The dramatic flooding around the Aberystwyth in West Wales was one of the worst floods in at least 100 years. Around six inches of rain fell with-in 36hrs. The process which help cause this is known as "Orographic Lifting" The topography around this area is very Hilly and with low Mountains know as the "Cambrian Mountains" From the top map you will see that the Cambrian Mountains rise abruptly just to the East of the coastline. The moisture coming off "Cardigan Bay" via the Atlantic often produces heavy rains for the area over the high ground hence the many dams which are in this area. From the arrow on the top map weather systems often move in from this direction and provide heavy rainfall for the high ground. The map above shows the disturbed weather on Friday and Saturday had a persistent moist airmass pushing in from the Atlantic. Orographic lifting is the process where moist air pushes up the sides of hills/mountains and the air quickly cools to form clouds and then in turn clouds grow, and then the rain begins to fall. This is basically what happened in this location in West Wales.
No comments:
Post a Comment