Meteorological Phenomena are referred to those changes that occur in nature naturally, that is, without the intervention of the hand of man. Many can have negative effects depending on their intensity, the most common are rain, snow or storm. Here we will explain each of these phenomena and their characteristics.
Meteorological phenomena
They are natural events that do not usually occur frequently in the atmosphere, with the wind being responsible for or triggering most of them. This is due to the variation in temperature and air density. There are many phenomena that are known and must be identified so as not to confuse them with natural phenomena such as earthquakes, which occur on earth and have nothing to do with the atmosphere. Here we present each of the known phenomena, their characteristics and consequences.
Types of Meteorological Phenomena
Meteorological phenomena are of diverse nature and intensity. Currently climate change is marking continuous changes thanks to global warming, as the atmosphere has warmed, the volume of ice and snow has decreased, the sea level has risen and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have risen to levels unprecedented, which is making many of these phenomena become frequent. Here we present each of the phenomena.
Wind Phenomena
These are the phenomena that occur in the troposphere and are solely responsible for weather changes, their winds can reach high speeds that directly and decisively affect the planet.
Storms
Storms are classified as disturbances that occur in the clouds and are capable of producing audible thunder or lightning, with heavy precipitation. Storms are also called phenomena associated with rain, ice, hail, electricity, snow, or strong winds. This happens due to the presence of very hot and sufficiently humid air at low levels or due to cold air at high altitudes, and on some occasions both circumstances could occur.
Tornadoes and Hurricanes
Tornadoes are one of the meteorological phenomena that appears as a column of air that rotates at high speed and its lower part comes into contact with the surface of the earth and in the upper part it presents a cumulonimbus cloud, that is, a cloud of large vertical development in the form of a rotating spiral that can be less than 2 km high. This phenomenon is also known as a chimney.
In the case of hurricanes, they appear as large and violent storms, these usually form over the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. They are rotating accompanied by heavy rains and powerful winds that can sometimes reach 800 kilometers in diameter. The clouds form a kind of spiral with a common center called the "eye of the hurricane." This is caused by the high temperatures of the sea surface that heats the lower layers of the air and creates instability, which results in a depression.
Heat waves
The increase in temperature that the earth is experiencing more and more causes an increase in heat waves that are becoming more and more aggressive, bringing severe consequences to living beings and biodiversity.
Waterspouts
These are waterspouts or sleeves of water, with an intense vortex or whirlwind that occurs over a body of water, which can be tornadic and not tornadic. This phenomenon occurs regularly in the water but can reach dry land, its duration time ranges between 15 and 20 minutes. They originate when there is instability in the atmosphere, which implies changes in speed and direction of the winds. This meteorological phenomenon is weaker than the tornado because its winds do not reach as much speed.
Precipitation Phenomena
This kind of meteorological phenomenon is related by a set of aqueous, liquid or solid particles that fall through the atmosphere, this is called a hydrometeor. Within these phenomena are rain, drizzle, snow, sleet, hail. It should be noted that mist or dew are part of this group as they are forms of condensation and not precipitation.
Rain
Rain is one of the meteorological phenomena, it starts with the condensation of water vapor that forms drops of water, which go on to form clouds and later precipitate, evaporate and the cycle resumes. This phenomenon depends on three factors: atmospheric pressure, temperature and, especially, atmospheric humidity.
Hail
This type of precipitation is solid, made up of balls or lumps of ice, originating in highly developed cumulonimbus clouds, which later fall separately and with great violence on the earth's surface. When the winds are strong and the temperatures are very low, the strong wind carries with it large drops of water that, when frozen, become hail or hail that can reach up to several centimeters in diameter.
Snow
Snow results from crystals that are created in the atmosphere by absorbing tiny water droplets and when they collide, they stick together, forming snowflakes. This phenomenon is similar to rain but in solid form and at very low temperatures. These adopt geometric shapes with fractal characteristics, that is, their basic structure, fragmented or apparently irregular, is repeated at different scales.
Other Meteorological Phenomena
This type of meteorological phenomenon refers to the constant movement of molecules that collide with each other at different speeds according to the atmospheric temperature, being faster when found in warmer environments.
Clouds
Clouds are visible masses, composed of ice crystals or microscopic water droplets that, thanks to the cooling of the air, are suspended in the atmosphere. These have the peculiarity of scattering all visible light and for that reason they appear white. This is the most common phenomenon that is related to humidity, pressure and temperature.
Cloud Types
There are three types of clouds, high clouds or cirrus clouds, which are found at high altitudes, have a white fibrous structure and a very delicate appearance. Medium or cumulus clouds are those that are observed as individual cloud masses in the form of vertical vaults. Its edges become bright in the sunlight and gray the area that is in the shadow. Now the low or stratus clouds are those that extend in the form of layers covering a large part of the sky with certain cracks that usually bring rain or drizzle.
Noctilucent Cloud
These bright polar mesospheric clouds are produced in the upper layers of the atmosphere and are visible at the end of twilight. They are formed by ice crystals and meteorite dust, which are seen as electric blue in the form of a spike or grid, usually about 100 km above the ground where the air pressure is almost empty. When the meteor hits the atmosphere, it leaves a trail of dust to which the water dust adheres. They are usually seen in the summer months at latitudes between 50° and 70° north and south of the equator.
This phenomenon is appearing more frequently and at lower latitudes, that is, closer to the equator thanks to the amount of methane gas that the earth emits into the atmosphere. For this to develop, it needs three elements: extreme low temperature, water vapor, and a particle where it can stick and freeze.
Optical Phenomena
These phenomena are caused by the interaction of solar rays with atmospheric gases and that electromagnetic waves can be reflected, scattered or refracted by the different components. Therefore, the reflection, refraction, dispersion, diffraction and diffusion of light cause true phenomena worthy of admiration.
Rainbow
This meteorological phenomenon is one of the most beautiful that nature can provide. This consists of the appearance in the sky of an arc of multicolored light, caused by the decomposition of sunlight into the visible spectrum. It originates on rainy days, because the raindrops act as mirrors scattering the light in all directions and breaking it down, forming the rainbow. The sun's rays hit the droplets retracting and moving towards their opposite end, they refract and come out as decomposed light. This can last up to 3 hours and always in the opposite direction to the sun. It manifests itself before or after the rain.
Aurora
The aurora borealis is usually one of the meteorological phenomena in the form of luminescence, which occurs at night in the polar areas, although this is not decisive, since it can be observed in other parts of the planet. It is called boreal when it occurs in the northern and southern hemisphere when it is observed in the south. This occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper layers of the atmosphere collide with high-energy electrons, that is, particles charged by sunlight collide with the Earth's atmosphere and are directed towards the poles by the magnetic field. .
Auroras occur at latitudes greater than 65°, but also when there are periods of high solar activity at lower latitudes, they can last approximately 1 hour and in some cases all night. The period of greatest sighting is during the months of October to March. These lights are very colorful and bright.
zodiacal light
Unlike the auroras, it is a weak but diffuse band of white light in a triangular shape, which occurs after sunset. Through its weak light you can see the stars of the constellations of the Zodiac to which it owes its name. These are dust particles that are scattered in the form of a disk around the sun, but it should be noted that they are found throughout the sky, which is why this phenomenon occurs only in the plane of the horizon.
Parhelion
This luminous meteorological phenomenon consists of the simultaneous appearance of several images of the Sun reflected in the clouds and, in general, they are arranged symmetrically on a halo. This occurs when the optical phenomenon is associated with the reflection and refraction of light produced by ice particles in cirrus clouds. These hexagonal ice crystals, by refracting light, form two bright spots or glows on both sides of the Sun, constituting the brightest points of a halo, depending on certain types of clouds. It should be noted that halos originate under the same principles.
Green Thunder
The green ray is one of the not very recurrent meteorological phenomena that occurs shortly after sunset on a flat surface such as the sea surface, that is, without obstacles or shortly before sunrise. For this phenomenon to occur there must be no fog, since the last rays of the Sun are being refracted by the lower Earth's atmosphere. It lasts a few seconds, which makes it difficult to observe.
crepuscular rays
These rays of sunlight radiate from a single point in the sky. These beams of light that slip through the clouds and appear as true jets of light that give the impression of luminous threads, this is due to the effect of light diffusion combined with nebulous areas or reliefs that act as masks, since the cloud it lies below the horizon and partially blocks the Sun from illuminating dust particles in the air, giving the appearance of projected rays. Its duration is subject to the time it may take for the sun to hide or rise completely.
Fun facts
Did you know that among the meteorological phenomena there is one that is very rare called blood rain, this occurs when the rain carries sand from the deserts. On Earth you can see, on certain occasions, three suns in the sky. In Venezuela you can see the Catatumbo lightning in the basin of Lake Maracaibo, this lightning is permanent and soundless and 1,6 million lightning strikes fall per year.
Observe the 10 strangest natural phenomena in the world in the following video.
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