Weather

13WHAM Weather Authority Alert: Severe Thunderstorm Watch expires at 9:00 PM on 5/21, issued at 1:39 PM Adams Basin, NY | Albion, NY | Alexander, NY | Alton, NY

+

Adams Basin, NY | Albion, NY | Alexander, NY | Alton, NY | Arcade, NY | Attica, NY | Avon, NY | Basom, NY | Batavia, NY | Bellona, NY | Bergen, NY | Bliss, NY | Bloomfield, NY | Branchport, NY | Brockport, NY | Byron, NY | Caledonia, NY | Canandaigua, NY | Castile, NY | Churchville, NY | Clarendon, NY | Clarkson, NY | Clifton Springs, NY | Clyde, NY | Conesus, NY | Corfu, NY | Cowlesville, NY | Dale, NY | Dalton, NY | Dansville, NY | Darien Center, NY | Dresden, NY | Dundee, NY | East Bethany, NY | East Bloomfield, NY | East Pembroke, NY | East Rochester, NY | East Williamson, NY | Elba, NY | Fairport, NY | Fancher, NY | Farmington, NY | Fishers, NY | Gainesville, NY | Geneseo, NY | Geneva, NY | Gorham, NY | Groveland, NY | Hall, NY | Hamlin, NY | Hemlock, NY | Henrietta, NY | Hilton, NY | Himrod, NY | Holley, NY | Honeoye Falls, NY | Honeoye, NY | Hunt, NY | Ionia, NY | Java Center, NY | Java Village, NY | Kendall, NY | Kent, NY | Keuka Park, NY | Knowlesville, NY | Lakemont, NY | Lakeville, NY | Le Roy, NY | Leicester, NY | Lima, NY | Linwood, NY | Livonia Center, NY | Livonia, NY | Lyndonville, NY | Lyons, NY | Macedon, NY | Manchester, NY | Marion, NY | Medina, NY | Mendon, NY | Middlesex, NY | Morton, NY | Mount Morris, NY | Mumford, NY | Naples, NY | Newark, NY | North Chili, NY | North Greece, NY | North Java, NY | North Rose, NY | Nunda, NY | Oakfield, NY | Oaks Corners, NY | Ontario Center, NY | Ontario, NY | Palmyra, NY | Pavilion, NY | Penfield, NY | Penn Yan, NY | Perry, NY | Phelps, NY | Piffard, NY | Pike, NY | Pittsford, NY | Port Gibson, NY | Portageville, NY | Pultneyville, NY | Red Creek, NY | Retsof, NY | Rochester, NY | Rose, NY | Rush, NY | Rushville, NY | Savannah, NY | Scottsburg, NY | Scottsville, NY | Seneca Castle, NY | Shortsville, NY | Silver Lake, NY | Silver Springs, NY | Sodus Point, NY | Sodus, NY | Sonyea, NY | South Butler, NY | South Byron, NY | South Lima, NY | Spencerport, NY | Springwater, NY | Stafford, NY | Stanley, NY | Strykersville, NY | Union Hill, NY | Varysburg, NY | Victor, NY | Walworth, NY | Warsaw, NY | Waterport, NY | Webster, NY | West Bloomfield, NY | West Henrietta, NY | Williamson, NY | Wolcott, NY | Wyoming, NY

Your Weather Questions Answered

Can you explain what the term “shear” means?

Set Text Size Small

Set Text Size Medium

Set Text Size Large

Set Text Size X-Large

Published: 4/04/2008 5:16 pm

Share

Updated: 4/04/2008 5:17 pm

When 13WHAM meteorologists use the term shear, we are referring to a change in the wind; either vertically or horizontally. But to be more specific, there are two types of shear; directional and speed.

Directional shear is when the wind direction, when traveling up or down through the atmosphere, changes significantly. In contrast, speed shear is when the wind speed changes with height.

For example, at the surface the wind might be blowing at 10mph, but at 5000 feet, the speed might be 70mph. This difference represents speed shear. When forecasting weather, shear can have an impact on such diverse elements as thunderstorms or lake effect snow

Share

Categories

Your Weather Questions Answered

Snow
Wind & Wind Chill
Thunderstorms
Optical Effects
Weather Forecasting

WHAM Weather Book

Read It Online
Download PDFs: Color | B&W

This site is hosted and managed by Inergize Digital.
Mobile advertising for this site is available on Local Ad Buy.