Storm

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A storm is any disturbed state of the

Storms have the potential to harm lives and property via storm surge, heavy rain or snow causing flooding or road impassibility, lightning, wildfires, and vertical and horizontal wind shear. Systems with significant rainfall and duration help alleviate drought in places they move through. Heavy snowfall can allow special recreational activities to take place which would not be possible otherwise, such as skiing and snowmobiling.

The English word comes from

Boundary Waters – Canadian derecho of 1999.

Snow storm in New York City.

L'Ocean

• Blizzard – There are varying definitions for blizzards, both over time and by location. In general, a blizzard is accompanied by gale-force winds, heavy snow (accumulating at a rate of at least 5 centimeters (2 in) per hour), and very cold conditions (below approximately −10 degrees Celsius or 14 F). Lately, the temperature criterion has fallen out of the definition across the United States.^[2]
• Bomb cyclone – A rapid deepening of a mid-latitude cyclonic low-pressure area, typically occurring over the ocean, but can occur over land. The winds experienced during these storms can be as powerful as that of a typhoon or hurricane.
• Coastal storm – Large
  wind waves and/or storm surge that strike the coastal zone. Their impacts include coastal erosion and coastal flooding.^[3]
• Derecho – A derecho is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a land-based, fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms.
• Dust devil – A small, localized updraft of rising air.
• Dust storm – A situation in which winds pick up large quantities of sand or soil, greatly reducing visibility.
• bombings of Dresden. Nuclear detonations
  generate firestorms if high winds are not present.
• extratropical storm with sustained winds between 34 and 48 knots (39–55 mph or 63–90 km/h).^[4]
• Hailstorm – A type of storm that precipitates round chunks of ice. Hailstorms usually occur during regular thunderstorms. While most of the hail that precipitates from the clouds is fairly small and virtually harmless, there are occasional occurrences of hail greater than 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter that can cause much damage and injuries.
• Ice storm – ^[5] Ice storms are one of the most dangerous forms of winter storms. When surface temperatures are below freezing, but a thick layer of above-freezing air remains aloft, rain can fall into the freezing layer and freeze upon impact into a glaze of ice. In general, 8 millimetres (0.31 in) of accumulation is all that is required, especially in combination with breezy conditions, to start downing power lines as well as tree limbs.^[6] Ice storms also make unheated road surfaces too slick to drive upon. Ice storms can vary in time range from hours to days and can cripple small towns and large metropolitan cities alike.
• Microburst
   – A very powerful windstorm produced during a thunderstorm that only lasts a few minutes.
• Ocean Storm or sea storm – Storm conditions out at sea are defined as having sustained winds of 48 knots (55 mph or 90 km/h) or greater.^[4] Usually just referred to as a storm, these systems can sink vessels of all types and sizes.
• Eastern India and Bangladesh
  in the late Spring and early Summer.
• Snowstorm
   – A heavy fall of snow accumulating at a rate of more than 5 centimeters (2 in) per hour that lasts several hours. Snow storms, especially ones with a high liquid equivalent and breezy conditions, can down tree limbs, cut off power connections and paralyze travel over large regions.
• Squall – Sudden onset of wind increase of at least 16 knots (30 km/h) or greater sustained for at least one minute.
• precipitation. Thunderstorms occur throughout the world, with the highest frequency in tropical rainforest regions where there are conditions of high humidity and temperature along with atmospheric instability. These storms occur when high levels of condensation form in a volume of unstable air that generates deep, rapid, upward motion in the atmosphere. The heat energy creates powerful rising air currents that swirl upwards to the tropopause
  . Cool descending air currents produce strong downdraughts below the storm. After the storm has spent its energy, the rising currents die away and downdraughts break up the cloud. Individual storm clouds can measure 2–10 km across.
• Tornado – A tornado is a violent, destructive whirlwind storm occurring on land. Usually its appearance is that of a dark, funnel-shaped cloud. Often tornadoes are preceded by or associated with thunderstorms and a wall cloud. They are often called the most destructive of storms, and while they form all over the planet, the interior of the United States is the most prone area, especially throughout Tornado Alley.
• cyclonic nature. Tropical cyclones are distinguished from other cyclonic storms such as nor'easters and polar lows by the heat mechanism that fuels them, which makes them "warm core" storm systems. Tropical cyclones form in the oceans if the conditions in the area are favorable, and depending on their strength and location, there are various terms by which they are called, such as tropical depression, tropical storm, hurricane and typhoon.^[7]
• Wind storm – A storm marked by high wind with little or no precipitation.[8] Windstorm damage often opens the door for massive amounts of water and debris to cause further damage to a structure.^[9] European windstorms and derechos are two type of windstorms.^[10] High wind is also the cause of sandstorms in dry climates.

A strict

Storms do not only occur on Earth; other planetary bodies with a sufficient atmosphere (giant planets in particular) also undergo stormy weather. The Great Red Spot on Jupiter provides a well-known example.^[11] Though technically an anticyclone, with greater than hurricane wind speeds, it is larger than the Earth and has persisted for at least 340 years, having first been observed by astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini. Neptune also had its own lesser-known Great Dark Spot.

In September 1994, the

The dust storms of Mars vary in size, but can often cover the entire planet. They tend to occur when Mars comes closest to the Sun, and have been shown to increase the global temperature.^[13]

One particularly large Martian storm was exhaustively studied up close due to coincidental timing. When the first

Shipwrecks are common with the passage of strong tropical cyclones. Such shipwrecks can change the course of history,^[17] as well as influence art and literature. A hurricane led to a victory of the Spanish over the French for control of Fort Caroline, and ultimately the Atlantic coast of North America, in 1565.^[18] Strong winds from any storm type can damage or destroy vehicles, buildings, bridges, and other outside objects, turning loose debris into deadly flying projectiles. In the United States,

The storm surge, or the increase in sea level due to the cyclone, is typically the worst effect from landfalling tropical cyclones, historically resulting in 90% of tropical cyclone deaths.^[21] The relatively quick surge in sea level can move miles/kilometers inland, flooding homes and cutting off escape routes. The storm surges and winds of hurricanes may be destructive to human-made structures, but they also stir up the waters of coastal estuaries, which are typically important fish breeding locales.

Cloud-to-ground lightning frequently occurs within the phenomena of thunderstorms and have numerous hazards towards landscapes and populations. One of the more significant hazards lightning can pose is the wildfires they are capable of igniting.^[22] Under a regime of low precipitation (LP) thunderstorms, where little precipitation is present, rainfall cannot prevent fires from starting when vegetation is dry as lightning produces a concentrated amount of extreme heat.^[23] Wildfires can devastate vegetation and the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Wildfires that occur close to urban environments can inflict damages upon infrastructures, buildings, crops, and provide risks to explosions, should the flames be exposed to gas pipes. Direct damage caused by lightning strikes occurs on occasion.^[24] In areas with a high frequency for cloud-to-ground lightning, like Florida, lightning causes several fatalities per year, most commonly to people working outside.^[25]

Precipitation with low

The combined effects can lead to a "snow day" on which gatherings such as school, work, or church are officially canceled. In areas that normally have very little or no snow, a snow day may occur when there is only light accumulation or even the threat of snowfall, since those areas are unprepared to handle any amount of snow. In some areas, such as some states in the United States, schools are given a yearly quota of snow days (or "calamity days"). Once the quota is exceeded, the snow days must be made up.^[34][35][36] In other states, all snow days must be made up.^[37] For example, schools may extend the remaining school days later into the afternoon, shorten spring break, or delay the start of summer vacation.

Accumulated snow is removed to make travel easier and safer, and to decrease the long-term effect of a heavy snowfall. This process uses shovels and snowplows, and is often assisted by sprinkling salt or other chloride-based chemicals, which reduce the melting temperature of snow.^[38] In some areas with abundant snowfall, such as Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, people harvest snow and store it surrounded by insulation in ice houses. This allows the snow to be used through the summer for refrigeration and air conditioning, which requires far less electricity than traditional cooling methods.^[39]

Hail can cause serious damage, notably to

Hail is one of the most significant thunderstorm hazards to aircraft.^[47] When hail stones exceed 0.5 inches (13 mm) in diameter, planes can be seriously damaged within seconds.^[48] The hailstones accumulating on the ground can also be hazardous to landing aircraft. Strong wind outflow from thunderstorms causes rapid changes in the three-dimensional wind velocity just above ground level. Initially, this outflow causes a headwind that increases airspeed, which normally causes a pilot to reduce engine power if they are unaware of the wind shear. As the aircraft passes into the region of the downdraft, the localized headwind diminishes, reducing the aircraft's airspeed and increasing its sink rate. Then, when the aircraft passes through the other side of the downdraft, the headwind becomes a tailwind, reducing lift generated by the wings, and leaving the aircraft in a low-power, low-speed descent. This can lead to an accident if the aircraft is too low to effect a recovery before ground contact. As the result of the accidents in the 1970s and 1980s, in 1988 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration mandated that all commercial aircraft have on-board wind shear detection systems by 1993. Between 1964 and 1985, wind shear directly caused or contributed to 26 major civil transport aircraft accidents in the U.S. that led to 620 deaths and 200 injuries. Since 1995, the number of major civil aircraft accidents caused by wind shear has dropped to approximately one every ten years, due to the mandated on-board detection as well as the addition of Doppler weather radar units on the ground. (NEXRAD)^[49]

Many

According to the Bible, a giant storm sent by God flooded the Earth.

The Gilgamesh flood myth is a deluge story in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In Greek mythology Aeolus, keeper of storm-winds, squalls and tempests.

The

, but all aboard survived for nearly a year on the island. The British colonists claimed the island and quickly settled Bermuda. In May 1610, they set forth for Jamestown, this time arriving at their destination.

The children's novel

1939 MGM movie, it is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success, and the success of the popular 1902 Broadway musical which Baum adapted from his original story, led to Baum's writing thirteen more Oz books

.

Hollywood director

Galveston Hurricane of 1900 as a boy. Based on that experience, he published a fictionalized account of that cyclone, titled "Southern Storm", for the May 1935 issue of Esquire magazine. Erik Larson excerpts a passage from that article in his 2005 book, Isaac's Storm:^[57]

I remember now that it seemed as if we were in a bowl looking up toward the level of the sea. As we stood there in the sandy street, my mother and I, I wanted to take my mother's hand and hurry her away. I felt as if the sea was going to break over the edge of the bowl and come puring down upon us.

Numerous other accounts of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 have been made in print and in film. Larson cites many of them in Isaac's Storm, which centrally features that storm, as well as chronicles the creation of the Weather Bureau (which came to known as the National Weather Service) and that agency's fateful rivalry with the weather service in Cuba, and a number of other major storms, such as those which ravaged Indianola, Texas in 1875 and 1886.^[57]

The

Great Storm of 1703^[58] (284 years earlier) and was responsible for the deaths of at least 22 people in England and France combined (18 in England, at least four in France).^[59]

Hurricane Katrina (2005) has been featured in a number of works of fiction.

In fine art

The Romantic seascape painters J. M. W. Turner and Ivan Aivazovsky created some of the most lasting impressions of the sublime and stormy seas that are firmly imprinted on the popular mind. Turner's representations of powerful natural forces reinvented the traditional seascape during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Upon his travels to Holland, he took note of the familiar large rolling waves of the English seashore transforming into the sharper,

choppy waves of a Dutch storm. A characteristic example of Turner's dramatic seascape is The Slave Ship

of 1840. Aivazovsky left several thousand turbulent canvases in which he increasingly eliminated human figures and historical background to focus on such essential elements as light, sea, and sky. His grandiose Ninth Wave (1850) is an ode to human daring in the face of the elements.

In motion pictures

The 1926 silent film

disaster relief effort by the American Red Cross, directed by Clara Barton. The Johnstown Flood was depicted in numerous other media

(both fictional and in non-fiction), as well.

hurricane late in its life cycle.^[60]

In music

Storms have also been portrayed in many works of music. Examples of storm music include Vivaldi's Four Seasons violin concerto RV 315 (Summer) (third movement: Presto), Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony (the fourth movement), a scene in Act II of Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville, the third act of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, and the fifth (Cloudburst) movement of Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite.

Gallery

• 
  Lightning within the cloud causes the entire blanket to illuminate.
• 
  High Desert storm approaches at sunset.
• 
  Heavy storm brought by Severe Tropical Storm Sanvu in Hong Kong.
• 
  Winter North Atlantic storm strength Beaufort 9 causing extremely high waves.
• 
  Storm

  starboard

  , causing water on deck.

See also

• Anticyclonic storm
• ARkStorm
• Atlantic hurricane
• Cyclone
• Dust storm
• Extreme weather, a list of historical storms and other extreme weather
• Geomagnetic storm
• Heat storm
• Nor'easter
• Perfect storm
• Pulse storm
• Salt storm
• Splitting storm
• Superstorm
• Tornado
• Tropical cyclone
• Hypercane

References

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6. ^ City of Kent, Washington. Snow/Ice Storm. Archived 28 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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External links

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Storm" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Media related to Storms at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of storm at Wiktionary
• Quotations related to Storm at Wikiquote