Download Nova: Tornado! Movie notes

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NOVA: Tornado!
Name _______________________________ Date ___________ Period _____
1. The single most destructive tornado in history struck in the year
April 1974.
2. In March 18, 1925, the largest outbreak ever occurred when 148 tornadoes touched down in
16 hours from Alabama to Ohio.
3. The storm chasers are part of the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma.
4. In addition to weather balloons, scientists use Doppler radar.
5. The chase season lasts from April to June.
6. The notorious strip of land stretching from Texas up to Iowa and Indiana is called Tornado
Alley.
7. Cold, dry air from Canada meets warm, moist air from The Gulf of Mexico.
8. The second volatile boundary is the Dry Line.
9. In severe thunderstorms, rising moist air can reach speeds of 100 mph and altitudes of 60,000
feet.
10. The mesocyclone is the birth place of the tornado.
11. Wind speed in a tornado can exceed 250 mph.
12. The storm chasers only see 4 – 5 tornadoes per season.
13. We have been using conventional radar since World War II.
14. NexRad stands for Next Generation Weather Radar.
15. With Doppler radar, we have up to 20 minutes lead time and 50% fewer false alarms.
16. For rotation to occur in thunderstorms, we need the right ingredients of
Moisture_______________________, __Buoyancy____________________, and
_______Wind Forces_______________________.
17. Wind shear is the condition in which the winds increase with height.
18. The measure of rotation is called vorticity.
19. The rotating cloud that drops from the thunderstorm is called the
Wall cloud___________________________.