This book is a focused, comprehensive reference on recent research on severe convective storms and tornadoes. It will contain many illustrations of severe storm phenomena from mobile Doppler radars, operational Doppler radars, photographs and numerical simulations.

This book is a focused, comprehensive reference on recent research on severe convective storms and tornadoes. It will contain many illustrations of severe storm phenomena from mobile Doppler radars, operational Doppler radars, photographs and numerical simulations.

* The second volume in this, the first modern text in synoptic meteorology * Essential information for modern weather forecasting presented for the first time * A major new resource for students

This major, new comprehensive text for meteorology students presents information that is now considered essential in modern weather forecasting for the first time. Drawing on teaching materials from his successful work at the University of Oklahoma, Bluestein examines the elementary phenomena of synoptic meteorology, from scalar fields to atmospheric kinematics, dynamics, and thermodynamics. This is the only up-to-date and comprehensive account of synoptic meteorology availale today. Volume I is already pulished and covers kinematics, elementary atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics, and the principles of quasi-geostrophic theory; This second volume covers the formation, motion, and climatology of extratropical weather systems in the context of quasi-geostrophic theory and "IPV thinking", the formation and structure of fronts and jets, applications of semi-geostrophic theory, and the observed structure and dynamics of precipitation systems in midlatitudes.

Synoptic meteorology is the diagnosis, study, and forecasting of weather using observations of simultaneous weather conditions over a wide area. In this new, comprehensive textbook for graduate and postgraduate meteorology students, the author presents for the first time information that is now considered essential in modern weather forecasting. Drawing on teaching materials from his work at the University of Oklahoma, Bluestein examines the elementary phenomena of synoptic meteorology, from scalar fields to atmospheric kinematics, dynamics, and thermodynamics. A later volume covers the behaviour of extratropical weather systems, fronts and jets, and precipitation systems in midlatitudes.

Key scientific research by authors including Kerry Emanuel, Robert Burpee, Edwin Kessler, and Louis Uccellini illustrates the evolution of the fields of synoptic meteorology, weather analysis, forecasting, and climatology. It is published in honor of the late Fred Sanders, emeritus professor of meteorology at MIT, whose influence was vast: he coined the term “bomb” for explosively intensifying winter storms; he established the roles of low-level horizontal confluence and convergence in frontal collapse; and he invented the field of oceanic mesometeorology. This monograph is both an essential tool for educating future weather researchers and a testament to Sanders’s legacy of teaching.

Tornadoes are the most violent, magnificent, and utterly unpredictable storms on earth, reaching estimated wind speeds of 300 mph and leaving swathes of destruction in their wake. In Tornado Alley, Howard Bluestein draws on two decades of experience chasing and photographing tornadoes across the American Plains to present a historical account of the study of tornadoes and the great thunderstorms that spawn them. A century ago, tornado warnings were so unreliable that they usually went unreported. Today, despite cutting-edge Doppler radar technology and computer simulation, these storms remain remarkably difficult to study. Leading scientists still conduct much of their research from the inside of a speeding truck, and often contend with jammed cameras, flash floods, and windshields smashed by hailstones and flying debris. Using over a hundred diagrams, models, and his own spectacular color photographs, Bluestein documents the exhilaration of hair-raising encounters with as many as nine tornadoes in one day, as well as the crushing disappointment of failed expeditions and ruined equipment. Most of all, he recreates the sense of beauty, mystery, and power felt by the scientists who risk their lives to study violent storms. For scientists, amateur weather enthusiasts, or anyone who's ever been intrigued or terrified by a darkening sky, Tornado Alley provides not only a history of tornado research but a vivid look into the origin and effects of nature's most dramatic phenomena.