Fresh Weather Sparks Vocabulary Expansion
Revisiting our open-air journal: We're diving into a breeze of past stories from our platform in print. From sweltering heat domes to wild atmospheric rivers and intense bombogenesis, headlines are constantly whipping up new terms for extreme weather events. Is this jargon beneficial or just a muddled message from meteorologists? Fast forward to March 2024, and journalist Nate Byrne shared some insight on this subject – let's see what blew our minds!
Weather, a simple yet complex science, is a beast full of surprises. While we master the theory, unpredictable happenings are inevitable. The atmosphere, primarily the lowest layer known as the troposphere, behaves like a vast, ever-changing ocean, with unique features appearing from time to time.
Undoubtedly, the biggest challenge in understanding weather lies not in the science, but in the language.
For centuries, we've tossed around weather terms as part of everyday conversation, even before we attempted to grasp the underlying principles. Formally defining these everyday words seemed essential to progress.
Embarking upon a sizzling stroll down memory lane, we discovered joyful adjectives like "fine" (no rain), sensuous "sultry" (hot and humid), foreboding "oppressive" (hot with no wind), and the curious "haboob" (a dust storm). These phrases have long lingered in the weatherman's vernacular.
But as our planet's temperature rises, giving birth to bizarre and often record-breaking weather events, language must evolve to keep up.
In the scientific community, specialists often speak in jargon – yet, thecommon folk hunger for knowledge about the weather, and scientists are eager to share. In a world alarmed by increasingly strange weather patterns, jargon is migrating from the labs into the headlines.
These scientific terms may not be universally understood, but that hasn't deterred journalists from boldly using the most attention-grabbing words in attention-grabbing ways – even catching forecasters unawares!
Some of these relatively recent lexicon entries are prevalent in the Northern Hemisphere but are starting to gain traction here too – sometimes because they clarify the situation, and more frequently just because they sound intriguing.
That said, fasten your seatbelts as I guide you through some unusual and popular weather terms you may have spotted in your news feed, complete with weather nerdiness and a few corrections to the record.
Omega Block
Let's kick things off with a quick flyover synthesizing weather fundamentals to establish the scene for the mysterious Omega Block.
When you cast your eyes upon a weather map, you're looking at a thin slice of the sky near the surface. Useful for describing the winds we experience, it lacks thoroughness as we ascend.
Upper disturbances, like jet streams, reside in the higher reaches of the troposphere. Powerful currents of air racing overhead have a direct yet unpredictable impact on the weather at ground level.
Jet streams wrap around each hemisphere, traveling west to east at over 100 km/h. They can split, creating the elusive Omega Block when their flow creates a closed loop that resembles the Greek letter Ω (or its inverse form Ʊ).
As it unfolds across the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, the Omega Block leaves a high-pressure system sitting in the center, surrounded by two lows on either side. The stable block pattern can last for days or even weeks, leading to persistent weather conditions.
Heat Dome
Situated within the confines of an Omega Block, a Heat Dome forms when the relentless high remains in place for an extended period, allowing oppressive heat to accumulate. While the air within a high generally descends, the lows on either side lift air into the upper atmosphere, only to fall back down later, completing the cycle.
Under clear skies, the sun beats upon the ground, warming the slow-moving surface winds to create hot, dry conditions – leading to extended heatwaves that can dry up vegetation and heighten the fire danger.
Bombogenesis
Not entirely separate but generally not directly related, Bombogenesis denotes a low-pressure system undergoing rapid intensification – more than 24 millibars within 24 hours.
The term bombogenesis came into use among meteorologists as a casual way of discussing fast-changing weather systems. Every low is technically "cyclonic," but deeper lows bring wilder weather. The rapid drop in pressure in the center of a low can create dangerous systems like severe East Coast Lows, characterized by widespread flooding and damaging winds.
Atmospheric River
Next up, we have the Atmospheric River, an unofficial term I wholeheartededly embrace as it transforms abstract concepts into captivating stories without the tabloid spin.
Water vapor, an invisible gas that emits specific infrared wavelengths, can be detected in the atmosphere and appears to flow like rivers. Starting from warm tropical waters, moisture is transported polewards in a narrow band, creating a conveyor belt of water vapor.
When Atmospheric Rivers move towards the poles, atmospheric flow results in an air mass moving higher in the atmosphere, eventually culminating in intense precipitation. These events contribute to both the benefits of ending droughts and the dangers of causing flooding and landslides if the moisture content is excessive.
Long Story Short
The enchanted expanse of the sky enthralls us all, yet few truly comprehend its vastness and interconnectedness. These terms aim to simplify weather complexities and make the world more manageable – but only to an extent. So, gear up for more weather wisdom!
Pyrocumulonimbus, anyone?
First published by Cosmos Magazine as "New Weather Needs New Words."
The terms used to describe weather, despite often appearing as jargon, play a critical role in the scientific community's efforts to share knowledge about ongoing climate change and its effects on the environment, such as the unprecedented heatwaves or extreme precipitation events. These words, including 'heat dome', 'bombogenesis', and 'atmospheric river', help transform complex concepts into understandable stories. However, it is crucial to remember that these terms only provide a simplified view of the intricate workings of the weather and climate-change system, and a deeper understanding requires continuous study and exploration of this subject.
