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Severe Weather 16-3
Pgs. 434-439 3/29/16
IN: What kinds of storms
cause the most damage?
TERMS AND OBJECTIVES
Terms:
Thunderstorm
lightning thunder
tornado
hurricane
 Objectives:
• Explain what lightning is.
• Describe the formation of thunderstorms,
tornados, and hurricanes.
• Describe the characteristics of
thunderstorms, tornados, and hurricanes.

Severe Weather

Weather that can cause property
damage and even death.
Thunderstorms
 Tornadoes
 Hurricanes

Thunderstorms
 Thunderstorms
are small, intense
weather systems that produce:
 Strong winds
 Heavy rain
 Lightning
 Thunder
What causes
thunderstorms?

Thunderstorms occur when warm,
moist air rises rapidly in an unstable
atmosphere.

Usually at a cold front.
Lightning
 Lightning
is a large electrical
discharge that occurs between
two oppositely charge surfaces.
What causes lightning?

Lightning is actually
just static electricity
on a much larger
scale.

The rubbing is
caused by air
moving around
Thunder
 Thunder
is the sound that results
from the rapid expansion of air
along the lightning strike.
Thunder

When the lightning flash happens it
heats the air to a temperature 5 times
hotter than the surface of the sun.

This causes nearby air to expand and
vibrate forming the sound we hear as
thunder.
Interesting facts
Lightning bolts can travel at speeds of
up to 60,000 miles per second.
 Every second around 100 bolts of
lightning strike the Earth.
 One lightning bolt has enough
electricity to power 200,000 homes.
 You are more likely to be struck by
lightning than be eaten by a shark.

Some myths


Lightning never strikes in the same place
twice.
 False, the Empire State Building is
reportedly struck 100 times a year.
Wearing rubber shoes will protect me in a
thunder storm.
 False, Lighting is too powerful to be
stopped by half an inch of rubber or
several hundred feet of rubber for that
matter.
Tornadoes
A
tornado is a small, rotating
column of air that has high wind
speeds and low central pressure
and that touches the ground.
Twists of Terror
Although most tornadoes last only a
few minutes, they can cause a lot of
damage.
 This is due to their strong spinning
winds.

Hurricanes
A
hurricane is a large, rotating
tropical weather system with wind
speeds of at least 119 km/h.
Hurricanes

Hurricanes are the most powerful
storms on Earth.

Hurricanes have different names in
other parts of the world.
Typhoons - western Pacific Ocean
 Cyclones - over the Indian Ocean

Hurricane Damage

While high winds
cause a great
deal of damage,
most hurricane
damage is
caused by
flooding
associated with
heavy rains and
storm surges.
Storm Surge

A storm surge is a wall of water that
builds up over the ocean due to the
heavy winds and low atmospheric
pressure.

OUT: What causes the most damage
during a hurricane?