The Atmosphere - Chapter 4: Tornadoes Flashcards
Violent windstorms that take the form of a rotating column of air that extends downwards from a cumulonimbus cloud
Tornado
Drawn by the much lower pressure in the center of the storm, air near the ground _____ from all directions
Rushes in the tornado
As the air streams inward, it is spiraled ___ around the core until it eventually merges with the airflow of the parent thunderstorm deep in the cumulonimbus tower
upward
Tornadoes form in association with severe thunderstorms that produce ________
high winds, heavy rainfall, often damaging hail
Where are severe thunderstorms and tornadoes most often spawned?
Along the cold front of a middle latitude cyclone
Most tornadoes move towards the ____
northeast
The __ intensity scale helps determine the danger of tornadoes
Fujita, F-scale
The __ intensity scale helps determine the danger of tornadoes
Fujita, F-scale
Why are tornadoes difficult to predict precisely?
They are small and relatively short lived phenomena
Tornado watch
Issued when there might be a tornado
Tornado warning
Issued when a funnel cloud has been sighted or indicated by radar
The echo from a tornadic storm sometimes displays a ____ appendage
hook-shaped
Doppler radar is especially useful for detecting tornadoes, because it can detect ___ directly
motion
The name of an intense rotating wind system in the lower part of a thunderstorm that frequently precedes tornado development
mesocyclone
What is one of the biggest problems associated with Dopplar radar?
Mesocyclones don’t present tornadoes 40 percent of the time
