<p>The image below from the Australian <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bureau of Meteorology</a> shows several thunderstorms in southeast Queensland today and the directions they are expected to move. </p>

<p>I'm surprised how different these directions are. I had imagined that </p>

<ul>
<li>the main influence on a storm's trajectory would be high level winds, and </li>
<li>the high level winds would be relatively uniform in such an area, being unaffected by geographical features (hills, rivers).</li>
</ul>

<p>But that doesn't seem to fit with this evidence.</p>

<p>What factors influence the direction of a storm's movement?</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/VEsd6.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/VEsd6.png" alt="Thunderstorms in south-east Queensland"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-02T09:21:06.737Z
I would expect vertical convection to play important role
Gabija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-02T21:25:49.317Z
@Gabija Would you suggest that the type of ground cover and terrain would influence the convection and thereby the direction?
John
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-03T10:16:50.317Z
@John I think 2nd chapter in this paper (http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0477%281988%29069%3C0272%3ATPTF%3E2.0.CO%3B2) suggests that at least their origin depends on convection caused by topography.
Gabija
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-04T11:55:58.393Z
So I wonder whether my mental model should be (a) thunderstorms in location X will almost always travel in direction Y, or (b) it's just too complex to predict heuristically, leave it to the models. Maybe there's something in between.
John
<meteorology><atmosphere><wind><thunderstorm>
Why do nearby thunderstorms move in different directions?
John
# Why do nearby thunderstorms move in different directions?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-31)

The image below from the Australian [Bureau of Meteorology](http://www.bom.gov.au/) shows several thunderstorms in southeast Queensland today and the directions they are expected to move.

I'm surprised how different these directions are. I had imagined that

* the main influence on a storm's trajectory would be high level winds, and
* the high level winds would be relatively uniform in such an area, being unaffected by geographical features (hills, rivers).

But that doesn't seem to fit with this evidence.

What factors influence the direction of a storm's movement?

[![Thunderstorms in south-east Queensland](https://i.sstatic.net/VEsd6.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/VEsd6.png)

**Tags:** meteorology, atmosphere, wind, thunderstorm

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I would expect vertical convection to play important role  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Would you suggest that the type of ground cover and terrain would influence the convection and thereby the direction?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 I think 2nd chapter in this paper (http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/1520-0477%281988%29069%3C0272%3ATPTF%3E2.0.CO%3B2) suggests that at least their origin depends on convection caused by topography.  
> **username_0**: So I wonder whether my mental model should be (a) thunderstorms in location X will almost always travel in direction Y, or (b) it's just too complex to predict heuristically, leave it to the models. Maybe there's something in between.  

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## 0 answers

