Appendix C. Climate Overview for the Oak Ridge AreaAppendix C. Climate Overview for the Oak Ridge Area C.1 Regional Climate

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.296.8185; http://www.ornl.gov/sci/env_rpt/aser2009/App-C.pdf

The climate of the Oak Ridge area and its surroundings may be broadly classified as humid subtropical. The term “humid ” indicates that the region receives an overall surplus of precipitation compared to the level of evapotranspiration that is normally experienced throughout the year. The “subtropical ” nature of the local climate indicates that the region experiences a wide range of seasonal temperatures. Such areas typically experience significant changes in temperature between summer and winter. Local winters are characterized by synoptic weather systems that often produce significant precipitation events every 3 to 5 days. These wet periods are occasionally followed by arctic air outbreaks. Although snow and ice are not associated with many of these systems, occasional snowfall does occur. Winter cloud cover tends to be enhanced by the regional terrain (cold air wedging). Severe thunderstorms are the most frequent during spring but can occur at any time during the year. The Cumberland Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau often inhibit the intensity of severe systems that traverse the region (due to the downward momentum created as the storms move off of the higher terrain into the Great Valley). Summers are characterized by very warm, humid conditions. Occasional frontal systems may produce organized lines of thunderstorms (and rare damaging tornados). More frequently