Tropical Storms Flashcards
What does the sea temperature have to be for a tropical storm to form
27 degrees
How deep does the ocean have to be
At least 70m
What makes a powerful storm
Warm moist air evaporates and condensation occurs which release huge amounts of energy
What increase surface winds
rising air creates low pressure which increase surface winds
Why do tropical storms move counter clockwise
Because of easterly winds
What causes the storm to spin
Earth rotating
What makes the storm stronger
If it stays over warm water
Where do tropical storms occur
Between 5 degrees and 20 degrees north and south of the equator
Where do storms tend to move once they form
Westwards
What percentage of storms form in north west and north east Australia
20%
When is the tropical cyclone season in the northern tropics
Between June and November
When is the cyclone season in the southern tropics
Between November and April
How do we categories tropical storms
Saffir Simpson hurricane wind scale
What is the issue with the saffir Simpson scale
Only predicts damage from wind speed
Doesn’t predict damage from storm surge
Doesn’t account for the size of the storm
Doesn’t reflect the impacts of rainfall
What is the sequence of a tropical storm
Warm ocean heats up air, causing warm moist air to rise
As rises, cools and condenses, creating storm, releasing latent heat which fuels the storm
Coriolis effect causes storm to spin
Storm develops an eye where it’s peaceful
Loses power as goes on land and no longer warm ocean to fuel it
What is the coriolis effect
A force that makes moving objects curve as they travel across the earths surface, caused my the planet’s rotation
In the northern hemisphere things curve to the right
Southern hemisphere things curve to the left
