Midterm #2 Content Flashcards
Streams merge into ______ and then into ______.
Tributaries; rivers
What’s a drainage basin?
Area drained by a single stream or river
AKA watershed, river basin, or catchment
Surface drainage is called runoff
What’s a floodplain?
The area around a river channel that could flood
What are hurricanes and what direction is the wind rotating in each hemisphere?
Hurricanes are an area of center of low pressure with rotating winds.
COUNTER-clockwise in Northern Hemisphere
CLOCKWISE in Southern Hemisphere
How are hurricanes (tropical cyclones) characterized?
By intensity; sustained wind speeds and lowest atmospheric temperature
Differentiate between tropical and extratropical cyclones
Tropical: form over warm ocean water; they’re warm; high winds, heavy rain, surges, tornadoes; derive energy from warm ocean water and latent heat.
Extratropical: form over land or water in temperate regions; cool central cores; they’re cold; strong windstorms, heavy rain, snowstorms, blizzards; most don’t produce severe weather.
Differentiate between conduction, convection, and radiation
Conduction: transfer through atomic or molecular interactions; two bodies in contact
Convection: transfer through mass movement of a fluid; hot air rises displaces cool air, which falls
Radiation: transfer through electromagnetic waves; emitted by a substance that possesses heat
What happens when electromagnetic energy from the sun reaches earth? (3 options)
Redirected, transmitted, or absorbed
Is pressure high or low at the equator?
Low
What are the 3 conditions for a thunderstorm to occur?
1) Warm, humid air available in lower atmosphere
2) Steep, vertical temp gradient; rising air is warmer than the air above it
3) Updraft must force air up to the upper atmosphere
What are the 3 stages of a thunderstorm?
1) Cumulus stage; growing clouds
2) Mature stage; heavy rain, lighting and thunder, hail
3) Dissipating stage; weakens, clouds go away
What are the two types of lightning?
Cloud to ground
Cloud to cloud
How are tornadoes defined?
Defined by vortex extending downward from the cloud and touching the groundW
What is a funnel cloud?
When a tornado isn’t touching the ground
What scale is used for tornadoes?
Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF); from 0-5, lowest to highest damage
What are the 3 conditions for freezing rain?
1) Ample source of moisture
2) Warm air over layer of cold air
3) Objects on land close to or at freezing
What scale is used for hurricanes?
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale; from 1-5, lowest to highest danger
How are cyclones named?
Named once winds reach 63 km/h
Names are reused every 6 years
Names of big storms are retired (Katrina)
Named BY World Meteorological Organization
What are the components of hurricane structure?
1) Rain bands; clouds that spiral inward around center
2) Eyewall; innermost bands of clouds
3) Eye; area of calm at center of hurricane
How is the movement of hurricanes controlled?
Controlled by the Coriolis effect and steering winds
What is the coriolis effect?
Circulating air is deflected toward the right in the North, and left in the South.
How do humans interact with cyclones?
Global warming contributes to higher intensity and frequency of hurricanes
Urbanization in coastal areas makes us more likely to suffer from the damages of these disasters
How are tropical cyclones classified?
As tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes with increasing wind speed.
How many deaths occurred with Hurricane Katrina, and what level on the scale was it?
1800 deaths, category 5
How many deaths occurred with Hurricane Rita, and what level on the scale was it?
120 deaths, category 5
What areas did hurricanes Katrina and Rita most affect?
New Oreleans (Katrina); Cameron Parish (Rita)
