"sting jets" and storms

[sarabande]

There is a recent study of the 1987 "hurricane" (sorry, Michael !) showing that "sting jets" may well be responsible for unexpected winds over 100mph.


I'd never heard of the beasties till I read this:-

http://www.iop.org/news/12/may/page_55259.html

 

[Seajet]

Sarabande,

thanks for that. I remember that day well, the normal laws of physics seemed to go out of the window; my boat of the time was sheltered behind an earth bank, but the wind sheared in half the exposed bulb of the deck light !

 

[oldbilbo]

That reminds me of reports from the 'Fastnet 79' storm that narrow 'low level jetstreams' were blowing intermittently across the sea surface at speeds above the range of masthead instruments.

A jetstream is defined as a ( relatively ) narrow stream/river of air with speed >60 knots, and it was once thought they were confined to the vicinity of the tropopause, i.e. about 5-6 miles up. Not so. Researchers and aviators found that 'jetstreams' could descend tortuously all the way to the surface in extreme storm events, and violent 'downbursts' are well known in aviation for producing aircraft crashes.

Just like the sea, the atmosphere is a wild, unruly and often unpredicable environment which, from time to time, is violent and lethal.