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What are thunderstorms?
Thunder and lightning during a rain event. Heavy wind and rain and hail. Cloud type- cumulonimbus Warm humid air gets uplifted. Occur in midwest 60 days out of the year and south east 100 days.
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What are the topologic feature that effect Thunderstorms?
Gulf of mexico-provide warm moist air.
Rockie Mountain-Block warm humid air from moving west.
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Air Mass Thunderstorms
- mT
- Most common
- Front pulls up mT air
- Instability creates uplift
- Seasonal-Land warmer>water summer and spring
- Daily-Afternoon
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Stages of a Air Mass Thunderstorm
1-Cumulus Clouds-Air rising (warm and humid air) Updraft-heated at surface due to land being warmer than waters where it originated.
- 2-Mature Stage-Updraft, precipitation forms and begins to fall creating downdrafts.
- *Entrainment-creates void and surrounding air moves into cloud and with down drafts
- *Once rain starts updrafts cut off, force down drafts to get stronger.
3-Dissipating Stage (End) Downdrafts
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What is a sever thunderstorms?
- 58 mph wind
- Hail-3/4 inches
- Posisibility of tornados
- Rapid Cooling
1) Air is not rising straight up: instead of sideways
2) Not all rain (downdrafts) cut off updrafts due to the angle of the updrafts.
3)Gust Fronts-downdrafts moving to the front of the storm front; build it outward; cold and windy
4)Forces updrafts to rise sooner and creates a developing cell.
5) Downdrafts lead to further development
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What is a Squall Line?
Dry lines where strong thunderstorms occur 100-200 miles infront of the cold fronts.
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What is supercell thunderstorm?
multiple storms combined; with air joining in, in different directions.
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What is lightning?
First ice pellets
Second updrafts occur and downdrafts
Third movement of break ice pellets up and chargers moves to the top and a negitive charge to the bottom.
Fourth mini charge gets sent to charged grounds and then electricity travels downward.
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What is thunder?
Lighning super heats air in a short period of time, creates thunder by creation of a sound wave.
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What is a surface flow?
warm humid air
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What is upper layer air?
Colder heavier air
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What is unstable air?
Traps warm moist air on the surface.
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What is a cold front?
Destroys capping layer, warm air burst up?
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What is a tornado?
- Uncertainty regarding development
- Rotating column of air extending down from a cumulonimbus cloud.
- Funnel vs. Tornado
- Funnel-doesnt touch the ground
- Tornado-Touches the ground
- Rapid drop in pressure
- Condensation and dark clouds
- Invisible vs. dust and debris
- Avg Diameter-500-2000ft
- Avg Speed-30mph
- Avg Wind Speed-72-300+mph
- NE track
Can occur anytime of the year-more frequent during the spring and early summer.
Further north later in the seasons tornados occur
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Tornado Classification
The Fujita Scale-Japanese scientist based on damage assement.
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Intrainment
Heavy colder air that becomes part of the down drafts
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Tornado related deaths
- Decreasing in tornado related deaths
- Increase in tornados being reported
- This occurs because the increase in technology and warning systems.
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Where is Tornado alley?
Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska
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Highest Wind Speeds ever recorded
- 318 mph highest wind speed-instraments was destroyed after recording.
- Oklahoma City- only 3-5 people died
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Tri-State Tornado
- 695 people killed
- On the ground 219 miles
- 1925
- Occured at night
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What is a Tropical Cyclones?
- Develop near equator(center of low pressure)
- Power source warm water
- 80 F prime temp
- Seasonality-late summer to fall
- Most destructive natural disaster
- Storm surge
- High winds
- Tornados
- Lightning
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Hurricane Formation
- Need warm water
- Do not form right on equator 5-20 N or S
- Do not cross equator
- No hurricanes on west coast
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Hurricane Development
- 1-Tropical distrubances
- T-Storms
- Little pressure gradience
- no rotation
- 2- Tropical or Easterly Wave
- Ripple in the tradewinds
- Piling up off warm, moist air-->low pressure
- Pressure applied -->curved air flow
- 3-Low Wind Shear
- Low level atmospheric winds or it will get destroyed
- 4-Divergence at the top
- Allows pressure to lower
- 5-Many tropical disturbances: few develop further
- Tropical depression 37>
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Characteristics of a Hurricane
- 74< winds
- Towering cumulonimbus clouds
- Matual Hurricane= 350 miles in diameter
- Significant pressure drop
- Convergence at the surface and divergence at top
- Strongest wind speeds on the right side
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What is a steering wind?
- Trade winds that determine where the hurricane goes
- Right side- Hurricane winds and steering winds are in the same direction/combine, strongest winds and storm surge.
- Left side- opposite direction
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What is the anatomy of a hurricane?
- Eye center- air is decending- cloud free, calm area
- Eye wall- most intense rain, wind and most sever weather
- Spiral Bands- radiate outwards
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Impacts of a Hurricane
- Storm surge- caused by winds pushing water
- Wind Damage-increase with altitude
- Inland flooding- 100s of miles
Life span- avg of a week
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