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Extreme Weather Flashcards

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0
Q

What device is used to measure pressure?

A

Barometer

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1
Q

What device is used to measure precipitation?

A

Rain gauge

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2
Q

What device is used to measure wind speed?

A

Anemometer

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3
Q

What device is used to measure wind direction?

A

Weather vane

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4
Q

What is a depression?

A

A region of low atmospheric pressure which revolves in an anti clockwise direction. It’s rising air brings unsettled weather - wind and precipitation

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5
Q

Summarise the events in the passage of a depression

A

Warm maritime air meets cool air. It rises and triggers rain. This is the warm front

Cold front marks return of cold air pushed around anticlockwise by the spin of the depression - there is heavy showers here

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6
Q

Summarise the warm front

A

Long period of persistent light rainfall (front not as steep but cover larger area)

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7
Q

Summarise what happens at the cold front

A

Shorter periods of very heavy rainfall (front steeper but covers less area)

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8
Q

What are the possible hazards from a depression?

A

Floods

Gales

Blizzards

Storm surges

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9
Q

What is an anticyclone?

A

A region of high pressure bringing calm conditions. Precipitation less likely but temperatures can be extreme (winter frosts and summer heat waves)

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10
Q

What are the possible hazards of an anticyclone?

A

Summer - drought, heat wave, wildfire

Winter - frost, fog, snow

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11
Q

What are the conditions of temperature at the cold front?

A

In rear - little change

At passage - significant drop

Ahead - slight fall

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12
Q

What are the conditions of clouds at the cold front?

A

In rear - shower clouds, clear skies and cumulus clouds

At passage - heavy cumulo nimbus

Ahead - low stratus and strato cumulus

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13
Q

What are the conditions of precipitation at the cold front?

A

In rear - bright intervals and scattered showers

At passage - heavy rain and thunder storms

Ahead - light rain and drizzle

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14
Q

What are the conditions of wind at the cold front?

A

In rear - veering north west, decreasing speed

At passage - sudden veer south west to west, increase in speed

Ahead - southwest but increasing in speed

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15
Q

What are the conditions of temperature at the warm front?

A

In rear - little change

At passage - marked rise

Ahead - steady an little change

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16
Q

What are the conditions of clouds at the warm front?

A

In rear - overcast, stratus and strato cumulus

At passage - low nimbo stratus

Ahead - increasingly overcast, cirrus to alto stratus to nimbo stratus

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17
Q

What are the conditions of precipitation at the warm front?

A

In rear - light rain and drizzle

At passage - rain stops or very light

Ahead - light rain becoming heavier

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18
Q

What are the conditions of wind at the warm front?

A

In rear - steady south west, constant

At passage - sudden veer south to south west

Ahead - slight backing ahead of front, increase in speed

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19
Q

What is a hurricane?

A

A tropical storm with sustained wind speeds in excess of 120 kmh-1 which originates in the tropics

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20
Q

What is the inter tropical convergence zone?

A

A zone of low atmospheric pressure near the equator. It migrates seasonally, creating conditions that favour hurricane formation.

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21
Q

What does hurricane formation require?

A

Sea temperatures over 27 degrees celcius

Deep water over 60m

Lack of upper atmospheric winds

Latitudes 5-20 degrees from equator

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22
Q

Summarise the formation of a hurricane

A

Falling air pressure pulls in dense cold air - creates an anti-clockwise upward spiral of increasing wind speeds

Water vapour from ocean rises and cools - creates cumulonimbus clouds around central eye

Condensation releases latent heat which increases energy and wind speeds

Cooling air spreads outwards creating cirrus clouds

As well as strong winds, torrential rain and massive storm clouds are produced

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23
Q

What is the Coriolis effect?

A

The way in which moving objects are deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere by the spin of the earth. This determines the general path of hurricanes and their general rotation

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24
Q

What hurricane occurred in New Orleans and when?

A

Katrina

August 2005

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25
Q

New Orleans sits on the Gulf of Mexico, what happened when hurricane Katrina met the gulf?

A

When it met the gulf it was only category 3 but it met the right conditions and built up to category 5

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26
Q

What were the economic impacts of hurricane Katrina?

A

30 offshore oil platforms destroyed

Hundreds of thousands left unemployed

Total economic loss estimated at over $150 billion

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27
Q

What were the social impacts of hurricane Katrina?

A

Over one million evacuated, displaced or homeless

Most major roads into or out of city damaged

Water and food supplies contaminated

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28
Q

What were the environmental impacts of hurricane Katrina?

A

16 national wildlife refuges destroyed

Storm surges destroyed sections of barrier islands

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29
Q

What is a tornado?

A

A violent rotating column of twisting air often seen as a twisting vortex of water vapour and debris which touches the ground

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30
Q

How do tornadoes form?

A

Form from weather events called super cells

Requires instability in the atmosphere

Air has to be moist/warm - rises - forms clouds

Temperature gradient needed

Wind in the atmosphere - forces tornado to spin (often wind speeds of over 250mph)

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31
Q

Why are tornadoes difficult to record accurately?

A

They are unpredictable and short lived

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32
Q

When is the peak tornado season?

A

March to July

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33
Q

Where do the most violent tornadoes often occur?

A

In what the Americans call tornadoes alley in the states of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas

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34
Q

Give an example of a tornado and its impacts

A

Oklahoma City, May 3rd 1999

A long track EF5 tornado city hit the city

Left a trail of destruction over 1km wide

1800 homes destroyed and 2500 damaged

43 died

700 injured

$1.2 billion repair bill

35
Q

What is drought?

A

A lack of or shortage of water for an unusually long time, involving 50% less than the usual rainfall over 3 months

36
Q

What were some of the impacts of the 2007 Australia drought?

A

Lowest ever flow recorded in the river Murray

Algal blooms triggered by warmer water

Forest fires endangered people and wildlife in the suburbs of Sydney

Water shortages threatened political agreements

Irrigation supplies rationed

37
Q

What is a blizzard?

A

A snowstorm becomes a blizzard when wind speeds reach more than 56kmh-1

38
Q

What is an ice storm?

A

When a rain bearing warm front arrives in an area of cold, dense air and the rain freezes as soon as it hits land

39
Q

What is a storm surge?

A

The combined effects of strong winds and low barometric pressure causing waves to pile up against the coast

40
Q

What are the conditions of a polar continental air mass?

A

Cold and dry

41
Q

What are the conditions of a tropical maritime air mass?

A

Warm and wet

42
Q

How can you modify vulnerability in a hurricane?

A

Evacuation procedure - regional - road signs, to broadcasts,
- personal plan - where to go, what to take etc

Community education programmes

Increase level of preparedness

Computer model risk using satellite data

43
Q

How can you modify losses in a hurricane?

A

Federal and state aid

Personal insurance policies

Photograph all possessions

44
Q

How can you modify vulnerability in a tornado?

A

Evacuation procedure - regional - road signs, to broadcasts,
- personal plan - where to go, what to take etc

Community education programmes - e.g. Tornado watch and warning issued by tornado centre, Oklahoma

Increase level of preparedness

Computer model risk using satellite data

45
Q

How can modify losses in a tornado?

A

Federal and state aid

Personal insurance policies

Photograph all possessions

46
Q

How can you modify the event in a drought?

A

Cloud seeing with chemicals to induce rain (not v successful)

GM crops designed more drought tolerant

47
Q

How can you modify losses in a tornado?

A

Restrict loss of moisture - e.g. Water harvesting in Tunisia

International aid - live aid, comic relief, world bank loans

F.E.M.A

48
Q

How can you modify vulnerability vulnerability in a tornado?

A

Appoint a drought task force - responsible for identifying high risk areas and developing appropriate mitigation

Use of satellite data to predict drought location and speed of onset

Modelling of El Niño events that cause drought in SE Australia

Build dams

Collect and reuse water

Hose pipe bans

Stagger planting crops

Reduce irrigation - drip fed irrigation

49
Q

How can you modify the event In a wildfire?

A

Possible to manage spread - clear fuel (litter, vegetation etc) in path of the fire - controlled burning

Use of helicopters to water bomb the fire

Structural measures - land use planning

Building of low density housing with fire resistant material

50
Q

How can you modify the vulnerability in a wildfire?

A

Increase level of preparedness via use of infrared heat sourcing

Lighting detection systems and also infrared sensors for early warning

Computer modelling of the predicted spread of the fire

Community preparedness and training as an auxiliary fire fighting force

Public education

51
Q

How can you modify the losses in a wildfire

A

Federal and state aid

Personal insurance policies

Photograph all possessions

52
Q

What is continental rainfall?

A

Sun heats ground

Water evaporates

Moist air rises, cools and condenses

It rains

53
Q

What is frontal rainfall?

A

When two air masses meet the warm air is forced above the cold air

It cools and condenses to form clouds - rain

54
Q

What is frontal rainfall?

A

Wind passes over the sea - picks up moisture

When it hits land it is forced to rise

Cools, condenses and forms clouds

Opposite happens as it comes down other side of mountain - as it falls it heats and stops raining

55
Q

How is wind generated?

A

By air moving from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure

The greater the difference between high and low pressure the faster the wind

56
Q

What is cyclogenesis

A

How storms form

57
Q

What are the functions of a Stevenson screen?

A

4ft tall

Barometer

Anemometer (on top)

Rain gauge (in soil at side)

Site them in the middle of a field - not influenced by anything else

58
Q

What are the advantages of using mobile telephone calls and SMS as a flood warning?

A

95% of working population own a mobile

Different family members can all be warned individually

Even rural areas are now well served by mobile networks

59
Q

What are the disadvantages of using mobile telephone calls and SMS as a flood warning?

A

Ownership is much lower for elderly people

Mobiles have limited battery life which may mean they are switched off

60
Q

What are the advantages of using email and Internet as a flood warning?

A

Over half of UK households have access to the Internet

Email could serve as a flood warning medium

Internet allows use of the EA’s flood line and flood warning services

61
Q

What are the disadvantages of using email and Internet as a flood warning?

A

Less than 1/5 of over 75s use the Internet

Only 1/8 of the poorest 10% of the UK’s population have access to a PC

Poorer groups may not turn on computers to check emails frequently enough to receive flood warnings

62
Q

What are the advantages of using digital television as a flood warning?

A

Allows viewers access to 24hour news

62% oh households have digital television and 85% of the population live in areas that receive digital signal

63
Q

What are the disadvantages of using digital television as a flood warning?

A

Can minority interest channels be relied upon to issue regional water warnings in the same way that the BBC and ITV do?

64
Q

What are the advantages of using digital radio as a flood warning?

A

Digital radio signals could be used to trigger alert systems inside people houses

65
Q

What are the disadvantages of using digital radio as a flood warning?

A

Reception is still poor in some remote areas

Devices can be switched off and warnings will not be received

66
Q

Define antecedent

A

The previous weather, soil moisture or flow conditions

67
Q

What is meant by river discharge?

A

The rate of river flow measured in cumecs

68
Q

How can the met office be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Secondary

Www.metoffice.co.uk

Case study of event and antecedent conditions that cause flooding.

Monitor rainfall levels over time and assess risk level

69
Q

How can the environment agency be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Secondary

Www.environmentagency.gov.uk

Monitor discharge levels in the wansbeck over time

70
Q

How can newcastle uni be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Secondary

Www.ncl.ac.uk

official report into the flood and likelihood of reccurance

71
Q

How can Morpeth be be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Secondary

Www.northumberland.gov.uk

Info on the flood alleviation scheme

72
Q

How can newspapers be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Secondary

The Morpeth herald

Current flooring issues, public opinion of defences etc

73
Q

How can a Stevenson screen be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Primary

Rainfall, temperature, air pressure, wind speed/direction

74
Q

How can rainfall data be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Primary

Rain gauges

Collect rainfall data across the wider catchment

75
Q

How can soil saturation be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Primary

Soil saturation gauges

Collect soil saturation data across the catchment

76
Q

How can land use mapping be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Primary

Map residential, business, open space et

Overlay with flooded area to show areas most at risk

77
Q

How can flood mapping be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Primary

Use photos of the flood and locate them on a map to study the area effected

78
Q

How can questionnaires be used when investigating flooding risk?

A

Primary

Questionnaire of residents to determine their current risk level and improvement they think have been made

79
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our met office data?

A

Results - flood was caused by blocking anticyclone that trapped a depression over UK - more than 80mm rainfall fell in 24hrs

Conclusion - indicates similar event could occur in future if similar conditions present

80
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our environment agency research?

A

Results - flood early warning given but mistakes made to some locations e.g. Middle green

Conclusion - reliance on EA for flood warning is risky as danger of human error

81
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our national five flow archive research?

A

Results - during flood a peak river height of nearly 5meters was recorded - highest ever

Conclusion - significant impacts from such high levels

82
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our newcastle uni report research?

A

Results - identified areas where river banks were overtopped e.g. Mitford road, low stanners

Conclusion - risk of similar event occurring would depend on combination of factors and reoccurrence of weather conditions

83
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our newspaper reports?

A

Results - 400 evacuated - 100 properties effected - losses estimated at £40 million

Conclusion - significant impacts

84
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our land use mapping?

A

Results - land in flooded area a mix of park land and residential and flood water reached high street causing a number of businesses to close

Conclusion - impacts greatest for those using land as residential/business purposes

85
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our flood Impact questionnaire?

A

Results - 60/170 affected - 51% said property flooded - flood defences scored 2 out of 5

Conclusion - large amount of residents disrupted but most feel risk now lowered after new flood defences out in place

86
Q

What were the results and conclusion of our flood defence mapping?

A

Results - new flood walls and gates built in middle greens, Mitford road and high stanners - extra drainage put in at Mitford road

Conclusion - risk reduced due to flood defences but Pretoria avenue identified as still being unprotected

Geography (5 decks)

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