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Weather Study Guide
Science 6
Vocabulary to know:
Water cycle: The changes to water when it cycles on the Earth
Weather:
Condensation: When water vapor is cooled and forms droplets.
Evaporation: When water is heated in the ocean by the sun and turns into water vapor.
Runoff: When water flows back into the ocean.
Collection: refers to the process by which water gathers back into bodies of water
such as rivers, lakes and oceans. This begins with precipitation, when water falls from
the clouds in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail.
Relative Humidity: Comparison between how much water vapor is in the air and how
much the air can hold at a given temperature.
Precipitation: Droplets of water in the clouds fall to the Earth in different forms,
rain, snow, sleet, hail.
Tornado: violently destructive windstorm occurring over land, especially in the
Middle West, and characterized by a long, funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the
ground and made visible by condensation and debris.
Hurricane: A large tropical storm system with high-powered circular winds starting at
73mph.
Blizzard: A blizzard is a storm with "considerable falling or blowing snow" and winds in
excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for at least 3 hours.
Thunderstorm: A small storm often accompanied by heavy precipitation and lightning.
Cloud
Stratus
Description
Forms at low altitudes. Low-level cloud
that forms in layers and usually brings rain
Can form a type of cloud called fog.
Cumulus
Fluffy clouds that are flat on the bottom
and usually mean fair weather
Cirrus
Thin clouds that look like feathers and
form high in the sky; usually bring fair
weather
Cumulonimbus
Tall clouds that bring thunderstorms
What are the types of precipitation and how do they form?
Precipitation
Rain
Description/ How they form
Falling drops of liquid water
Sleet
Rain that freezes as it falls to Earth’s
surface
Hail
Forms when drops of rain freeze in the
cloud and are carried higher into the
cloud freezing over and over before
falling to Earth’s surface
Snow
Falls when the temperature in the cloud is
below freezing (32°F)
How do clouds form?

As the air cools, the water vapor condenses forming droplets of water or ice
crystals.
What are cloud families?

Clouds are grouped into families by height and form
o
Low, middle, and high clouds
Cloud Family
High Level
Description/Example
Clouds that are higher in the sky.
Prefix- cirro
Examples: cirrocumulus, cirrostratus
Middle Level
Clouds that are in the middle of the sky.
Prefix- alto
Examples: altostratus, altocumulus
Low elevation clouds.
Prefix- strato
Example: stratocumulus
Low Level
What is tornado alley? What states make up tornado alley?

Tornado alley is the area of the United States where tornadoes are most likely
to hit. States include: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Eastern South Dakota, and
parts of Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana.
How do hurricanes form?

Hurricanes form over tropical waters. Hurricanes that impact the United
States typically form off the western coast of Africa where the water is warm,
air is humid, and winds converge. They begin as a group of storms that begin to
rotate when they meet converging winds. These storms create violent seas that
send more moisture into the air. The water vapor rises and helps the wind
increase in speed. A storm becomes a hurricane when its winds exceed 73mph.
How is a tropical storm different from a hurricane?

A tropical storm has winds between 39 and 73mph. The storm is upgraded to a
hurricane once the winds exceed 73mph.
What are the hurricane categories?
1: Winds between 74-95 mph
2. Winds between 96-110 mph
3. Winds between 111-130 mph
4. Winds between 131-155 mph
5. Winds above 156 mph
How can you protect yourself or prepare for a hurricane?

Watch weather forecasts, board up windows and doors, be sure to have first
aid kits, medicine, bottled water, food, important documents, batteries

Take photos of valuables for insurance

Ensure pets are safe
How do tornadoes form?

Tornadoes form from severe thunderstorms. In severe thunderstorms winds are
moving in different directions and at different speeds at different heights. This
difference in wind direction and wind speed is called wind shear. A strong
updraft tilts the wind shear and produces rotation inside the tornado and a
funnel cloud appears.
What is the Fujita-Pearson scale? What does it do?

View the scale here: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f-scale.html

This scale outlines the levels of a tornado and the damage caused at each level.
*** You should know the levels!!
What precautions should you take during a tornado?

Go to a basement or storm shelter if you have one.

Get in the innermost room of your house, avoid rooms with windows.

If outside, lie in a ditch or get under a bridge.

Listen to forecasts if you live in an area with frequent tornadoes
What is the water cycle? Explain the process and the parts or processes that make it
work.
The earth has a limited amount of water. That water keeps going around and
around and around and around and around in what we call the "Water Cycle".
The water cycle is the process by which water moves through the Earth and
atmosphere.
This cycle is made up of a few main parts:




evaporation (and transpiration)
condensation
precipitation
collection
Evaporation:
Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and
turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or
ocean and goes into the air.
Transpiration:
Transpiration is the process by which plants lose water out of their
leaves. Transpiration gives evaporation a bit of a hand in getting the water
vapor back up into the air.
Condensation:
Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming
clouds. This is called condensation.
You can see the same sort of thing at home... Pour a glass of cold water on a
hot day and watch what happens. Water forms on the outside of the glass. That
water didn't somehow leak through the glass! It actually came from the
air. Water vapor in the warm air, turns back into liquid when it touches the cold
glass.
Precipitation:
Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold
it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form
of rain, hail, sleet or snow.
Collection/Runoff:
When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans,
lakes or rivers or it may end up on land. When it ends up on land, it will either
soak into the earth and become part of the “ground water” that plants and
animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes
or rivers where the cycle starts all over again!
The sun is the driving force of the Earth’s weather. The source of energy that
powers the water cycle is the sun. Without the sun, life on Earth would not be
possible. The rays from the sun heat the ocean. The oceans make up the largest
body of water on the Earth. Oceans cover 75% of the Earth’s surface.
How much water is in the world? Where is most of this water located (salt/fresh etc)?
How is water recycled?

75% of water on Earth is salt water and is located in the oceans

The water is recycled through the water cycle

Water in lakes and rivers that does not contain salt is known as fresh water

The driving force of the water cycle is the sun
