Unit 7 (PT1): FINAL

Tornadoes

Weather fronts

marks the boundary of air masses that have different temperatures

Cold front

give rise to strong, fast moving thunderstorms and severe weather, rapidly push warm, moist air high into the atmosphere → forming Cumulonimbus clouds

Warm front

give rise to gentle showers as warm air gradually rises, gradually creates clouds to form Cumulus clouds

heavier, dry, moist

Cold air is ____ than warm air; __ air is heavier than ____ air

Lightning

a sudden electrostatic discharge between oppositely charged regions of a cloud or between a cloud and the ground

thunder

the shock wave created by expanding the air so rapidly

Lightning is a rapid expansion of the air

Why is lightning so hot?

Cools, condenses, forms clouds

What happens to air as it rises?

Hailstones

ice crystals that travel repeatedly above and below the freezing line, enabling additional water to freeze onto them until they become too heavy for the updrafts & fall to the ground (TDLR; hard, rounded, irregular pieces of ice)

Microbursts (downbursts)

localized areas of rapidly descending cold air that causes strong wind shear that can knock down trees and houses like a tornado

Tornadoes

a violently rotating column of air associated with extreme horizontal winds, can cause tremendous property damage and loss of life

Horizontal vortex

Fast-moving winds roll air below into a spinning, horizontal tube

Updraft

Warmed by the sun, buoyant air near the ground begins to lift a section of the horizontal vortex into a vertical position and two vortices

Storm

The stronger of the two vortices created by the updraft becomes the heart of the thunderstorm, other dies

Supercell

Upper-level winds tilt the rotating updraft (mesocyclone), allowing the storm to keep growing as warm air is sucked into the dorm away from the cool downdraft; giant cumulonimbus clouds that rotate

a supercell

In order for a tornado to occur, there must be ____

large scale rotation

What makes supercells so different from other storms?

Supercell storms

Which type of severe thunderstorm generally spawn the largest tornadoes?

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale

rates tornado strength based on the damage, which is used to estimate the wind speed

Amount of damage

What does the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale use to classify tornadoes?

Be on alert

Tornado/severe thunderstorm watch: Weather conditions are favorable for tornadoes

Take immediate action to be safe

Tornado/severe thunderstorm warning: A tornado has been spotted or indicated by radar

sirens, rain wrapped

Do NOT rely on ____ (often not heard indoors), nor tornadoes always visible (can be ____ _____)

Get indoors, Go to basement

If outdoors → ________

If indoors → _______

If no basement

Go to a small ground floor interior room with no windows

Only no traffic

If in a car:

DRIVE AWAY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION THE TORNADO TRAVELING

With traffic

If in a car:

GO TO LOW SPOT (ditch or culvert) AND LIE DOWN, AVOID FLYING DEBRIS

Fire Tornadoes

not associated with supercell, but with excessive heat concentrated in a small region, do not need supercells to form

Dust Devil

a rotating column that forms due to the rapid heating of a small part of the surface of the earth, can occur any time winds become strong and cyclonic, spotted on Mars

Water Spouts

a tornado that forms over the ocean