Other type of severe weather
Other forms of Severe Weather


Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms are not the only forms of severe weather according to the National Weather Service. Flash flooding, blizzards, and hurricanes are also considered as forms of severe weather.

Flash flooding: is a rapid rise in water usually associated with heavy rain fall. This can occur in a couple of hours or days. In order to have flash flooding, the typical environment must have an abundant amount of moisture available in the atmosphere. Usually, there is little to no vertical wind shear present during the time that leads up to flash flooding events. Flash flooding occurs when there is an excessive amount of rainfall over a short period of time. There are three kinds of flash flooding events. These three kinds of flash flooding are: "wall of water", "ponding", and "urban flooding". The "wall of water" is flooding that occurs in canyons and mountainous areas. Rainwater runs off the mountains and canyons at high rates of speed and is funneled down into the deep canyons allowing the water to build up and rush downstream quickly. "Ponding" is common in flat areas. This is when rainwater collects in drainage ditches and other low water areas, allowing for the water to build up because of the rain. "Urban Flooding" is commonly found in city areas. The rainwater is held above the surface from the concrete and pavement in urban areas and the runoff collects in street intersections, underpasses, and dips in the roadway.

Blizzards: are an intense and large snowstorm which has winds greater than 35 miles per hour and visability is lowered to near zero because of the snow or blowing snow. Blizzards can also produce large amounts of snow, sometimes exceeding 1 to 2 feet with snowdrifts often greater then 3 to 4 feet deep. Not all snowstorms are blizzards but they should be all taken seriously just the same. Snowstorms are a silent killer. They have caused heart attacks and hypothermia.

Hurricanes: are large areas of low pressure that form over the tropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These storms form during the summer months. They are storm systems that have winds sustained higher than 75 miles per hour, with very heavy rain, a very low central pressure, and they could possibly spawn tornadoes. At the time of landfall, rainfall amounts can reach 10 to 20 inches, depending on the forward speed of the system and the terraine the storm runs into. No matter how strong the hurricane is, it can bring destruction to whereever it goes.