Tropical storms Flashcards
What are the different names for tropical storms in each region of the world?
- Hurricanes: Atlantic + NE pacific
- Typhoon: NW Pacific
- Cyclone: SW Pacific + Indian
What direction do tropical storms turn in which hemisphere?
- Northern hemisphere: clockwise
- Southern hemisphere: anticlockwise
What is the effect called that causes tropical storms to turn in different directions in different hemispheres?
The Coriolis effect
Why does the Coriolis effect occur?
The Earth’s rotation
What cell do tropical storms occur in?
Hadley
What are the conditions for a tropical storm to form?
- Warm water (26.5°C+)
- Usually in late summer or autumn (when water is warm)
- Low air pressure
- Weak tropical winds
- Occurs in the tropics
What is the centre of a tropical storm called?
The eye
What happens to air in the eye?
It descends
Where are wind speeds fastest?
Eye wall
How does climate change affect tropical storms?
- Due to increasing ocean temperatures, frequency of tropical storms is predicted to increase.
- These warmer waters would also mean tropical storms would extend further away from the equator.
- Rising sea levels would cause increased flooding in low-lying coastal areas.
What is the key study for tropical storms?
Typhoon Haiyan
Where was Typhoon Haiyan?
The Philippines
What part of the Philippines was worst affected?
Tacloban
When did Typhoon Haiyan make landfall?
7th November 2013 around 8:40am
What were the recorded windspeeds?
313 km/h, making it one of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded