Right, so 2017 draws to a close and we thought we would take a little look at certain weather words which have appeared throughout the year and ask Moo Moo (who is our resident meteorologically trained cow) as to whether or not these words are real or whether they are complete and utter cowsh.. (Ed. Let's keep this clean please)
1. WeatherBomb
MooMoo : Yes, this is an actual meteorological definition and we do use this. In fact, it was used as early as 1970 and the strict definition is for a low pressure system to deepen by 24mb or more within a 24 hour period.
2. FogBomb
MooMoo : Never heard of it. How can you get dense radiation fog in a storm system?
3. Thundersnow
Moomoo : Oh yes! This is a meteorological term and unsurprisingly this is when convective storms form (usually over milder water) and the cloud tops allow for electrical discharge to take place. This is a common phenomena for the lake snow effect across parts of North America, but Scotland is also a great place to experience this in the winter in the UK.
4. SnowBomb
MooMoo : Sadly, another invented phrase. We sort of know where they are heading with this, but explosive cyclogenesis in cold air is what we would tend to associate with a polar low or Arctic hurricane.
5. Radiation Fog
MooMoo : Yep, this is a real one. But radiation in terms of radiating heat (like your radiators) and nothing like the Ready Brek glow in the dark sort of stuff. It happens when the air is cooled to its dew point and therefore the air becomes saturated (pretty much like a cloud) at ground level.
So, there are the words of 2017. Some other words which meteorologists use which haven't yet been used are Derechos, Haboobs and Petrichors.. We can't wait for the Haboobbomb which may perhaps feature in our 2018 words covered by Moo Moo.
Happy New Year folks.
MooMoo x
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