Spring is considered as a wonderful time of the year by many people, but for some parts of the United States, it is like the year's most precarious weather.
Below are four different ways when spring can wreak havoc.
- Spring thunderstorms can produce strong tornadoes
United States are prone to severe thunderstorms during spring, as there is potential for damaging winds, tornadoes and flooding rainfall. By far, tornadoes are the most extreme event in the spring due to the potential for large contrasts of dry, moist and cold air. If these components come together quickly, they can end up in producing multiple tornadoes.
- Snowstorms can cause disruptions to travel
Snowstorms are another extreme weather problem during early days of spring. In the past, some of the biggest snowstorms occurred in cities like Denver, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Chicago.
March and April are transition months. To put up simply, extreme warmth can often be followed by extreme cold. The contrasts between warm and cold trigger powerful spring storms.
- Spring flooding can be a significant threat to property and human lives
During spring's warmup, rainfall and melting snow can easily cause large amounts of runoff in a short period of time. While severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are the biggest threat in spring, significant flood events becomes a major concern.
- Squally winds can trigger dust storms
One other extreme weather event is dust storms and firestorms. The strongest winds occur during March and April. This is due to the development of big and powerful surface storms developing in the Rockies and then gradually moving towards east.
For instance, if an area is drought stricken and experiences these strong winds, dust storms can develop. Dust storms can turn into firestorms if accidental or careless burning takes place.
Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org
