Year 10 Weather Hazards 1A Flashcards
tropical storms
A natural hazard like a hurricane, typhoon or cyclone
Extreme weather
When a weather event is significantly worse than the usual weather
Coriolis effect
The rotation of the earth causes winds to curve as they move
Cumulonimbus
Very large and tall thunderclouds
Saffir- Simpson Scale
Shows windspeed on a scale from category one to category five
Weather hazards
E.g. drought, floods, storms, heat waves, snow
At equator
Concentrated some light makes the air hot so it rises which makes it become low pressure and then it becomes wet
At poles
Less concentrated some light means cold air to the air sinks and when it sinks it becomes high-pressure and dry
Pressure belts
Low pressure along the equator, high pressure near Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, high pressure at the North pole and the South pole
Surface winds
Across the earths surface, air moves from high pressure to low pressure areas e.g. winds from the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn move towards the equator, these winds move heat and moisture around the planet
How are tropical storms distributed?
In between the Tropic of Cancer and equator (5° to 30° north) and in between the Tropic of Capricorn and equator (5° to 30° south)
What are the four things needed for tropical storm to be able to form?
1) need area of concentrated isolation for high temperatures and rising air which means low pressure with clouds and precipitation
2) must form over ocean where the temperature needs to be above 27°C
3) heat and moisture are needed as energy to power the storm
4) Coriolis effect is needed which causes the tropical storm to spin
What is the sequence of formation for tropical storms?
1) at above warm tropical ocean is heated by sun
2) warm air rises rapidly causing low pressure and cumulonimbus clouds
3) Coriolis effect causes the clouds to spin creating fast wins dos
4) spinning cumulonimbus clouds cause torrential rain
5) tropical storm reaches land and since there’s no heat or moisture from the ocean to power the storm it begins to lose energy and also the friction with the land slows the storm so it begins to weaken and disappear
Features of tropical storms
The eye is a calm area in the centre of the tropical storm with no rain or wind, the eye wall has fast winds cumulonimbus clouds and heavy precipitation
What are three ways climate change might affect tropical storms?
1) distribution, with warmer oceans tropical storms may form in different areas
2) intensity, the 1°C increase in ocean temperature may increase wind speeds by 3 to 5%
3) frequency, warm oceans mean more intense storms may occur and more often
Location, date, category, wind speed of typhoon Haiyan
Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines, Asia
November 2013
Category five
314 km/h winds
What were the primary effects of typhoon Haiyan
6190 deaths, $12 billion dollars of damage, 1.1 million tons of crops destroyed, 90% of Tacloban city destroyed, airports badly damaged
What were the secondary effects of typhoon Haiyan
4.1 million people homeless, oil leak from ship (800,000 L oil spell), environment damaged, looting, and eight deaths in stampede for rice, flooding cause it water to become contaminated with sewage
What were the immediate responses for typhoon Haiyan
President made a televised warning, 800,000 people evacuated, 1 million food packs were distributed, 250,000 L of freshwater distributed, curfew imposed to reduce looting
What were the long-term responses for typhoon Haiyan
Plan of ‘building back better’ and also ‘no dwelling zone’ along coast, new storm surge warning system, replanted mangrove trees along coast as natural barrier
How does monitoring reduce the effects of tropical storms?
Satellites and unmanned aircrafts collect weather data
How does prediction reduce the effects of tropical storms?
Super computer computers can give warnings five days before tropical storm
How does protection reduce the effects of tropical storms?
Storm shutters, installing emergency generators, securing loose objects are all methods of protection
How does planning reduce the effects of tropical storms?
‘National Hurricane Preparedness Week’ in the USA
What is the location of Somerset levels floods?
County of Southwest of England, south of Wales and west of London, Atlantic Ocean is to the west
What were the causes of the Somerset levels floods?
Heavy rain in January 2014 up to 350 mm causing river overflow, high tides cause storm surges and since tides were higher the river didn’t drain out to sea effectively, no dredging meant the river had reduced capacity to hold water
What were the social impacts of the Somerset level floods?
Power supplies cut off so livelihoods were disrupted, shops closed for repairs, villages cut off and isolated e.g. Moorland
What were the economic impacts of the Somerset levels floods?
The cost of damage was £10 million, people could not go to work as they were cut off so there was a decrease in local economy, agricultural land was flooded and destroyed so there was a loss of business in the area
What are the management strategies used to reduce future risk after the Somerset levels floods?
More dredging so that the river has an increased capacity to hold water, increased drainage speeds to see with drain enhancements so there is less reliance on expensive pumping systems, Bridgewater tidal barrier to stop high tides contributing to floods
What is some evidence that whether in the UK is becoming more extreme?
Increase in extreme weather events in UK since 1980s, UK temperatures have increased by 1°C since the 1980s, frequency and severity of winter flooding has increased from the 1980s
