When cold air meets terrain or warm and humid airflow on its path, it will cause shock or front, forming a front area. At the junction of cold front and warm front, there will be a lot of clouds, precipitation and high-speed rotating cyclones, which is called snowstorm. After the cold air collides with the warm and humid air, the water vapor in the air will condense into clouds, which will drop rapidly to form snowflakes.
At the same time, the pressure difference caused by the temperature and humidity difference in the air will produce a strong airflow, which is the source of strong winds in snowstorms.
Knowledge expansion
Blizzard is an extreme climate phenomenon, usually accompanied by strong winds, cooling and snowfall. This weather phenomenon will have a great impact on people's production, life and natural environment. Let's learn more about the causes and characteristics of snowstorms.
The reasons for the snowstorm can be summarized as follows:
Collision between cold air and warm and humid airflow: In winter, cold air from the Arctic or temperate regions moves to low latitudes and meets warm and humid airflow from the south or near the equator, resulting in strong convective movement. The result of this air convergence is a large number of clouds, precipitation and high-speed rotating cyclones.
Air pressure and temperature difference: Air pressure and temperature difference play an important role in the process of snowstorm formation. With the intersection of cold air and warm and humid air, the air pressure and temperature will change dramatically. Under the action of cyclone, the air will rise rapidly and cool down, making water vapor condense into clouds and fall rapidly to form snowflakes.
Terrain and environmental factors: Terrain and environmental factors will also have an impact on the formation of snowstorms. For example, mountainous areas are prone to turbulence and upward movement due to large terrain fluctuations, which is conducive to the formation of clouds and precipitation. In addition, the warm and humid air flow on the ocean meets the cold air on the land, which is also easy to form blizzard weather.
The characteristics of snowstorms can be summarized as follows:
Gale: Blizzard is usually accompanied by gale, and the wind speed can be as high as tens of meters per second or even higher. Strong winds will not only aggravate the dispersion of snowflakes, but also bring great inconvenience to people's production and life.
Cooling: Snowstorms are often accompanied by severe cooling, and the temperature will quickly drop to tens of degrees below zero or even lower. This extreme low temperature will have a great impact on people's health, production and life.