Unit 4 test (Lesson 3-4) Flashcards
What is an air mass? How do air masses form?
Is a large volume of air in which temperature and moisture content are nearly the same throughout. Air masses from when the air over a large region of earth stays in one area for many days.
What is a front? How can a front form?
A boundary that forms between the air masses. Fronts form from one air mass must run into another air mass.
What are jet streams? How do they work?
Long distance winds that travel above global winds for thousands of kilometers. Jet streams form earth’s surface because it is unevenly heated . They flow from east to west.
What is a thunderstorm?
Is an intense local storm that forms strong winds, heavy rain, lighting thunder, and sometimes hail. It is an example of severe weather.
What is lighting? How does it form?
Is an electric discharge that happens between a positively charged area and a negatively charged area.
What is thunder? How is it made?
Rapidly moving air causes the air to vibrate and release sound waves. The result of that is thunder.
What is a storm serge?
When a hurricane moves into a coastal area, it also pushes a huge mass of ocean water.
What is a hurricane?
Is a tropical low-pressure system with winds blowing at speeds of 119 km/h (74 mi/h) or more-strong enough to uproot trees. They are sometimes called typhoons when they form over the western Pacific Ocean.
How does a hurricane begin?
It begins as a group of thunderstorms moving over tropical ocean waters. Then, thunderstorms form in areas of low pressure. Near the equator, warm ocean water provides the energy that can turn a low-pressure center into a violent storm.
What is a tornado?
Is a destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and that is sometimes visible as a funnel-shaped cloud.
How do tornadoes form?
It forms when a thunderstorm meets horizontal winds at a high altitude. These winds cause the warm air rising in the thunderstorm to spin.
