Intense winter lightning zaps Gulf Stream.Intense winter lightning zaps Gulf Stream Meteorologists Atmospheric scientists
a storm characterized by thunder and lightning caused by strong rising air currents; identified as agents of animal disease because of their involvement causing (1) spasmodic colic; (2) lightning strike; (3) injuries of cattle acquired in stampedes initiated by storms. as summertime phenomena powered by the sun's warning influence on the land surface. To their surprise, atmospheric scientists have discovered intense winter lightning over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. During early 1986, a network of lightning detectors recorded a high number of cloud-to-ground flashes off the coast of the Carolinas, reports Richard E. Orville of the State University of New York (body) State University of New York - (SUNY) The public university system of New York State, USA, with campuses throughout the state. at Albany. Over a two-month period in winter, one ocean region experienced an average of seven flashes per 10 square kilometers. For comparisons, it typically takes an entire year for an area of similar size in upstate New York Upstate New York is the region of New York State north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457. Were it an independent state, it would be ranked 13th by population. to accumulate the same number of flashes, Orville notes in the May GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Geophysical Research Letters is a publication of the American Geophysical Union. GRL is the organization's only letters journal. Since its introduction in 1974, GRL has published only short research letters, typically 3-5 pages long, which focus on a specific discipline or . His work combines data from the detection network with information gathered during a 1986 experiment studying winter storms that develop off the East Coast. Orville found the most lightning-intense regions about 250 to 300 km offshore in the vicinity of the warmest sea-surface temperatures (about 20 [degrees] C). the lightning activity spread across the width of the Gulf Stream. Until the 1986 winter storm experiment, scientists did not realize that warm water could generate strong convection of air currents, much like the convection driven by the sun-baked land surface during summer, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Peter V. Hobbs of the University of Washington in Seattle. In restrospect, Hobbs says, it makes sense that the heat from the Gulf Stream could cause air to rise and thereby trigger thunderstorms and lightning. Other ocean areas with warm currents may also experience winter lightning, and these regions could pose a hazard to passing aircraft and ships, says Hobbs. Violent thunderstorms over the Gulf Stream may account for nautical legends about the area, Hobbs adds. "Going back to the days of sailing ships, the region off Cape Hatteras Noun 1. Cape Hatteras - a promontory on Hatteras Island off the Atlantic coast of North Carolina; "frequent storms drive ships to their destruction on Cape Hatteras" [N.C.] has been known as graveyard for ships," he says. |
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