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Geography GCSE > Structure and Features of Tropical Storms > Flashcards

Structure and Features of Tropical Storms Flashcards

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1
Q

In what areas of the world do tropical storms form?

A

Between 5 and 30 degrees latitude.

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2
Q

What forms between 5 and 30 degrees latitude?

A

Tropical storms.

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3
Q

In what conditions does warm air rise rapidly?

A

Low-pressure conditions.

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4
Q

How does warm air rise in low-pressure conditions?

A

Warm air rises rapidly in low-pressure conditions.

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5
Q

What is wind shear?

A

A wind direction and/or speed change over a horizontal or vertical distance.

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6
Q

What is a change in wind speed and/or direction over a horizontal or vertical distance?

A

Wind shear.

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7
Q

What type of wind-shear stops tropical storms from breaking up?

A

Low wind shear.

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8
Q

What does low wind shear mean for a tropical storm?

A

It will not break up.

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9
Q

What are the conditions required for a tropical storm?

A

50 metres of sea below the tropical storm, the Coriolis effect, 27 degrees C, and low wind shear.

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10
Q

What is in the middle of a tropical storm, and what are the conditions in this place?

A

The eye is in the middle of a tropical storm, and it has clear skies and no winds; it is calm.

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11
Q

What causes the air to rise upwards while spinning?

A

The Coriolis effect.

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12
Q

As the air rises, it cools and condenses in a tropical storm. What does this form?

A

Towering cumulonimbus clouds, which generate torrential rainfall.

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13
Q

What generates torrential rainfall in a tropical storm?

A

Towering cumulonimbus clouds in a tropical storm.

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14
Q

When is heat given off in a tropical storm?

A

When the air cools and powers the tropical storm.

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15
Q

What does the air cooling power, and what does it give off in a tropical storm?

A

The air cooling powers the tropical storm, giving off heat.

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16
Q

What sinks into the eye in a tropical storm?

A

Cool air.

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17
Q

Where does cool air go in a tropical storm?

A

It sinks into the eye.

18
Q

What does cool air sinking into the eye of a tropical storm result in?

A

No clouds, and the eye being drier, clear and much calmer.

19
Q

Why is the eye drier, clear and much calmer than the rest of the tropical storm?

A

As cool air is sinking into it.

20
Q

How does a tropical storm travel?

A

Across the ocean by the prevailing wind.

21
Q

What does the prevailing wind do to the tropical storm?

A

It pushes across the ocean’s surface.

22
Q

When the tropical storm meets land, what happens?

A

It is no longer fuelled by the source of the moisture and heat from the ocean.

23
Q

When is a tropical storm no longer fuelled by the source of the moisture and heat from the ocean?

A

When it meets land.

24
Q

State and explain the conditions that may dissipate a tropical storm.

A

When it reaches land, the storm’s energy supply (evaporated water) is cut off.
Friction with the land slows it down and it weakens.
If the storm reaches warm sea after crossing the land, it may pick up strength again.
If a storm is pushed above 30 degrees latitude by prevailing wind, it could also go into cold waters and weaken.

25
Q

(Long answer) Explain the full formation (7 steps) of a tropical storm.

A

Air is heated above the surface of a tropical ocean. The warm air rises rapidly under low-pressure conditions.

The rising air draws up more airing large volumes of moisture from the ocean, causing strong winds. The low wind shear stops the storm from breaking up.

The Coriolis effect (spinning movement of the Earth) causes the air to spin upwards around a calm central eye of the storm.

As the air rises, it cools and condenses to form large, towering cumulonimbus clouds, which generate torrential rainfall. Heat is given off when the air cools and powers the tropical storm.

Cool air sinks into the eye. Therefore, there is no cloud, so it is drier, clear and much calmer.

The tropical storm travels across the ocean by the prevailing wind.

When the tropical storm meets land, it is no longer fuelled by the source of the moisture and heat from the ocean, so it loses power and weakness.

26
Q

What is the order of steps in the formation of a tropical storm?

A

Air rising in low pressure, rising air means higher volume of water, Coriolis effect results in the eye of the storm, cumulonimbus clouds generated, eye is calmer than rest of storm, tropical storm travels across ocean, tropical storm meets land and loses power and weakens.

27
Q

What do cumulonimbus thunder clouds draw in?

A

Moist, rising air.

28
Q

What draws in moist, rising air?

A

Cumulonimbus clouds draw in moist, rising air.

29
Q

Why does the tropical storm grow?

A

The air continues to rise. If the tropical storm did not move and stayed in the conditions that it needed to form, it could theoretically exist forever.

30
Q

What is the average height of the tropical storm?

A

The height of a tropical storm could be up to 13 kilometres.

31
Q

What is the average width of a tropical storm?

A

The average width of a tropical storm is about 240-320 kilometres.

32
Q

What is the average width of the eye in a tropical storm?

A

The eye is about 16-48 kilometres in a tropical storm.

33
Q

How fast does a tropical storm move?

A

A tropical storm will move at about 16-24 km/h across the ocean.

34
Q

What is the eye wall in a tropical storm?

A

The most dangerous part of the tropical storm, on the edge of the eye. It is a very high-density cloud.

35
Q

What shape are tropical storms?

A

Circular/cylinder.

36
Q

How many days will a tropical storm last?

A

7-14 days (usually).

37
Q

How fast are the winds in the eye wall of a tropical storm?

A

They are usually around 160 km/h.

38
Q

The number of tropical storms is generally not increasing, however…

A

the average strength of tropical storms is increasing.

39
Q

…however the average strength of tropical storms is increasing.

A

The number of tropical storms is generally not increasing,

40
Q

Not only is climate change causing higher sea temperatures, but consequentially,…

A

this causes more areas in higher latitudes to reach at least 27 degrees C.

41
Q

…but consequentially, this causes more areas in higher latitudes to reach at least 27 degrees C.

A

Not only is climate change causing higher sea temperatures,

42
Q
A

Geography GCSE (17 decks)

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