Droughts and Heatwaves Flashcards
What is the difference between a drought and a heatwave?
Droughts are lack of rain whereas heatwaves are hot weather.
What is the definition of a heatwave?
A heatwave is a period of three of more days when an area exceeds its threshold temperature.
What is the definition of a drought?
Droughts are abnormally low precipitation for an extended period of time.
What is an anticylone?
This is a high pressure conditon where air descends, compresses and heats up. No rain falls because the air is hot, meaning that no condensation can happen.
What happens if a heatwave ends with a thunderstorm?
This means that it will be more likely to flood. This is because the heatwave will have baked the ground, making it hard and dry. When the thunderstorm comes, the ground will be nearly impermeable. This means that barely any water will be absorbed, and most of it will run along the ground, leading to flooding.
