Weather Flashcards

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1
Q

Name the 5 air masses that affect the UK

A
  1. Arctic Maritime
  2. Polar Maritime
  3. Tropical Maritime
  4. Tropical Continental
  5. Polar Continental
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2
Q

Describe where the Arctic maritime comes from and what weather it brings

A

Air masses form over the Arctic Ocean

Bring cold wet air - cold weather and rain

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3
Q

Describe where the polar maritime originates and the weather it brings

A

Air masses form over the North Atlantic Ocean

Bring cold, wet air - cold weather and rain

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4
Q

Describe where the tropical maritime originates and what weather it brings

A

Air masses form over Atlantic Ocean

Bring warm, wet air - warm weather and rain

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5
Q

Describe where the tropical continental originates and what weather it brings

A

Air masses form over Africa

Bring warm, dry air - hot, dry weather

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6
Q

Describe where the polar continental originates and what weather it brings

A

Air masses form over Siberia
Bring cold, dry air - very cold, dry weather
- can bring snow if air picks up moisture from North Sea

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7
Q

Name a temperate storm which hit the UK and when it was

A

The Great Storm

15th Oct 1987

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8
Q

Describe the formation of the Great Storm 1987 (3 stages)

A
  1. Depression began over Bay of Biscay - south westerly winds (warm, wet air from North Atlantic) met north easterly winds (cold air from Pole)
  2. Depression deepened rapidly due to unusually warm sea surface temperatures in bay of Biscay and a steep temperature gradient between the 2 air masses - low atmospheric pressure at the core of the depression lead to very strong winds
  3. Polar front jet stream located further south than normal - depression formed over England rather than N.Scottland
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9
Q

Describe how the pressure changed in the Great Storm in 1987

A

15th oct - pressure in centre of depression fell from 970mb at midday to 950mb at midnight (uk AV. 1013mb)

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10
Q

Where did the Great Storm of 1987 affect?

A

Midnight - South coast Cornwall and Devon

moved across Midlands and reached Humber Estuary (east coast) at 05:30

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11
Q

Where did The Great Storm affect the most?

A

South East
03:00 - 06:00
Gusts of up to 196km/h
Highest hourly mean wind speed recorded in Shoreham-by-Sea 140km/h for 20mins continuously

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12
Q

Name 3 social impacts of The Great Storm 1987

A
  1. 18 people died in England (4 in France)
  2. Power and telephone lines knocked down - 150,000 homes lost telephone connection, 100s of 1000s homes no electricity for 24hrs
  3. Some historical buildings were damaged or destroyed - Shanklin Pier on Isle of Wight destroyed by waves
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13
Q

Name 4 economic impacts of the Great Storm 1987

A
  1. > 1million buildings damaged - insurance claims £1.4bn
  2. Transport disrupted - fallen trees blocked roads and railways
  3. Gatwick airport closed - lost power
  4. 1000s boats wrecked - MV Hengist (cross channel ferry) beached
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14
Q

Name 2 environmental impacts of the great storm 1987

A
  1. 15million trees blown down

2. Some areas lost 97% of their trees - loss of woodland habitat

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15
Q

Name 5 short term responses to the great storm 1987

A
  1. During storm emergency services dealt with 4 months worth of calls in one night
  2. Phone companies and electricity boards worked round the clock repairing and replacing equipment until power and phone lines were restored
  3. Highways agencies began clearing roads and railway companies cleaned railways
  4. Forestry workers began clearing the fallen trees in forests (4million m cubed of timber) - took 100s workers over 2 years to clear and store it all
  5. Forestry commission established the Forest Windblow Action Committee - help woodland owners to recover fallen trees and offer advice on replanting
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16
Q

Why were the Met office criticised for their action during the great storm 1987?

A
  1. Severe weather warnings were only issued 3 hrs before storm hit
  2. Ministry of Defence were only warned that military assistance might be needed to help deal with the impacts of storm at 01:00 on 16th oct
17
Q

What changes were made after there as an inquiry into the management of the great storm 1987 by the met office (3)

A
  1. More observations of weather systems are now made by ships, aircraft and satellites
  2. Improved computer models are now used to forecast weather
  3. Government established a national severe weather warning service to improve the way severe weather warnings are made and issued
18
Q

Name when and where a tropical revolving stormed occurred in an LDC and an MDC

A

MDC - Hurricane Katrina - S.E. USA - 29th Aug 2005

LDC - Cyclone Nargis - Burma - 2nd May 2008

19
Q

Outline the progression and formation of Hurricane Katrina

A
  1. Formed over Bahamas 23rd Aug
  2. Moved N.W. - strengthened into hurricane - went over tip of California into Gulf of Mexico
  3. Whilst over warm water - strengthened from cat.1 to cat.5 hurricane
  4. 28th Aug - weakened to cat.3
  5. Morning of 29th - struck land - winds 200km/h, 200-250mm rain Louisiana, 8.5m storm surge Mississippi
  6. Travelled 240km inland
20
Q

Name 7 social impacts of hurricane Katrina which affected Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans and Cuba on 29th Aug 2005

A
  1. 1800 died
  2. 300,000 homes destroyed
  3. 100s of 1000s made homeless
  4. 3million - no electricity
  5. One of main routes out of Louisiana closed - part of I-10 bridge collapsed
  6. Water supplies polluted - sewage, chemicals, dead bodies - 5 people died from bacterial infections caught from water
  7. Education of 1000s children suffered - 18 schools in New Orleans destroyed - 74 badly damaged
21
Q

Name 5 economic impacts of Hurricane Katrina 29th Aug 2005

A
  1. 230,000 jobs lost - businesses damaged or destroyed
  2. Total cost of damage = $300bn
  3. 30 oil platforms in Gulf of Mexico damaged or destroyed - 9 refineries had to close - disruption to oil industry
  4. 5000km squared forest destroyed in Mississippi - affected logging industry (loss of income $5bn)
  5. Many ports were damaged - Gulf Port in Mississippi - disrupted shipping industry
22
Q

Name 4 environmental impacts of Hurricane Katrina 29th Aug 2005

A
  1. Coastal habitats - sea turtle breeding beaches - damaged
  2. Some coastal conservation areas destroyed - 1/2 of Breton National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana washed away
  3. Flooding damaged oil refineries in Louisiana - massive oil spills
  4. Permanent flooding of salt marshes in Louisiana caused loss of habitat
23
Q

Outline 2 warnings of Hurricane Katrina that allowed the USA to respond quickly on 29th Aug 2005

A
  1. USA has a sophisticated monitoring system to predict if (and where) a hurricane will hit. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Florida tracks and predicts hurricanes using satellite images and ‘hurricane hunter’ planes that collect weather data on approaching storms
  2. Aug 26th NHC issued a hurricane warning for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama - continued to track and update gov. on where and when it would hit
24
Q

Name 4 responses to Hurricane Katrina before it hit on 29th Aug 2005

A
  1. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinated the response
  2. State of emergency declared in Louisiana on evening of 26th Aug and in Mississippi on 27th. FEMA and other organisations began preparations for the hurricane eg.
    - US Coast guard positioned helicopters and boats around area likely to be affected
    - FEMA organised teams and supplies - mortuary teams with refrigerated trucks to deal with dead bodies
  3. Morning of 28th Aug - Mayor of New Orleans ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city - 80% residents evacuated before hurricane hit - reduced death toll
  4. Voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders also issued in other places along coast
25
Q

Name 3 responses during and after Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug 29th 2005

A
  1. ~100,000 people didn’t evacuate - wanted to stay to protect their property, not enough money or no transport - emergency shelters set up for these people - Louisiana Superdrome in New Orleans sheltered 26,000 during hurricane
  2. Coastguard, police, fire service and army rescued 50,000 people after hurricane hit
  3. Lots of organisations sent teams and supplies into area after the hurricane:
    - FEMA sent search and resume teams, medical teams, water, ice and ready meals
    - 58,000 National Guard Troops (reservists) deployed from all over US - responsible for rescuing 17,000 people and evacuating 70,000
    - charities collected over $4bn of donations from the public to provide aid to victims of Katrina - Salvation Army provided 5.7million hot meals to people in and around New Orleans
26
Q

Give 3 reasons why the responses to Hurricane Katrina 29th Aug 2005 were criticised

A
  1. Some emergency shelters weren’t properly prepared for the number of people needing shelter - National Guard delivered enough food to the Louisiana Superdrome to feed 15,000 people for 3days - 26,000 turned up
  2. Widespread looting took place in many areas - in New Orleans because not enough police or troops
  3. Most people agreed that the evacuations saved many lives but they were criticised for not helping people without transport to get out
27
Q

Outline the formation of cyclone Nargis

A
  1. Formed in Bay of Bengal during last week of April 2008
  2. 28th April strengthened - classed as cyclone
  3. As approached coast of Burma - strengthened to cat. 4 on saffir-Simpson scale
  4. May 2nd hit coast of Burma - wind speeds 215km/h - storm surge 5m (waves added 2m on top of this)
  5. Weakened as moved inland - downgraded to storm on 3rd May
28
Q

Name 2 places affected by Cyclone Nargis on 2nd May 2008

A
  1. Irrawaddy Delta - hardest hit - 14,000km squared flooded

2. Sri Lanka - heavy rainfall led to flooding and landslides

29
Q

Name 9 social impacts of cyclone nargis on 2nd may 2008

A
  1. 140,000 died
  2. 450,000 homes destroyed, 350,000 damaged
  3. 4000 schools destroyed or severely damaged
  4. 75% health facilities destroyed or severely damaged
  5. 2.5million homeless
  6. 40% freshwater ponds (source of fresh water for locals) damaged by salt water
  7. 70% pop. no access to clean water
  8. Many people suffered from diseases caused by poor sanitary conditions and contaminated water - dysentery, diarrhoea
  9. Many people suffered from mental health issues - 30% people treated by one aid agency
30
Q

Name 4 economic impacts of Cyclone Nargis 2nd May 2008

A
  1. 600,000 hectares of agri land damaged - 65% rice paddies in region
  2. Crops were lost, 200,000 farm animals killed, 40% food stores destroyed - huge impact on agri industry
  3. Millions lost their livelihoods - many fishing boats destroyed
  4. Total cost of damage = $4bn
31
Q

Name 2 environmental impacts of cyclone nargis 2nd may 2008

A
  1. 38,000 hectares of mangrove forests destroyed

2. Flooding caused erosion and salination of land

32
Q

Outline 3 reasons why Burma was not prepared for Cyclone Nargis 2nd may 2008

A
  1. Burma doesn’t have a dedicated hurricane monitoring centre - Indian weather agencies warned the Burmese Gov. that Cyclone Nargis was likely to hit the country 48hrs before it did
  2. Burmese weather forecasters did give warnings the cyclone was coming via TV and radio - didn’t say how severe it would be or give advice on how to prepare/evacuate - increased no. killed as people didn’t know what to do or where to evacuate to
  3. No emergency preparation plans, no evacuation plans and the country didn’t have an early warning system
33
Q

Outline 7 reasons why response to cyclone nargis in Burma was really slow

A
  1. Gov. initially refused to accept any foreign aid
  2. 9th May decided to accept donations of things like food and tents - wouldn’t allow aid workers in. Some countries and organisations sent aid that helped reduce the impacts eg.
    - UN refugee agency (UNHCR) sent 22 tonnes of tents and other supplies from Thailand
    - charities sent aid - Muslim aid distributed water purification tablets, blankets and food parcels
    - Italy sent 25 tonnes emergency equipment - shelters, 1st aid kits and water purifiers
  3. Helped a lot as still problems - French ship carrying 1500 tonnes supplies refused entry because gov. thought it was a warship
  4. Some aid seized by military delaying delivery to people who need it - 2 shipments of high energy biscuits
  5. 19th May ASEAN held emergency summit to discuss situation - following this a burka decided to allow aid workers from ASEAN countries in to help
  6. After talks with the UN Secretary General and the Burmese leader Than Shwe, all aid workers were allowed in on 23rd May - 3 weeks after disaster occurred
  7. Gov. response to the disaster heavily criticised by other countries - meant aid came too late - more deaths