Types of severe storms

The atmosphere generates a number of different types of severe storms. Some examples include:

  • Supercell thunderstorms
  • Squall lines
  • Bow Echoes
  • Derechoes
  • Mesoscale Convective Complexes

Bow Echoes

  • One of the more significant and intriguing forms of severe weather is the bow echo.
  • Bow echoes are relatively small (20-120 km [10-65 nm] long), bow-shaped systems of convective cells that are noted for producing long swaths of damaging surface winds.
  • They are observed both as relatively isolated convective systems and as sub-structures within much larger convective systems such as a squall line.

Here is another high-resolution example of a bow echo

image adopted from COMET module on MCSs, ŠUCAR, 1998