In what ways are multicell thunderstorms different from ordinary thunderstorms? What are some of the meteorological or atmospheric conditions that favor the development of multicell thunderstorms?

Question

What will be the ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER: Thunderstorms that contain a number of cells, each in a different stage of development, are called multicell thunderstorms. Such storms tend to form in a region of moderate-to-strong vertical wind speed shear. In these storms wind speed increases rapidly with height, producing strong wind speed shear. This type of shearing causes the cell inside the storm to tilt in such a way that the updraft actually rides up and over the downdraft. The rising updraft is capable of generating new cells that go on to become mature thunderstorms. Precipitation inside the storm does not fall into the updraft (as it does in the ordinary cell thunderstorm), so the storm’s fuel supply is not cut off and the storm complex can survive for a long time. Long-lasting multicell storms can become intense and produce severe weather for brief periods. When convection is strong and the updraft intense, the rising air may actually intrude well into the stable stratosphere, producing an overshooting top. As the air spreads laterally into the anvil, sinking air in this region of the storm can produce beautiful mammatus clouds. At the surface, below the thunderstorm’s cold downdraft, the cold, dense air may cause the surface air pressure to rise—sometimes several millibars. The relatively small, shallow area of high pressure is called a mesohigh. The mesohigh increases the pressure gradient between the storm-cooled air and the warmer, unstable air that lies beyond the storm, a situation that raises the risk of high winds.?