After the super cell rains in Gaziantep and Kilis, the citizens started to investigate with concern. In the disaster area, where the earthquakes that shook Turkey were experienced, a super cell storm was observed while the heavy rains and flooding continued. After the storm and hail that hit Gaziantep and Kilis, citizens began to seek answers to the questions of what a super cell is and how it is formed. In the city, where hazelnut-sized hail was observed, the streets turned white due to the hail. So what causes thunderstorms and supercell storms, is it expected again?
What is a super cell?
A supercell is a strong thunderstorm that occurs in regions with high vertical winds due to extreme thermodynamic instability where angular wind direction changes in the upper atmosphere are high.
Supercell, one of the four subclasses of thunderstorm (supercell, boraline, multicell, and single cell), is the least common of these.
What does orage mean?
A thunderstorm is a weather event popularly known as a thunderstorm. This weather event, which is usually shaped by lightning, thunder and rain, occurs due to cumulonimbus clouds. Sometimes it may be accompanied by snow or hail. Thunderstorms that cause hail are called hailstorms. Cases of severe thunderstorms are called supercells.
Types of supercell
There are three types of supercells: "Low-precipitation: LP", "Classic" (Classic), "High-precipitation" (HP).
Low Precipitation Super Cell
The low-rainfall supercell usually forms during the summer season when humidity is low. Low-rain supercells are famous for their hail, sometimes with golf ball-sized hail without any rain.
Tornadoes seen in supercells with little precipitation are weaker compared to those with heavy precipitation or classical supercells. Because the air has lower humidity, the heat loss due to evaporation with precipitation is favorable for the development of downward air currents. In this regard, the hoses also have a shorter life. Since the humidity is low, the air parcel rising by convection will condense at a higher level, so the cloud base is quite high.
Classic Super Cell
Low rainfall and heavy rainfall supercells are usually the hybridized form of different types of thunderstorms, while the classical supercell is considered a pure form of the supercell. The most classic example is the type of storm called the Hook Echo, which has counterclockwise winds and looks like a comma on the radar. Where the comma bends, there is usually a cloud of tornadoes. The most severe tornadoes form under these storms. Depending on the humidity of the air, it can make hail in many different sizes.
Rainy Super Cell
A super cell with red bean appearance and abundant rainfall occurs in conditions where the amount of water carried by the air mass. Since they cause very heavy rainfall, visibility is very low, so the tornadoes of these storms are mostly undetected, so deaths due to tornadoes are most common in this type of storm.
How does a supercell storm occur?
In the upper atmosphere, extreme thermodynamic instability occurs due to the severity of the wind direction change. Because of this situation, the phenomenon called supercell or supercell occurs in regions where vertical winds are high. It is caused by the combination of high humidity, intense instability and trigger. This trigger could be a front or mountain forcing the air mass up. The temperature of the air in contact with the earth, the warming of a polar (polar) air mass as it moves towards low latitudes is among the conditions that can cause this.