Meteorology: Tornado Formation, Climate Classification, and Weather Patterns

ornado

Violent rotating column of air that forms from a cumulonimbus cloud and touches the ground

Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale

Scale used to rate tornado intensity based on damage

Recurrence interval

Average time between past events of a given magnitude

Recurrence interval T = 0

Not possible (would mean continuous event)

0 < T < 1

Happens several times a year (frequent)

T = 1

Happens about once a year (annual)

T > 1

Happens less than once a year (infrequent/rare)

Four ingredients needed for tornado formation

Lift, instability, wind shear, moisture

High pressure system

Generally associated with calm, clear, sinking air

Low pressure system

Generally associated with rising air and stormy weather

Air always flows from

High pressure → low pressure

Köppen climate classification main groups

A = Tropical, B = Arid, C = Temperate, D = Continental, E = Polar, H = Highland

Polar climates (E) are dry because

Cold air holds very little moisture

Climograph

Temperature plotted as a line, precipitation plotted as bars

Climate

Long-term average weather patterns

Weather

Short-term atmospheric conditions

Positive temperature anomaly

Year was warmer than the long-term average

Negative temperature anomaly

Year was colder than the long-term average

Dendrochronology

The science of dating and interpreting past events using tree rings

Wide tree ring

Favorable growing conditions (good precipitation/temperature)

Narrow tree ring

Stressful growing conditions (drought, cold, etc.)

Light-colored part of tree ring

Earlywood (spring growth)

Dark-colored part of tree ring

Latewood (summer growth)

Angle of incidence 90°

Sun is directly overhead → maximum solar energy received

Cause of seasons

Earth's 23.5° axial tilt (NOT distance from the Sun)

Subsolar point

Location where the Sun is directly overhead at noon

Range of subsolar point migration

23.5°N (Tropic of Cancer) to 23.5°S (Tropic of Capricorn)

Why the equator has consistent warmth year-round

Always close to the subsolar point → consistently high solar angle

Summer solstice in Southern Hemisphere

December 21-22

Higher albedo means

Less heat absorbed (more reflected)

Albedo order (highest to lowest)

Snow > concrete > grass > trees (dark forests)

Freezing/melting point of water

0°C = 32°F = 273 K

°F to °C formula

°C = (°F − 32) ÷ 1.8

°C to °F formula

°F = (°C × 1.8) + 32

1°C temperature change =

1 K temperature change

Relative humidity formula

(actual water vapor / maximum capacity) × 100%

When temperature = dew point

Relative humidity = 100% (air is saturated)

Evaporation

Cooling process (takes heat from surroundings)

As air temperature increases (with same moisture content)

Capacity to hold water vapor increases → relative humidity decreases

Instrument used to measure relative humidity

Sling psychrometer

Wet-bulb depression

Dry-bulb temperature minus wet-bulb temperature

Problems with long-term temperature records

Instrument changes, station moves, urban heat island, land-use changes

Uniformitarianism

The present is the key to the past (same processes operated)

Most intense solar radiation received

At low latitudes near the equator

Sun rises in the

East

Sun sets in the

West

Cold front symbol

Blue line with triangles pointing in direction of movement

Warm front symbol

Red line with semicircles pointing in direction of movement

Greenhouse effect

Natural process where GHGs trap longwave radiation → warms Earth

Natural greenhouse effect

Beneficial - keeps Earth habitable

Main human cause of rising CO₂ in last 150 years

Burning fossil fuels

Primary greenhouse gases

CO₂, CH₄ (methane), H₂O (water vapor)

End of set (≈70 high-yield cards perfect for the lab final)