Summer storms consist of different kinds of violent weather that can produce strong winds, heavy rains, lightning, thunder, and hail that can cause injuries, and destruction of property, crops and livestock. Types of summer weather events include:
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Hurricanes: An intense tropical cyclone formed in the air over warm ocean areas. Wind speeds reach 74 mph or more, blowing in a large spiral around a calm center (the “eye”).
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Lightning: Electrical discharge resulting from the buildup of positive and negative charges within a thunderstorm. When this buildup is strong enough, lightning appears as a “bolt” within clouds or between clouds and the ground, reaching approximately 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Thunderstorms: Forms from a combination of moisture and rapidly rising warm air. All thunderstorms have lightning and can occur singly, in clusters or in lines.
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Tornadoes:Violently rotating column of air extending downward from a thunderstorm to the ground. This funnel shaped cloud contains wind speeds of up to 300 mph at the core and destroys everything along its narrow ground path. Maine averages 2 tornadoes per year.
During the summer, southerly winds are common across the Mid-Coast and Down East areas of Maine because of the frequent sea breezes. These high winds can cause trees and branches to fall onto power lines, causing power and communication outages. Lightning storms can potentially start fires at any point. Flash flooding or erosion can also occur because of heavy rains that typically come with thunderstorms, most common summer storms. Flooding them becomes the biggest concern. The most severe of the summer storm events are hurricanes.
The entire state is vulnerable to severe summer storms every year. Fortunately, their effects are usually more common in the less populated areas of the state towards the western mountainous regions.
Mitigation
Weather forecasting and severe weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service usually provide residents and visitors adequate time to prepare; problems arise when warnings are ignored. The Department of Transportation is responsible for repairs and maintenance of primary roads and bridges damaged in storms.
Watch, Warning and Advisory Criteria
The National Weather Service uses a WATCH and WARNING program to alert the public to potentially threatening weather. In the summertime, watches and warnings are issued for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash floods, and special marine warnings are issued for gusty winds in marine areas.
- WATCH indicates that the atmospheric conditions are favorable for severe weather to develop. If a WATCH has been issued for your area, keep an eye on the sky, and monitor NOAA Weather Radio or your local broadcast media for any possible warnings.
- WARNING indicates that severe weather is imminent in or is already occuring. If a WARNING has been issued for your area, be prepared to seek a safe shelter if you are in the path of the storm.
Basic Definitions of Events
- SEVERE THUNDERSTORM - A thunderstorm that produces damaging wind gusts of 58 mph or more, and/or hail 3/4 inch or greater in diameter.
- TORNADO - A violently rotating column of air that extends from a cloud to the ground.
- FLASH FLOOD - Flooding that occurs very rapidly, usually due to very heavy rain from a slow moving thunderstorm.
In addition to these warnings which are issued for land areas, the National Weather Service issues Special Marine Warnings for marine areas.
- SPECIAL MARINE WARNING - Issued for marine areas for storms with frequent wind gusts of 34 kts (about 39 mph) or greater.
One of the best ways to monitor these conditions is by purchasing an alert-activated NOAA Weather Radio for your home or business.