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Related Flashcards
Cards In This Set
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Be wary of the main storm hazards.
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Thunderstorm Hazards (lightening, hail, tornado, downpours of rain flooding, downbursts of air gustfrontsHurricane Hazards contain thunderstorms, storm surge/coastal flooding, high waves, coastal erosion
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Describe the different types of lightning, how they form, and what happens when they strike something.
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Cloud-to-cloud lightening: occurs when voltage gradient within a cloud, or between clouds overcomes electrical resistance of air. Cloud-to-ground lightening: occurs when negative charges accumulate in lower portions of cloud. Can be positive or negative. Negative strikes are more frequent, come from cloud base. Positive strikes are less frequent, come from anvil, primary cause of natural wild fires.
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Recognize thunderstorms, be able to identify Tstorm components, and explain how they evolve.
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Looks like anvil or mushroom.Thick clouds. Sometimes a very large, rotating single-cell thunderstorm forms, called a supercell Tstorm. They can cause tornadoes, large hail, frequent lightning, heavy rain, strong wind
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Explain how storms get their energy from the sun.
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Solar energy is absorbed at 3 different heights: thermosphere (top), stratopause (middle) and earth surface (bottom). -absorbed sunlight at ground changes to sensible heat (warms the air) -> temperature increases. and latent heat (evaporates water from lakes, etc) -> humidity increases. 2 heat sources forms fuel storms.
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Explain the main characteristics that make a supercell so much nastier than a normal Tstorm
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Sometimes a very large, rotating single-cell thunderstorm forms, called supercell. They can cause the most violent tornadoes, large hail, frequent lightning, heavy rain, strong winds. Rotates as a Mesocyclone, and can spawn tornadoes
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Be able to recognize thunderstorms in radar and satellite images
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K
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Explain the behavior of downbursts and gust fronts, and identify their associated cloud & dust features
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✦ What: Downburst - cold (dense) air sinking.✦ Why: Tstorm can create dense air where rain falls; due to •precipitation drag & •evaporative cooling.✦ Risks: Often invisible, but hazard to aircraft-----------------------------------------------------------✦ What: Gust front - leading edge of straight-line winds.✦ Why: downburst air hits ground & spreads out.✦ Visible: haboob (if dry ground); arc cloud (if moist air)✦ Risks: can blow down large trees and destroy weak structures (mobile homes; out-buildings); hazard to aircraft during take-off/landing
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Describe why the fact that cold air holds less water vapour is critical in explaining how Tstorms can extract energy from humid air
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Some vapour must condense into liquid droplets.• But condensation releases latent heat.If Saturation Humidity value becomes smaller than the actual Humidity, then condensation occurs. This condensation does 3 things:•releases sensible heat into storms,•reduces the humidity down to the equilibrium (saturation) value, &• produces or increases liquid cloud drops, which can grow to become rain drops
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Recognize tornadoes and wall clouds.
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F
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Explain why supercell thunderstorms spawn the most dangerous tornadoes.
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Supercell storm consists of a single, extremely powerful cell rather than a number of individual cells. Typical lifespan of supercell is 2-4 hours.
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Relate the Enhanced Fujita scale to different amounts of damage.
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Determined by amount of damage to buildings .EF0 = very weak tornado -> might break a few windows. EF5 = exceptionally strong tornado
• TORRO Scale determined by wind speed(Europe) |
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Describe safety procedures near tornadoes.
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If indoors:
• below ground, in a basement or storm cellar • get out of mobile homes (worse place to be in tornado) If outdoors on foot: • get into a ditch or hole• place your body below "line of fire"of fast moving debrisIf in car: • drive away from tornado on best convenient road • preferably to right or left of translation direction of tornado. • Do NOT hide under highway bridge or overpass |
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Identify the times and places for high tornado risk
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Oklahoma-center of tornado alleyCenter->EastcoastThere are many tornado outbreaks
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Recognize mammatus clouds and the flanking line, and describe their relationship to Tstorms
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Mammatus Clouds=Circular
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Forces & Accceleration
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Forces create winds. F= m * aIf you push on an object harder (with greater force), then it accelerates faster in the direction you push it.Acceleration = change of velocity (v) during time interval, where velocity has both speed and direction
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