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Thunderstorms

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dik

Structural
Apr 13, 2001
25,842
In the Failures and Disasters forum there was an excellent website noted:


They have a part that notes Thunderstorms as one of the sub-items. In the thunderstorm part they reference J/kg. I suspect this gives a potential energy based on the mass of water vapour in the air? Is this correct? and other than a higher number indicating a greater potential for damage, is there anything else that someone can add?

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik
 
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Temperature difference? Electrical potential differences?
There is a lot of energy in a big thunderstorm.
When the tops are at 40k ft there is a lot of potential energy in many forms.

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P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed
 
Thanks Ed... some storm clouds are higher... I understand as high as 60,000ft... thanks. I don't know what the value K/kg represents since they can vary from 3000 to 5000 for what I would assume would be similar heights. Perhaps all energy? The real storm clouds are up there.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik
 
It's the convective available potential energy.

It is arrived at by integrating over the vertical height of the air column the temperature differences (the buoyancy it represents) between a physical volume of air and the air around it.

As the number increases more instability is present. More instability the more likely a storm will form. The greater the number the more powerful the storm will be. Above 1000 J/kg you will get 'something' of 'weather' while above 2000 J/kg you'll get a storm whose magnitude will increase with the number.

Keith Cress
kcress -
 
Thanks very much, Keith... I couldn't find any qualitative info on it...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik
 
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