Download Severe Weather

Bell Questions 12/19/14
1. What type of air would a maritime polar
air mass have?
2. What are four kinds of fronts?
Severe Weather
Midlatitude cyclone - an area of low
pressure characterized by rotating wind
that moves toward the rising air of the
central low-pressure region
Midlatitude
cyclones are many
of the storms that
come across the
US
Thunderstorm a brief,
heavy storm
1. warm, humid air
rising, updrafts
2. rain falls and drags
some of the cooler
air with it creating
downdrafts
3. dissipating stage,
strong downdrafts
stop air from rising
Tornado
• rotating column of air
• high wind speeds (F5
is 318 mph)
• funnel-shaped cloud
• formed over land
• Tornado Alley in the
US has the most
tornadoes in the world
• Fujita scale
Hurricane
• develops over tropical oceans
• winds of more than 120 km/h (73mph)
• low-pressure storm center
• Storm surge, submerge coastal areas, causes
most damage
Hurricane Isabel
Katrina 2005
Bell Questions 3/30/10
1. List two differences between tornadoes
and hurricanes.
2. A _____________ ___________ is an
area of low pressure, rotating wind that
moves toward the rising air of the central
low-pressure system.
Thermometer
• measures and indicates temperature
Barometer
• measures
atmospheric pressure
• Drop in pressure
means front is coming
Anemometer
• measures wind speed
• small cups that are attached to a shaft that
rotates freely.
Wind Vane
• determines direction
of the wind
Radiosonde
• a package of
instruments that is
carried aloft by
balloons to measure
upper atmospheric
conditions
RADAR
• RAdio Detection And Ranging, a system
that uses reflected radio waves to
determine the velocity and location of
objects
• Doppler Radar measures particle
movement in storms
Weather Satellites
• Observations that can’t be made from the
ground
• Wind speeds at cloud level
Weather Satellites
•http://www.nasa.gov/mpg/126449main_katrina_fred_animation.mpg
Computers
• Supercomputers can solve complicated
mathematical problems quickly
• Store weather data
Weather Instruments
Instrument
Description and Use
Thermometer
Barometer
Anemometer
Wind Vane
Radiosonde
Radar
Weather Satellite
Computer