Description

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Context

New Delhi recently had a strong thunderstorm with gusts gusting to 100 kmph, resulting in a bow echo, a crescent-shaped pattern seen on weather radar.

What is a Bow Echo?

A bow echo is a storm pattern on radar that resembles a curved bow, much like an archer's bow.

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PC: NOAA

About Bow Echo

Storm Type	Forms inside a Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) — a large group of organized thunderstorms.
Origin of Term	Coined by Ted Fujita, who also developed the Fujita Scale for tornado classification.
Formation Process	1. Heavy rain causes cool air to sink and spread at ground level (gust front).
	2. Gust front pushes warm, moist air upward, forming new storms.
	3. Rear inflow jet (strong mid-level winds) pushes the system forward, creating a bow-shaped structure.
	4. Bookend vortices may form at both ends; the northern end can sometimes produce tornadoes.

Impact of Bow Echo

Bow echoes typically cover 20 to 200 kilometers and last 3 to 6 hours.
Wind Strength: They frequently create straight-line winds exceeding 100 km/h, as seen in Delhi's recent storm.
Derechos: In severe circumstances, bow echoes can develop into long-lasting and widespread windstorms.
Damaging Winds can bring down trees, electricity lines, and destroy buildings.
Brief tornadoes may emerge along the storm's fringes, particularly at the northern end.
Microbursts and downbursts are intense, short-lived wind blasts within a storm that cause local destruction.

Source: Indian Express

Practice Question:

Q. During a thunderstorm, the thunder in the skies is produced by:

Meeting of cumulonimbus clouds in the sky
Lightning that separates the nimbus clouds
Violent upward movement of air and water particles

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Options:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) None of the above produces the thunder

Correct Answer: (d) None of the above produces the thunder

Explanation:

Thunder is produced by the rapid expansion of air surrounding the intense heat of a lightning bolt. None of the options listed correctly describe the actual cause of thunder.

Option 1: Meeting of cumulonimbus clouds does not produce thunder directly.
Option 2: Lightning doesn’t “separate nimbus clouds”; it heats the air.
Option 3: Violent upward movement contributes to storm formation, but not directly to thunder