Keith234
(Storm Chaser)
Sat Sep 11 2004 09:12 PM
Convective Bursts

This question has be posted in another fourm, I thought it might fit here better. What causes convective bursts at night in hurricanes?

LI Phil
(User)
Sun Sep 12 2004 12:35 AM
Re: Convective Bursts

avatars from jaws

Keith234
(Storm Chaser)
Sun Sep 12 2004 08:30 AM
Re: Convective Bursts

I got tried of looking at the same avatar, I guess this one isn't working either. Thanks for telling me!!

Clark
(Meteorologist)
Mon Sep 13 2004 01:14 AM
Re: Convective Bursts

There is a phenomenon called the diurnal convective cycle, leading to nighttime being more favorable for convection in storms.

I was unable to find a definitive answer to what exactly it is, so the following is my own hypothesis from what I did find and what I've learned about tropical meteorology through the years...so perhaps take it with a grain of salt.

At night, you have less solar radiation (insolation) reaching the top of the atmosphere from the sun...well, to tell the truth, no solar radiation reaching the top of the atmosphere from the sun. This results in a cooler atmosphere as a whole. While the temperatures in the upper troposphere are always cold to begin with, when there is less insolation, the overall temperatures are going to be colder. Thus, you see a minimum in the mid-to-late afternoon, when the amount of insolation through the day is at its peak (around the time you see the daily high temperature at the surface), whereas you see a maximum in the overnight hours when the atmosphere has had time to sufficiently cool (around the time you see the daily low temperature at the surface).

If someone can provide a better or more correct/applicable explanation for the topic though, I'm all ears.


Keith234
(Storm Chaser)
Mon Sep 13 2004 02:49 PM
Re: Convective Bursts

That would make sense, the earth takes time to cool off. Thanks for the anwser Clark.


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