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Earth Science ESU > Chapter 19: Weather Patterns and Severe Storms > Flashcards

Chapter 19: Weather Patterns and Severe Storms Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the characteristics of air masses?

A
  • Large body of air (several km thick)

* Similar Temperature and Moisture level @ any given altitude

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2
Q

What is a cold Canadian air mass?

A

The air mass becomes warmer, but also brings some of the coldest weather of the winter.

Comes from the south

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3
Q

What is the area where an air mass acquires its properties?

A

Source Region

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4
Q

Two parts of criteria that is used to classify air masses?

A

1) Latitude of the source region.
Polar- high lat. cold
Topical– low lat. warm
2) Nature id the surface in the source region
Continental- air mass forms over land (dry)
Maritime

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5
Q

The five basic types of air masses

A

1) Continental Polar (cP): dry/cold
2) Continental Arctic (cA): dry/ very cold (winter only)
3) Continental Tropical (cT): dry/warm (summer only)
4) Maritime Polar (mP): humid/cold
5) Maritime Tropical (mT): humid warm

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6
Q

The most important air masses in North America

A

cP and mT and are most commonly in the east Rockies

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7
Q

What act as boundaries that separate air masses of different densities?

A

Fronts

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8
Q

What are some identities of air masses?

A
  • One air mass is usually warmer than one that contains moisture.
  • The warmer, less dense air is forced aloft (up).
  • Cooler, denser air acts as a wedge as it stay low.
  • Fronts are relativity narrow.
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9
Q

Two types of Fronts

A
  1. Warm Fronts

2. Cold Fronts

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10
Q

What is a Warm Front?

A
  • warm air replaces cooler air
  • on weather map is seen w/ semi-circles
  • slow rate of advance
  • low clouds
  • light-moderate precipitation
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11
Q

What is a Cold Front?

A
  • cold air replaces warm air
  • on weather map is seen w/ triangles
  • twice as steep as a warm front
  • advances faster than a warm front
  • associated weather is more violent than warm front: intensity of prec. greater… duration of prec. shorter
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12
Q

What is a Stationary front?

A

A flow of air on both sides of the front is almost parallel to line of front.

Surface position does not move.

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13
Q

What is a Occluded Front?

A

Active cold front overtakes a warm front.

Precipitation is associated w/ warm air being forced aloft

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14
Q

The life cycle of a middle-latitude cyclone?

A

Form along front where air masses are moving parallel to the front in opposite directions.

Continental polar (cP) n: north front
Maritime tropical (mT): south front
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15
Q

The overtaking of one front by another, is called what?

A

Occlusion

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16
Q

A storm that generates lightning and the resultant thunder, is called what?

A

A Thunderstorm!

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17
Q

Features of a Thundestrom

A
  • Cumulonimbus clouds (vertical)
  • Heavy rainfall
  • Lightning and thunder
  • Gusty winds, occasional hail
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18
Q

What is the occurrence of a thunderstorm?

A

45,000 thunderstorms per day.
100,000 thunderstorms per year

Most frequent in Florida and eastern gulf coast. AKA THY’RE COMMON

19
Q

Stages of development of a Thunderstorm?

A

1) require continuous supply of warm air & moisture or storm will dissipate
- surge causes air to rise higher
- updrafts (warm) and downdrafts (cool)

2) Eventually precipitation forms
- most active stage of storm
- gusty winds , lighting, hail
- heavy precipitation

3) Cooling effect of precipitation
- marks the end of the thunderstorm activity

20
Q

For a thunderstorm to occur what does it require?

A
  1. Warm air
  2. Moist air
  3. Instability (lifting)
    Most common in the afternoon and early evening b/c that’s when air is warmest
21
Q

Local, Violent & destructive wind storm of a short duration, is called what?

A

A Tornado

22
Q

Features of a Tornado

A
  • Rotating column of air that extends down from a cumulonimbus cloud
  • Very low pressure inside storm causes air rush into tornado
  • Suction vortices can form inside - this is hwy certain ares are destroyed in storm path & others are not touched at all.
23
Q

How often do Tornado’s occur and how they develop?

A
  • Average of 770 tornadoes each year in US
  • Most frequent April- June
  • No one knows the exact reasons they form.
  • Strong updrafts in a thunderstorm & winds in the troposphere
24
Q

What kinds of conditions do you need for a tornado to occur?

A
  • Spring months occurred most
  • Associated w/ huge thunderstorms called Supercells
  • Can occur in any sever weather situation
25
Q

A vertical cylinder of rotating air, typically 2-6 miles across, is called what?

A

A Mesocyclone

26
Q

When winds aloft are moving much faster than those near the surface that produces rolling motions across the horizontal axis, is called what?

A

Speed Wind Sheer

27
Q

What are the characteristics of a Tornado?

A
  • Diameter between 500-2,000 ft
  • Moves across land @ 30 mph
  • Cuts about 6 mile long path on average
  • Maximum winds of 310 mph
  • Intensity measured by Enhanced Fujita Intensity Scale
28
Q

What is the Enhanced Fujita Intensity Scale (EF)?

A

A 6-category scale that represents the increasing degrees of damage during a tornado.

Revised in 2007.

29
Q

What is a Tornado Watch?

A

To alert the public to the possibility of tornadoes.

Issued when the conditions are favorable..

30
Q

What is a Tornado Warning?

A

Issued when a tornado is sighted on the ground by the weather radar.

31
Q

What is a Tornado Emergency?

A

The most severe warning.

Must seek shelter underground to survive.

32
Q

What is a Hurricane?

A

The most violent storms of Earth!!!

Wind speeds excess of >74 mph

Rotary cyclone circulation

33
Q

Different names for Hurricanes and where to find them?

A
  1. Typhoon- western Pacific, Japan, and Southeast Asia
  2. Cyclones- Indian Ocean
  3. Hurricanes- Gulf of Mexico ,North Atlantic Ocean, Eastern Pacific Ocean.
34
Q

What is the eye of a hurricane?

A
  • The very center of the storm
  • precipitation ceases in the eye
  • warmest part of storm
  • air descends
35
Q

What is the eye wall?

A
  • Wall of cumulonimbus clouds @ center of storm
  • Greatest wind speeds are here
  • Heaviest rainfall happens here
36
Q

When winds do not exceed 38 mph, this is called what?

A

A Tropical Depression

37
Q

When winds reach between 38-74 mph , this is called what?

A

A Tropical Storm

38
Q

When do Hurricanes occur?

A
  • They form in tropical waters
  • Comes from condescending water vapor
  • Most often happen in late summer
39
Q

When do hurricanes diminish their intensity?

A
  • They move over cooler water
  • They move onto land
  • They large-scale flow aloft is unfavorable to continue to support the storm
40
Q

The Saffir-Simpson Scale?

A

Ranks the relative intensities of hurricanes based on

  1. wind speed
  2. pressure
  3. storm surge

(Has five levels to it.)

41
Q

Three factors that affect the amount of damage from a hurricane?

A
  1. Strength of storm- (most important)
  2. Size & population density of are affected
  3. Shape of the ocean bottom near the shore
42
Q

Three categories of hurricane damage?

A
  1. Storm Surge- large dome of water that sweeps across coast where eye of storm makes landfall. (40-50 miles wide)
  2. Wind damage
  3. Inland flooding from torrential rains
43
Q

2017 Hurricane Harvey

A
  • Category 4- 130 mph winds
  • 82 fatalities
  • $190 -$200 billion in damages
  • Flooding was between 04-60 inches of rainfall on Aug. 24 -Sept. 1 in southern Texas.
  • Slow moving
44
Q

2017 Hurricane Irma

A
  • Category 6- 185 mph winds
  • 134 fatalities
  • $80 -$100 billion in damages
  • Struck Florida on & moved inland on Sept. 9-10th.
  • Strongest storm observed in Atlantic since 2005.

Earth Science ESU (24 decks)

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