Geo - Weather Hazards Flashcards
Why is low pressure bad news?
Means it’s gonna rain and be soggy
Why do we like high pressure?
Dry and sunny
Name the three circulation cells
Polar, Ferrell and Hadley
How do the cells work
Air at the equator rises -causing low pressure- and sinks when it cools down -causing high pressure- (perfect for deserts like the Sahara and Australian outback)
Why are the cells important?
They regulate the earth’s surface temperature moving hot air to the colder poles
How else does the earth regulate temperature
Through ocean currents
Roughly how big are tropical storms
Between 482-644km wide and 6-8km tall
Roughly How fast do tropical storms move
16-24km/h but can travel as fast as 65km/h
What is the Coriolis effect
The force caused by the rotation of the earth - makes tropical storms spin
What’s at the centre of the storm
The eye
Roughly how wide is the eye of the storm
32-48km
What are features of the eye
Light winds, no rain and descending air
Where do tropical storms develop?
Approximately between 5 and 30 degrees latitude - where there is enough spin from the earth and there is a higher temperature
What can be the impact of tropical storms?
Houses destroyed, people killed/injured/stranded
What scale is used to measure the intensity of a tropical storm
The saffir-Simpson scale ranging from 1-5 with 5 being the most extreme
What features might a storm proof hut have?
Made of strong concrete
Shutters over windows
Bicycles for communication
Built on stilts
Why does the UK get such diverse weather?
It’s in the middle of a ‘weather roundabout’
What are 5 weather hazards in the UK
Thunderstorms- following a period of hot weather
Prolonged rainfall - leads to floods
Drought and heat - can result in wildfires
Heavy snow and cold
Strong winds - remnants of hurricanes
Why might extreme weather events be on the increase?
There’s more energy in the atmosphere due to global warming
The global atmospheric circulation system may get ‘stuck’ as the bands of high and low pressure change which can cause prolonged periods of rainfall and drought
What causes our weather to become ‘stuck’
Climate change
