Friday, December 31, 2010

Weather Explained: Squall Line

What is a squall line?
A squall line is a band of intense storms moving together in a line. They are associated with cold fronts, as cold air meets warm air.

What do squall lines do?
Tornadoes have been known to occur more often in single-celled storms. Squall lines are like a big line of single-celled storms. Squall lines are very likely to produce high winds, because they move so quickly and can be in a bow echo, which will be in the next Weather Explained.

Are squall lines dangerous?
Yes. They are very dangerous at times.

What do squall lines look like?
On a radar, they come up as a line of storms. Below is an image of a squall line.
You can see the leading edge of storms at the front, where the cold air first meets the warm air. Then, the cold air overtakes the warm air, and the storms die down after the first line of storms.

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