A bow echo is the characteristic radar return from a mesoscale convective system that is shaped like an archer's bow. These systems can produce severe straight-line winds and occasionally tornadoes , causing major damage.

Jun 23, 2023 · The term "bow echo" is based on how bands of rain showers or thunderstorms "bow out" when the storm's strong winds reach the surface and spread horizontally. A derecho comes from a long-lived bow echo or a series of bow echoes.

What Is a Bow Echo? A bow echo is a bowed, bulged (or arched) thunderstorm presentation, sometimes embedded within a larger line of thunderstorms such as squall lines.

Apr 18, 2023 · Bow echoes are iconic indications of strong straight-line winds. The science behind "bow" in the squall line is pretty straightforward. Upper-level winds are much stronger than our winds...

Nov 21, 2022 · The term “bow echo” refers to the appearance on a radar image (the echo) of a crescent (like an archery bow) moving outward from a squall line. Bow echoes are of interest to meteorologists because they indicate the potential for severe weather.

Mar 30, 2022 · What is a bow echo? This type of radar signature gets the attention of meteorologists. From rotation to large hail, there are lots of things that weather radar can tell meteorologists about storms.

WHAT CREATES A BOW ECHO? Bow echoes, when they occur, usually occur with a grouping of multicell storms that are arranged into a squall line. The upper tropospheric winds steer storms. These winds help determine the speed and direction that the storms move. The upper tropospheric winds will not always be constant along a squall line.

A bow-shaped line of convective cells that is often associated with swaths of damaging straight-line winds and small tornadoes. Key structural features include an intense rear-inflow jet impinging on the core of the bow, with book-end or line-end vortices on both sides of the rear-inflow jet, behind the ends of the bowed convective segment.

Jan 30, 2025 · Bow echoes are often part of a larger squall line, a long, narrow band of thunderstorms that can extend over a significant distance. The bow-shaped curve forms when cooler winds from the...

Jun 29, 2022 · A bow echo is a quick-moving, bow-shaped line of thunderstorms that can produce swaths of damaging straight-line winds and even small tornadoes. Most of the time, bow echoes form clusters of ...