Severe Weather Flashcards
Following atmospheric conditions causes thunderstorms
Warm moist air near Earth’s surface and unstable atmosphere
Weather that can cause property damage and sometimes death is called
Severe weather
Which type of cloud would most likely produce a thunderstorm
cumulonimbus cloud
A usually brief and heavy storm with strong winds lightning and thunder is called
Thunderstorm
An electric discharge between two of oppositely charge surfaces is
Lightning
Name three places where lightning can happen
Between two clouds, between Earth and a cloud,
between two parts of a cloud
The sound caused by air rapidly expanding along a lightning strike is called
Thunder
Name four dangerous conditions that severe thunderstorms can produce
Highwinds hail flash floods and tornadoes
What is a distructive rotating air column with very high wind speeds
A tornado
In what percent of thunderstorms do tornadoes occur
1%
What is the relationship between a funnel cloud and a tornado
A tornado starts as a funnel cloud that pokes through the cloud and touches the ground
What causes a column of air spinning like a roll of toilet paper to turn to a vertical position
Strong updrafts of air push it
What happens when the spinning column of air moves to the bottom of the cumulonimbus cloud
It forms a funnel cloud
Why do most tornadoes in the United States occur in the spring and early summer
When dry air meets moist air
Why are tornadoes able to cause so much damage
They have strong spinning winds
In order to be called a hurricane, a storm must
Have windspeeds of at least 120 KM/H
what is a cyclone
A hurricane that forms over the Indian Ocean
Hurricanes do not form in higher latitudes because
The water is too cold
What causes a group of thunderstorms to become a hurricane
When tornadoes move over an ocean and winds from two directions meet
Where does the energy that fuels a hurricane come from
The condensation of water vapor from warm moist air over the ocean
Why does a hurricane begin to die when it reaches land
It has lost its source of energy
Clouds that spiral around the center of a hurricane are called
Rain bands
Cumulonimbus clouds that produce strong winds and heavy rains are called
The eye wall
The core of warm calm air is called
The eye
