Tropical storms 4 markers

Question 1

What are tropical storms?

Answer 1

Rotating spirals of clouds

Question 2

What happens when storms move over land?

Answer 2

Storms decline when they move over land or cold water as they loose their energy source.

Question 3

Can storms form over the equator?

Answer 3

No

Question 4

Do all storms have eyes?

Answer 4

No only mature storms develop an eye at the centre

Question 5

How can tropical storms be predicted?

Answer 5

Geostationary satellites as well as land and based recording centres and aircraft gather data. Information is compared to computer models so the path can be predicted, and warnings issued

Question 6

How are the magnitude of tropical storms determined?

Answer 6

Measured using the Saffir- Simpson scale, with largest storms reaching category 5

Question 7

What temperature do water need to be for tropical storms to form?

Answer 7

27.5°C

Question 8

What hazards are associated with tropical storms?

Answer 8

Rainfall, storm surges and storm winds

Question 9

What are tropical cyclones?

Answer 9

A generic term for a low pressure system of topical or sub tropical waters with organised convection (i.e thunderstorm activity) and winds at low levels circulating either anti-clockwise or clockwise

Question 10

Which direction do winds circulate in the northern hemisphere?

Answer 10

Anti-clockwise

Question 11

Which direction do winds circulate in the southern hemisphere?

Answer 11

Clockwise

Question 12

What are the summarised 4 stages of hurricane formation?

Answer 12

1- Easterly wave
2- Cluster of thunderstorm
3- storm moves over the atlantic
4- Hurricane

Question 13

What is a meteorological wave?

Answer 13

A disturbance in the atmosphere over sub Saharan Africa

Question 14

What does the disturbance form?

Answer 14

A thunderstorm over the rainforest of western Africa, which may cause many thunderstorms to develop

Question 15

What happens once the thunderstorms reach the Atlantic ocean?

Answer 15

They begin to group, circle each other and then combine, meaning a tropical storm has then formed

Question 16

What happens after the tropical storm has formed?

Answer 16

The tropical storm gathers strength and when the wind speed reaches at least 74mph, a tropical revolving storm is born- hurricane

Question 17

What is weather?

Answer 17

The day by day changes in the atmosphere, mainly based on precipitation and temperature.

Question 18

What is climate?

Answer 18

The long term average of the weather

Question 19

What are the 4 isothermal layers of the atmosphere?

Answer 19

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere

Question 20

How are the four layers of the atmosphere categorised?

Answer 20

by uniform changes in temperature

Question 21

What does the troposphere make up?

Answer 21

80% of the atmosphere, 16km high

Question 22

What is the environmental lapse rate?

Answer 22

Changes in temperature caused by decrease in pressure at height

Question 23

What is the Coriolis effect?

Answer 23

Causes fluids like water and air to curve as they travel across the earths surface

Question 24

What’s the pressure like at the poles?

Answer 24

High

Question 25

What’s the pressure like at the equator?

Answer 25

Low

Question 26

What happens to windspeed if there is the greater difference in pressure?

Answer 26

It will increase

Question 27

What are anticyclone winds?

Answer 27

Air moves from high pressure to low pressure to fill the void of low pressure. (high pressure diverging air)

Question 28

What are cyclone winds?

Answer 28

Low pressure converging air (air rising)

Question 29

How deep do oceans have to be for storms to form?

Answer 29

Water must be warmed to 27° to a depth of 70m