A FLASH-FLOODING STORM AT THE STEEP EDGE OF HIGH TERRAIN Disaster in the Himalayas

Flash floods on the edge of high terrain, such as the Himalayas or Rocky Mountains, are especially dangerous and hard to predict. The Leh flood of 2010 at the edge of the Himalayan Plateau in India is an example of the tragic consequences of such storms. The flood occurred over a high mountain river...

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Published inBulletin of the American Meteorological Society Vol. 93; no. 11; pp. 1713 - 1724
Main Authors Rasmussen, Kristen L., Houze, Robert A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston American Meteorological Society 01.11.2012
Subjects
Atmospheric moisture
Boundary layers
Evaporation
Flash floods
Floods
Freshwater
Latent heat
Meteorology
Monsoons
Precipitation
Rain
Rainy seasons
Storms
Tropical regions
Wind
Rocky Mountains
Arabian Sea
Pakistan
United States > US
Indus River
China, People's Rep., Xizang, Tibetan Plateau
Pakistan, Himalayas
North America, Rocky Mts
Asia
India
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Summary:Flash floods on the edge of high terrain, such as the Himalayas or Rocky Mountains, are especially dangerous and hard to predict. The Leh flood of 2010 at the edge of the Himalayan Plateau in India is an example of the tragic consequences of such storms. The flood occurred over a high mountain river valley when, on three successive days, diurnally generated convective cells over the Tibetan Plateau gathered into mesoscale convective systems and moved off the edge of the Plateau over Leh. An easterly midlevel jet associated with a midlevel monsoon vortex over northern India and a high over Asia helped the convection organize into propagating mesoscale systems that moved over the edge of the Plateau. On the third day the mesoscale system moving off the plateau was greatly invigorated when it suddenly drew on moisture flowing upslope over the terrain. It gained maximum strength from this intake of moisture near Leh, and the heavy rains washed over the surrounding mountains and down and over the town.
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ISSN:0003-0007
1520-0477
1520-0477
DOI:10.1175/bams-d-11-00236.1