Service-Pennsylvania State University Weather Events. National Weather Service-Pennsylvania State University. http://nws.met.psu.edu/severe/2012/03Jan2012.pdf. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
