@chopperguyhd Here's a closer look at today's microburst over Phoenix pic.twitter.com/jkXuRvXL3k
— Bruce Haffner (@chopperguyhd) July 19, 2016
Some of the predictions of climate change models include:
● warmer, more moist atmosphere
● more energy in the atmosphere
● more variable weather
● more violent weather
● less frequent, but more intense rain
All of these come together in a wet microburst,1 less formally known as a rain bomb. Winds up to 250 kph (150 mph) are generated.2 On Tuesday 19 July in Phoenix, much the same thing happened, but because the radar footprint was larger than 4 kilometres (2.5 miles), it is called a wet macroburst.1
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-29/forget-tornadoes-rain-bombs-are-coming-for-your-town
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/07/19/microbursts_like_the_one_that_hovered_over_phoenix_work_like_tornadoes_in.html
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1 Wikepedia: “Microburst”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microburst
2 NOAA: “What is a microburst?”, http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/?n=microbursts / Tornadoes rain bombs evidence sky water larger and larger cascades storm an inch of rain down 23 people died West Virginia flooding peak more than 8 inches fell within half a day once-every-1,000 years rain storm maelstrom dropped five times as much rain as normal Houston more than a dozen people died city's fifth major flood rainfall is trending higher most dramatic recent image Bruce Haffner Phoenix TV helicopter pilot looks like 20-megaton warhead going off rain bomb phenomenon known meteorology circles wet microburst supposed to happen rarely conditions must be just right thunderstorm dry patch of air sucks moisture away air underneath the storm cloud cools making it more dense air around it cooler air drop into even warmer air accelerates air can blast out of the sky more than 150 miles per hour 250 kilometres per hour deflects off the ground pushes winds outward tornado strength Phoenix event macroburst radar footprint wider than 2.5 miles Amber Sullins chief meteorologist ABC-15 News scientists understand mechanics small-scale weather events rain bombs tornadoes severe thunderstorms modest improvements projections storms behave changing atmosphere region research showing rain events less frequent more intense climate change our new reality Sullins known much greater confidence climatologists storms continue intensify stockpiling water vapor atmosphere building worldwide arsenal rain bombs wet microbursts macrobursts typical Noah-scale deluges study climate change relationship to war sky keeps falling is clearer human activity increased amount carbon dioxide CO2 air atmosphere more than 40 percent above pre-industrial levels CO2 climate pollutants trap more heat in the atmosphere hotter atmosphere holds more water 4 percent more degree Fahrenheit rise average temperature more water vapor energy more intense storms lots more water once-every-five-year storms occurred 40 percent more often normal U.S.A. USA every three years five-year storms 80 percent more frequently than expected Ken Kunkel scientist NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Information amount of rain is increasing amount extreme rain increasing Earth's land masses year 2010 88 percent more broken records occurred stable climate study German researchers from 1981 to 2010 12 percent more record-breaking rainstorms occurred worldwide than would have happened without human influence implies that over the last 30 years, roughly one in ten record-breaking events would not have occurred without climate change scientists rain bomb land lightning will strike next clear wide-ranging research human activity climate change global warming /
