Unexpected driver of megastorms
April 7, 2025
By Imma Perfetto
In some regions of the world, including parts of Africa, Asia, Americas and Australia, the conditions are right for megastorms to form.
These weather systems, known as “Mesoscale Convective Systems” (MSCs), span thousands of square kilometres and are accompanied by extreme weather conditions, such as destructive winds, lightning, flash flooding and hail.
According to Dr Emma Barton, a meteorologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology: “MSCs are some of the most intense thunderstorms on the planet, and they are increasing in severity due to climate change.”
Barton is first author of a new study in Nature Geoscience, which has identified a new driver of larger megastorms: soil moisture.
By analysing satellite data collected from 2000-2019, Barton and her collaborators discovered that soil moisture can alter atmospheric conditions, and subsequent storm size and rainfall in West Africa, India, South America, South Africa, Australia and the US Great Plains.
More:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/earth-sciences/driver-of-megastorms/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=webpush&utm_campaign=-
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The soil here in western Washington is pretty moist. There have been a couple of times lately that we've had thunder, lightning and hail and I was hoping the next step wouldn't be a tornado 