Lesson 1
Meteorological Satellite Orbits
Lesson 2
Review of Radiative Transfer
Lesson 3
Visible Image Interpretation
Lesson 4
Infrared Image Interpretation
Lesson 5
Multispectral Image Interpretation
Lesson 6
Fires & Aerosols
Lesson 7
Winds
Lesson 8
Sounders
Lesson 9
Fog and Stratus
Lesson 10
Thunderstorm
Lesson 11
Energy Budget
Lesson 12
Hurricanes
Lesson 13
Global Circulation
Lesson 14
Synoptic Scale
Lesson 15
Local Circulation
Lesson 16
Satellite Oceanography
Lesson 17
Precipitation

Lesson 10: Background

Squall Lines

view of a squall line from the space shuttle

A squall line is composed of individual intense thunderstorm cells arranged in a line, or band. They occur along a boundary of unstable air, which gives them a linear appearance. Squall lines often have life spans of approximately 6 to 12 hours and extend across several states simultaneously.

Strong environmental wind shear causes the updraft to be tilted and separated from the downdraft in squall-line thunderstorms. This prevents the precipitation from falling into the updraft and quenching it, as happens in the single-cell thunderstorm.



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