Explosive tempest driven by surge in the jet stream

[ben_meyers]

From The TimesMarch 11, 2008

Explosive tempest driven by surge in the jet stream
Paul Simons
The storm yesterday was a rare example of a weather “bomb”, a tempest that explodes into life at a ferocious rate. The same phenomenon drove the notorious storm of October 1987 that caught forecasters unawares, although this time the storm was well predicted.

The engine that drives these storms is the jet stream. This river of wind blows around the world a few miles high, speeding up and slowing down as it heads eastwards. On Sunday a surge in the jet stream burst across the North Atlantic at speeds over 200mph, a kick known as a “jet streak”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/uk_and_roi/article3525625.ece