THEThe bad weather of the last few days in Northern Italy and of the last few hours, in particular, in the Milan area, is a consequence, experts say, of climate change. As a result of global warming some subtropical weather phenomena, such as downbursts and supercells, are and will be more and more frequent here too, in Europe. These are very violent air motions capable of felling trees or uncovering roofsas has happened in the last few hours in Milan.
Bad weather, what is the downburst
Meteorologists explain what the downburst is Gea Ets. It is a meteorological phenomenon that can form during a thunderstorm when the descending current, downdraft, is very strong and reaches the ground crashing violently on it and causing a ‘burst’. At this point the air expands horizontally at varying speeds and causing powerful gusts of wind.
A tornado? It doesn’t look like us
In this typical phenomenon of seasonal changes, warm air rises. And at the same time the cold one that is higher up descends as in a corridor, crashing very fast to the ground. Hence the bursting sensation. And then it spreads with very violent winds parallel to the ground.
A photo of downburst, a finalist in the Storm Photos of the Year contest. The author is Danijel Palcic Danijel Palcic/Storm Photos of the Year/Cover Images/INSTARimages.com
The downburst is therefore very different from a tornado, in which the movement of the wind is circular. It is dangerous, it can be associated with precipitation (both rain and hail), and then it is called a wet downburst. If there is no or no significant precipitation, it is called a dry downburst.
The thunderstorm supercell
The technical term supercell is used by meteorologists to indicate thunderstorms in which there is a rotation of the currents and a mesocyclone, or an area of low pressure accompanied by strong winds. A rotating storm, therefore, which is typical, in its most extreme manifestations, of the American plains. Where it reaches 50 kilometers in diameter. In reality, even in Europe they have practically always existed, but they do not occur with this intensity and frequency.
In recent days in the Po Valley, due to the Cerberus and Charon anticyclones, there was a lot of heat and humidity. So that at the first collision with cold air the supercell released large quantities of water and ice.
iO Woman © REPRODUCTION RESERVED