SevereWeatherGuidedNotes

WEBSITE:http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
Onceyougettothissite,clickonTornadoes
1. Whatarethe3conditionsneededforthunderstormformation?
Anabundantsourceofmoistureinthelowerlevelsoftheatmosphere.
Somemechanismmustlifttheairsothatthemoisturecancondenseandreleaselatentheat.
Theportionoftheatmospherethroughwhichthecloudgrowsmustbeunstable.
2. Whatarethe3setsinthelifecycleofathunderstorm?
TheCumulusstage:
o Airstartstorisenearlyverticallyupward.
o Transportedmoisturecondensesintoavisiblecloudandreleaselatentheat.
o Largedropletsform,eventuallyfallingasprecipitation.
Maturestage:
o Precipitationfalls,theairarounditcoolsandbecomesmoredensethanthesurroundingair,
soitsinkscreatingdowndrafts.
o Theupdraftsanddowndraftsformaconvectioncell.
o Nearlyequalamountsofupdraftsanddowndraftsexistsidebysideinthecumulonimbus
cloud.
Dissipationstage:
o Thesupplyofwarm,moistairrunsoutbecausethecooldowndraftscooltheareafromwhich
thestromdrawsenergy.
o Withoutthewarmair,theupdraftsceaseandprecipitationcannolongerform.
o Thedissipationstageisprimarilycharacterizedbylingeringdowndrafts.
3. WhatisaTornadoandhowaretheyclassified?
Atornadoisaviolent,whirlingcolumnofairincontactwiththeground.
TheFujitatornadointensityscaleclassifiestornadoesaccordingto:
o Pathofdestruction
o Windspeed
o Duration
4. Howdotropicalcyclones(hurricanes)form?
AtropicalCycloneisalarge,rotating,lowpressurestormthatformsoverwaterduringsummerand
fallinthetropics.
TropicalCyclonesrequiretwobasicconditionstoform:
o Anabundantsupplyofverywarmoceanwater
o Somesortofdisturbancetoliftwarmairandkeepitrising.
5. Whatarethestagesofatropicalcyclone?
TropicalWaves:TheyusuallybeginasdisturbancesthatoriginateeitherfromtheITCZorasweak,
lowpressuresystems.(Onlyasmallpercentageofthesedevelopintohurricanes)
TropicalDepression:
o Whenadisturbanceoveratropicaloceanacquiresacycloniccirculationaroundacenterof
lowpressure.

Hurricane:
o Whenairpressurecontinuestofallandwindsaroundthecenterreachatleast120km/h.
Eye:
o Thecalmcenterofthehurricanedevelopes.
Eyewall:
o Abandofimmediatelysurroundingtheeyethatcontainsthestrongestwindsinahurricane.

6. Howaretropicalcyclonesclassified?
SaffirSimpsonHurricaneScaleclassifieshurricanesaccordingto:
o Windspeed
o Airpressureinthecenter
o Potentialforpropertydamage
7. WhatarethehurricaneHazards?
Hurricanescancausealotofdamage,particularlyalongcoastalareas.
Muchofthedamageisassociatedwithviolentwindsoftheeyewall,thebandabout4080kmwide
thatsurroundsthecalmeye.
StormSurge
o Whenhurricaneforcewindsdriveamoundofoceanwater,sometimesashighas6mabove
normalsealevel,towardcoastalareaswhereitwashesovertheland.
o Occursprimarilyontherightsideofastormrelativetoitseyewherethestrongestonshore
windsoccur.(NorthernHemisphere)
Floods
o Anadditionalhurricanehazard,particularlyifthestormmovesovermountainousareas,
whereorographicliftingenhancetheupwardmotionofair.
Dontgopastslide59!
TORNADOES
Step1:Whenthenumber1isdark.Readtheinformationabouttornadoesinthegrayboxandanswerthe
followingquestions.Youmayhavetoscrolldowntoseealloftheinformation.
1. Whatisatornado?
Aviolent,whirlingcolumnofairincontactwiththeground.
2. Whichstatehasthemosttwistersperyear?Howmany?
Texas,126average
Step2:Clickonthe#2.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1.

2.

Whataresupercells?
Athunderstormwithadeep,persistentlyrotatingupdraft.
WheredomosttornadoesinAmericaoccur?
TheMidwesternstates,TornadoAlley

3. Whydomosttornadoesoccurinthelateafternoon?
Thesunhasheatedthegroundandtheatmosphereenoughtoproducethunderstorms.
Clickonthenextbuttontozoomintoseeatornado.

4. Whendotornadoesform?
Whenwarmhumidaircollideswithcolddryair
5. Whatisanupdraft?
Warmairrisesthroughcoldair.
6. Whywoulditstarttorotate?
Windshear,whenwindsathigheraltitudemovefasterandindifferentdirectionsthanwindsat
loweraltitudes.Thewindshearmakesthestormtiltandrotate.
7. Beforethestormturnsintoatornado,whattypeofclouddoesitbecome?
Funnelcloud
Step3:Clickonthe#3.Readtheinformationinthegraybox,andanswerthefollowingquestions.
1. Whattypeofweatheraccompaniestornadoes?
Thunderstorms,highwinds,andhail
Clickonseetornadodamageatthebottomofthetext.
2. HowdoestheFujitascalemeasuretornadointensity?
Itmeasuresdamagedonebythetornadoandmatchesittoestimatedwindspeedsthatwouldcreate
comparabledamage.
MovearoundtheFujitascaletoseetheeffectstornadoesofdifferentintensitieshave.
Clickonthe#4toseeavideoofatornadopassing.
Clickonthe#5toanswerthefollowingquestion.Youwillhavetoscrolldowntoanswerthequestion.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenatornadowatchandatornadowarning?
TornadoWatch
o Whentheweatherconditionsarefavorableforatornadotooccur.
TornadoWarning
o Whenthetornadohasbeensightedorseenonaradarscreen.
Clickon#6tomakeatornado.
1.Whatconditionsareperfectformakingatornado?
Warmandmoistaircollidedwithcoldanddryair,variablewinds,andfallingpressure.
HURRICANES
Now,youaremovingontohurricanes.Clickonthehurricanesymbolabovethenumbers,andbegin.

1. Howmanymphmustwindsbegoinginorderforatropicalstormtobeahurricane?
74
2. Wheredohurricanesform?
TheAtlanticorEasternPacificoceans
Wheredocyclonesform?
PartsofthePacificOcean
Wheredotyphoonsform?
PartsoftheNorthPacificOcean
Clickon#2,andreadtheinformation.Clickthenextbuttonwhenyouaredone.
2. DoestheeyeofthehurricanehaveHIGHorLOWpressure?
Lowpressure
3. Wherearethemostviolentwindsinthehurricane?
TheEyeWall
Clickonthe#3.
1. Inthenorthernhemisphere,hurricanesalwaysturnhow?
CounterClockwise
2. Inthesouthernhemisphere,theyalwaysturnhow?
Clockwise
Playwiththeimageofthehurricanetoseea3Dimage.
Clickonthe#4.
1. Alloftherainfromhurricanescancausewhattooccur?
Floods,
2.Whatisastormsurge?
Clickonthe#5.
Readtheinformation,andwatchthevideo.
Clickonthe#6.
1. Whatisthedifferencebetweenahurricanewatchandahurricanewarning?
Clickonthe#7.
Create5hurricanes.
1. Whichonecreatesthemostdamage?Whatfactors?
2.Whichonecreatestheleastdamage?Whatfactors?

THUNDERSTORMS
Gotohttp://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/tstorms/ingredient.htm
1. Listthe3ingredientsnecessaryforathunderstorm.
Moisture
Instability
Liftingmechanism
2. ClickonLifecycleofaThunderstorm.Takenotesoneachofthethreestages.

ToweringCumulusStage
o Cumuluscloudbeginstogrowvertically,perhapstoaheightof20,000feet(6km).Airwithin
thecloudisdominatedbyupdraftwithsometurbulenteddiesaroundtheedge.

MatureCumulusStage
o Thestormhasconsiderabledepthoftenreaching40,0060,000feet(1218km).
o Strongupdraftsanddowndraftscoexist.Thisisthemostdangerousstagewhentornadoes,large
hail,damagingwinds,andflashfloodingmayoccur.

DissipatingStage
o Thedowndraftcutsofftheupdraft.Thestormnolongerhasasupplyofwarmmoistairto
maintainitselfandthereforeitdissipates.
o Lightrainandweakoutflowwindsmayremainforawhileduringthisstage,beforeleaving
behindjustaremnantanviltop.

3.

Whataresomeofthepotentialhazardsofthunderstorms?
Hail
Damagingwind
Tornadoes
Flashfloods

BLIZZARDS
Gotohttp://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
1. HowdoestheNationalWeatherServicedefineablizzard?
Severewinterstormsthatpackacombinationofblowingsnowandwindresultinginverylow
visibilities.
2.

Listsomeofthedangersofblizzards.
Strongwind
Coldtemperature
HypothermiaorFrostbite

3. WhatdowecallablizzardthatmovesuptheeastcoastfromtheMidAtlantictoNewEngland?
Noreaster
4. ScrolldowntoKeepAheadoftheStorm
Whatdoesitmeanifeachofthefollowingisissued:
WinterStormWatch
o Severewinterconditions,suchasheavysnowand/orice,arepossiblewithinthenextdayortwo.
o Preparenow
WinterStormWarning
o Severewinterconditionshavebegunorareabouttobegininyourarea.
o Stayindoors
BlizzardWarning
o Snowandstrongwindswillcombinetoproduceablindingsnow(nearzerovisibility),deep
drifts,andlifethreateningwindchill.
o Seekrefugeimmediately

CreateACaneGame
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/games/canelab.htm
CreateACanePostGameQuestion
1. Whatistheidealwindspeedforahurricane?
o Lightormediumandblowfromthesamedirectionatalllevels.
o Low
2. Whatistheidealtemperatureforahurricane?
o Tropicalcyclonescantformwithoutwarmseatemperatures.
o 26.5C
3. Whatistheideallatitudeforahurricane?
o Tropicalcyclonescantforminareasthataretoocloseortoofarfromtheequator.
o 530
4. Whatistheidealmoistureforahurricane?
o Tropicalcyclonesneedplentyorlowandmidlevelmoisture.
o VeryMoistinlowandmiddlelevels
5. Whatisneededtocreateatropicaldepressionintheocean?

o Thunderstorms