We know that meteorology can become unpredictable since it is the result of the fluctuation of a multitude of variables that change their values in a short time. One of the results of these environmental changes was the squall Miguel. And it is that in the month of June 2019 an explosive cyclogenesis of the most curious and strange took place. It was a deep storm and underwent an explosive cyclogenesis process at low latitudes. This is something that has not been seen before and many have associated it with climate change.
In this article we are going to tell you all the characteristics, origin and consequences of the storm Miguel.
Key features
Most meteorologists and weather forecasters did not believe what was coming our way at the beginning of June 2019. A deep storm was going to form in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula at the same time that it was going to undergo a process of explosive cyclogenesis. It is a very unusual phenomenon not only at the time of year in which it occurred, but also in the latitudes at which our peninsula is located.
These structures and life process deepening pressures are more typical of the cold winter months and at higher latitudes or in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It must be taken into account that the formation of storms usually takes place in winter since the meteorological variables must take certain values for them to occur. We could say that the period of deeper storm formation and cyclogenesis processes are more active and intense during winter in the northern hemisphere.
Occasionally, the formation of storms can also occur in the spring and autumn months, but rarely in summer. This is one of the reasons why stormy Miguel was so unpredictable and curious. The causes or factors of the deepest storms and the processes of cyclogenesis are quite active and intense during the winter periods in the northern hemisphere.
Causers of the storm Miguel
Let's see what are the factors that caused the storm Miguel and why they took place at this time of year. The upper jet stream is the main driver of Atlantic storms since it is more intense and lower at the corresponding latitude with the North Atlantic Ocean. The thermal contrasts between the tropical or subtropical warm mass a together with the cold polar air mass is the most pronounced in the cold months. It must be taken into account that these thermal contrasts together with the intensity of the polar jet cause a much greater depression effect that generates a significant storm.
The secondary losses that form on this area of strong thermal gradient are somewhat more numerous during the winter months. This also causes the temperatures to vary. Another possible factor of the Miguel storm is the discharge of cold polar air that is usually associated with the intense jet inlets and can carry embedded waves that can undergo low pressure formation process and cyclogenesis.
There are other secondary factors that can favor the cyclogenesis processes in winter, although it is not so important in this case. Cyclogenesis is the formation of cyclones mainly caused by a drop in atmospheric pressure. When we speak of explosive cyclogenesis, we refer to a brutal drop in atmospheric pressure and as a result a high intensity storm is created. Both cyclogenesis and the jet stream are the main factors for the development, maintenance and deepening of storms.
Formation of the storm Miguel
This storm was formed under the presence of the typical ingredients of cyclogenesis and rapid deepening. An intense maximum of wind height, the polar jet and a drop in the lower levels were located in an area of strong thermal contrast, known as the baroclinic zone in lower layers.
By the beginning of June it can be seen that the jet stream is quite intense and latitude has lowered. On the other hand, the associated cold eruption is also very marked and contrasts with a pre-existing warm air mass due to an inert and passive subtropical anticyclone. The result of all this is the increase in the thermal gradient below the axis of the jet. That is, a strong baroclinity. The lower secondary in lower layers that were in the area of strong thermal gradient is the one that undergoes the explosive cyclogenesis process.
This whole situation was anomalous in both its form and its intensity. For this reason, the squall Miguel is singularly rare. To do this, standardized anomaly maps are shown that show us the degree of abnormality that the jet stream can present and its intensity. The jet is the main protagonist of this whole situation. This is because if the jet comes intensely from the highest levels, at low latitudes it can occur with wind speeds of up to 150-200 km / h. It was also not very normal of cold posterior air that led the polar jet and that made the baroclinity even more in the area where the Miguel storm was formed.
Conclusions of this strange phenomenon
Squall Miguel was a rare phenomenon that left forecasters and forecasters with a strange taste in their mouths. We can say that the formation and deepening of the descent are rare elements in terms of the precursors but they are also rare in this type of time of year. It is concluded that he was only very intense with a baroclinic zone in the lowest layers for the place and the date in which we were.
All these reasons have made the storm Miguel go down in history as one of the rarest since we have a record of meteorology. I hope that with this information you can learn more about the storm Miguel, its characteristics and its formation.