Formation of Thunderstorms
A thunderstorm is a violent and disturbing weather, and it only takes a shorter time. It is associated with dense lightning clouds, thunder, hail and even heavy rain. A thunderstorm has various effects, which have been critically discussed. Such effects include flooding, which is very catastrophic, lightning, strong winds, tornadoes, and hail. As per the study, it is found that lightning is one of the most deadly occurrences of storms. The thunderstorm arises when the air, which is moist and warm, rises in large and starts to swift updraft to the very cool regions in the atmosphere.
Conditions Causing Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm is a condition where there is a storm characterized by thunder and lightning, and also heavy hail or rain is experienced (Huang, Lin, and Chen, 2022). Many factors lead to the formation and dissipation of thunderstorms. As per the study, it is found that the main cause of thunderstorms is the updraft which is mainly resulting from moist and warm air rising into the atmosphere (Than, Kyaw, and Lwin, 2021). After rising, the cumulus cloud is formed by an updraft, and this results in a thunderstorm cloud (Iheme, 2021). Normally, heavy and strong winds and sometimes hail, snow, and even sleet accompany thunderstorms. At times, this comes without any precipitation.
The main ingredients that lead to a thunderstorm are unstable air, lift, and moisture. For rain clouds and rain to be formed, moisture is always an important component (Lu and Liu, 2022). For air to be unstable, it is always supposed to be somehow warm and be in a position to rise rapidly. Also, mountains, fronts, or sea breezes can lead to the formation of lifts. Research shows that most thunderstorms undergo three phases during their formation (Huang, Lin, and Chen, 2022). The stages are the cumulus stage, where storm clouds form, a mature stage that leads to the storm’s complete formation, and the dissipating stage, where the storm is weakening and breaking apart (He et al. 2022).
In the cumulus stage, warm and moist air rises vertically in an updraft. This leads to the formation of cumulus and puffy clouds in the atmosphere. Then there is a condensation of air moisture to form water droplets when the air rises. The cumulus clouds will continue increasing as the moist and warm air rises. The mature stage is second, and this results from the moist air, which is rising and is added to the droplets of water found in cumulus clouds, leading to the increase of droplets (Huang, Lin, and Chen, 2022). In the process, the clouds start darkening, and lead to the formation of heavy clouds. The heavy droplets will finally lead to rain. The last stage is the dissipation stage which starts after 30 minutes. This is mainly happening as a result of updrafts being overpowered by downdrafts. Because the air is warm and moist, not being in a position to rise, the cloud droplets cannot form anymore. The storms die because of light rain because of the clouds moving to the top (Meister et al., 2021).
Stages of Thunderstorms
There are variations where a thunderstorm can develop beyond a single cell. Various types of thunderstorms include normal cells, with only one cell (Mishra et al., 2021). It consists of an updraft which is one time. During the cumulus stage towering, the updraft, which is rising, leads to the suspension of raindrops growing up to the point where the water weight is not supported anymore (Nayak, Sinha, and Mohanty, 2021).
On the other hand, there is a multi-cell cluster. Though there exist times when a thunderstorm consists of one normal cell, which is transitioning through life cycles, and it is dissipating without the formation of any other new cell, thunderstorms are mainly forming in clusters and having various cells found in several development stages and merging (Oo and Oo, 2022). A multi-cell line exists where thunderstorms form in a line extending for many miles (Zatula, Zatula, and Symonets, 2021). If this continues for long, it will produce wind and hail, which is damaging. The new cells continue to re-format the leading edge of the rain and hail system, growing. Supercell thunderstorms are single cells that are very special, and they can persist for many hours. Supercells are also able to produce extreme floods and wind.
Thunderstorms Hazards to Aviation
As per the study, it is found that thunderstorms are hazardous to aviation, and proper measures must be taken to avoid such risks from happening. Lightning is considered to be one of the hazards faced in aviation. The research shows that all lightning have thunderstorm (Shan, Hu, and Tian, 2021). Though it might cause a lot of danger to the aviation industry, lightning cannot be used in measuring the thunderstorm strength. It is always important for all aviators to note that lightning can strike more than ten miles from the thunderstorm (Meister et al., 2022). Lightning can strike the ground or even another cloud and discharge into the clear air.
Turbulence. This is another hazard posed to aviation by a thunderstorm. Pilots reporting from aircraft that have encountered the same have always identified drafts that are up and down, and they are more than 6000 feet (Burlando, 2021). The turbulence, which exceeds the performance capability of most aircraft, is always found in and around thunderstorms (Than, Kyaw, and Lwin, 2021).
Wind shear. The outflow of a thunderstorm can cause many changes in the speed of the wind and the direction, which is found close to the surface during the flight important phase (Iheme, 2021). Thunderstorms can cause microbursts because of heavy rains (Lu and Liu, 2022). Most of the time, blowing dust and virga, which are found on the surface, are indicators that the microburst is there.
Icing. This is another hazard that aviators can suffer from due to thunderstorms. As thunderstorms are driven by the liquid water being converted into ice, pilots can still expect to find airframe icing (He et al., 2022). Even though it is possible to have all forms of icing, the clear icing caused by the larger drops of the water that have been super-cooled is very common (Huang, Lin, and Chen, 2022). This is a hazard that pilots always have to take care of as it can result into a loss if preventive measures are not taken.
Hazards of Thunderstorms to Aviation
Measures to Minimize Hazards
To avoid and even minimize such hazards, various measures can be taken. It is always very important for the pilot to have a briefing about the weather before starting any flight (Meister et al., 2021). By doing so, he will be able to know the exact time when to fly, hence reducing the risk. Any weather information which it has been reported by air traffic control and the periodic contacts which are made with the flight watch when airborne will be very important to the aviator as it is going to act as a supplement to what it had been learned during the preflight briefing (Mishra et al., 2021).
The reports by the air traffic control on the areas in which they are affected by precipitation are very important to the aviator as he is going to have full information on how the areas are going to look like (Nayak, Sinha, and Mohanty, 2021). Pilots who have onboard weather radar and even the systems for detecting lightning can benefit from the big picture that aircraft traffic control can paint and also use the systems which are in the aircraft onboard so that they can use in choosing the best route, which is tactical in avoiding weather conditions which can cause harm (Oo and Oo, 2022).
Aviation incident case study (McMinnville Municipal Airport, McMinnville, Oregon)
The pilot in command had a private certificate for piloting, having 74 hours of total time taking a flight, and another five hours in making and modelling. In the last 90 days, the pilot had a flight for 7 hours at the time when the accident occurred.
As per the case, it was found that the pilot who was making a landing at crosswinds had only made one landing before and was making a second landing when he encountered crosswinds that led to the left wing of the aircraft being lifted in the air. During the incident where the wing was being lifted, what was noticed was that the aircraft started to drift towards the runaway right side. When the pilot was trying to ensure that the wing was down through aileron deflection and as it tried to direct the aircraft straight to the runaway, he felt like the aircraft wanted to cartwheel. He then decided to direct the aircraft towards the offside of the runaway in the direction it was heading to. As the aircraft departed from the runway, the aircraft started to encounter soft terrain, which led to the nose gear digging in, and hence the aircraft nosed over. The pilot was able to state that except for the nose wheel shimmy, which was minor, the control of the aircraft did not have any problem.
As per the study, it was found that the main cause of the accident was the pilot, who was unable to compensate adequately for wind conditions. His failure to ensure that the plane had adequate wind compensation and maintain control in the right direction during landing roll contributed a lot to the accident. The factors here included the gusty crosswinds and the terrain, which is very soft in the area where the aircraft could depart onto the runaways sides. All these are because of a thunderstorm that impacts the wind’s speed.
Safety Lessons
Experience. As per the case study, one of the safety measures learned is experience and its role in preventing aviation accidents (Meister et al., 2022). The aircraft pilot in the study only had very little exposure to the aviation industry. This means that the chances of making mistakes are very high. Therefore, all aviation industries need to ensure that all the pilots on board have adequate experience so that the passengers’ lives are not endangered.
Have adequate knowledge about the area where you are going to land. Another safety measure that should be considered by pilots is to ensure that they are well conversant about the area’s weather conditions in which he is going to land (Shan, Hu, and Tian, 2021). As per the case study, it is clear the pilot was not having adequate knowledge of the area in which he was going to land. If adequate information was there, then controlling the aircraft could have been easy, leading to the prevention of the accident.
Expanding the runaway. This is another safety measure that should be taken to prevent any other accidents like that in the case study. As per the case, it is found that the aircraft moved off the runaways and resulting in landing on the soft ground. By expanding the runaways, controlling the aircraft becomes easy, leading to the prevention of accidents (Zatula, Zatula, and Symonets, 2021).
Conclusion
Knowing about thunderstorms is one of the most significant factors in ensuring that everything is done appropriately, especially in aviation. As per the study, it is found that thunderstorm has some dangers, especially in the aviation sector. Therefore, it is advisable for any aviator to first understand the weather conditions before taking a flight. In the past, such hazards have resulted in accidents, something that needs to be seriously looked into to avoid the same. The accidents that thunderstorms can cause are very preventable, especially if adequate information is acquired before taking any flight.
References
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