What is a 'Sting Jet' ?

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Dave Brown
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What is a 'Sting Jet' ?

Post by Dave Brown »

Storm predicted for 27/28th October 2013
stephenprudence wrote:
Two absolute certainties, are that if this storm goes south of its current position, it will pack tighter isobars and stronger winds, but these will affect the Channel Islands with gusts probably over 100mph. If the storm track goes north of the estimation, then winds will decrease in intensity, probably just giving around 50-60mph gusts around the London area to Bristol Channel. As it stands (and yes it could change), the south coast, far southeast England (coastal SE Kent), will probably see 70-80mph gusts. This is by no means unheard of. The only issue is whether a sting jet is brought into play.. I'm a little sceptical about that but it's possible. Sting jet featuring could result in gusts over 100mph. However there is not a huge amount of evidence to support that at the moment.

The one thing we can certain of, is that this storm may cause localised damage (even resulting in more widepread disruption), however it will almost certainly not be to the extent, or strength of 1987.. given the setup, that is genuinely not possible.

But for southern folks (away from the coast/far southwest), who do not see storms of this calibre like the the more Northern areas (ie Scotland/Northern Ireland), it will be something unusual in recent times.
Stephen, can you explain what a sting jet is please icon_scratch
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Dave
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cordyman

Re: What is a 'Sting Jet' ?

Post by cordyman »

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Dave Brown
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Re: What is a 'Sting Jet' ?

Post by Dave Brown »

BBC confirms that a 'sting jet' did occur in the St Jude's Day storm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/feeds/24744462
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Dave
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Roll on summer.....
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stephenprudence

Re: What is a 'Sting Jet' ?

Post by stephenprudence »

A sting jet essentially comes about with a jetstream aligns with the path of a storm. If the storm undergoes cyclogensis (uses thermal gradients to develop), whilst passing through the jetstream, the descending air which is a feature of all cyclonic formations drags down a localised jet stream 'thread' to the surface (ground) layer.. this is a sting jet.

It's basically the jetstream being pushed down to the lower levels.. imagine it like a whip (hence the name sting jet).

Not fun to be in.. pretty downright dangerous.

1987 in October, also featured a sting jet.
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