Science 8Th Grade: Weather Patterns--Storms

Front 1

What is a storm?

Back 1

a violent disturbance in the atmosphere.
Storms involve sudden change in air pressure.

Front 2

How do thunderstorms form?

Back 2

When warm, humid air rises rapidly within a cumulonimus clouds known as thunderheads.
--Warm air is forced upward --along a cold front.
--Heavy rains falls, sometimes hail.
Upward winds--updrafts and downdrafts

Front 3

What atmospheric conditions must be present in order for a thunderstorm to develop?

Back 3

Warm, humid air rising rapidly

Front 4

What happens when a thunderstomrs approaches?

Back 4

the air cools, forming dense thunderclouds.
--Mostly occur in spring and summer in southern states or western plains.

Front 5

What is lightning and thunder?

Back 5

Lightning is a sudden spark, or electrical discharge as charges jump between parts of a cloud.
--They happen during a thunderstorm

Front 6

What is thunder?

Back 6

Thunder is the sound of the explosion when rapidly heated air expands suddenly and explosively.
--You see lightning before you hear thunder because light travels much faster than sound.

Front 7

Why do cumlonimbus clouds often form along cold fronts?

Back 7

Cumulonimubus clouds often form along cold fronts because warm air is forced upward. As the warm air rises, it cools, forming dense thunderheads.

Front 8

What is a major danger during severe thunderstorms?

Back 8

Flooding. Floods occur when so much water pours into a stream or river that its banks overflow.

Front 9

Where is the safest place to be duirng a thunderstorm?

Back 9

Indoors. Avoid touchig telephones, electrial appliances or plumbing fixtures.
Do not touch any metal
Avoid places where lighting may strike.
Avoid objects that can conduct electricity such as metal objects and bodies of water.

Front 10

How can lightning be dangerous?

Back 10

Lightening acts like a powerful shock and can cause unconsciousness, serious burns, or even heart failure.

Front 11

What kind of damage does thunderstoms cause?

Back 11

Heavy rains associated with thunderstoms can flood low-lying areas.
Lightning can break tree trunks or start fires.

Front 12

What are some thunderstorm safety tips.

Back 12

--Safest place to be is indoors.
--If outside avoid touching metal, telephones, etc.
--If outdoors, find a low area away from trees, fences and poles.

Front 13

What is a tornado?

Back 13

--Most frightening and destructive type of storm.
--It is a rapidly whirling, funnel-shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch Earth's surface. Winds can reach 500 kilometers per hour.

Front 14

What is a waterspout?

Back 14

A tornado over a lake or ocean.

Front 15

How do tornadoes form?

Back 15

Tornadoes most commonly develop in cumulonimbus clouds--the same clouds that bring thunderstorms.
--Most likely to occur when thunderstomrs are likely--spring and summer.
Great Plains have kind of weather patterns that is likely to create tornadoes.

Front 16

What weather conditions must be present for tornadoes to form?

Back 16

Usually warm, humid air mass meets a cold, dry air mass. A squall line of several thunderstorms forms, which can cusae 10 or more tornadoes.

Front 17

Why do so many tornadoes occur in "tornado alley"?

Back 17

Cold, dry air masses from the Canada and warm, hnumid air masses from Gulf of Mexico meet there.

Front 18

Where is "tornado alley"?

Back 18

Parts of Texas, Oklahama, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, and a little part in the southern tip of South Dakota.

Front 19

What is a tornado warning?

Back 19

An annoucement that a tornado has been seen in the sky or on weather radar.

Front 20

What type of damage is associated with tornados?

How are they measured?

Back 20

Damage comes from flying debris and strong winds. --Winds can move trucks, cars, etc. and carry them far distances.
--Ranked on Fujita scale from F0 (no damage) to F5 (a lot of damage.

Front 21

What should you do if a tornado is in the area?

Back 21

Move to safe area as soon as possible.
The safest place to be is in a stomr shelter or the basement of a well built building.
If there is no basement, move to the middle of the gound floor and stay away from windows and doors and lie flat.

Front 22

What is a hurricane?

Back 22

A tropical cyclone that has winds of 119 kilometers per hour or higher.
Hurricanes form in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.

Front 23

What is a typhoons?

Back 23

A typhoon is a hurricane that forms in the Pacific Ocean, like near Hawaii.

Front 24

How do hurricanes start?

Back 24

Begins over warm ocean water as a low-pressure area or tropical disturbance.
--If the disturbance grows in size and strength, it becomes a tropical storm and then a hurricane.

Front 25

When do hurricanes happen?

Back 25

Around August, September and October.

Front 26

How do hurricanes form?

Back 26

Draws energy from the warm, humid air at the ocean's surface.
As this air rises and forms clouds, more air is drawn into the system.
Winds spiral inward toward the center.

Front 27

How do hurricanes move?

Back 27

Last longer than other storms..like a week or more.
--Move by easterly trade winds toward the Carribean islands and southern U.S.
After it passes over land, it no longer has warm, moist air to draw energy from. It loses strength, although heavy rains may continue.

Front 28

What is a storm surge?

Back 28

A dome of water that sweeps across the coast where the hurricane lands.

Front 29

What are some hurricane safety tips?

Back 29

Evacuate the area immediately.

Front 30

In what direction is the wind blowing in a hurricane?

Back 30

--Counterclockwise around the eye of the hurricane.
--Center of a hurricane is called the "eye" and it is quiet--or low pressure area.

Front 31

What is a winter storm?

Back 31

Precipitation that falls as snow or rain.

Front 32

Why does most precipitation begin as snow?

Back 32

The temperature is below freezing at the altitude where clouds form. Snow results if the whole atmosphere is colder than the freezing point.

Front 33

What are the two snowiest cities in the United States?

Back 33

Buffalo (your dad's hometown) and Rochester in upstate New York.

Front 34

Why do areas that are east of the Great Lakes get a lot of snow?

Back 34

--Water in and air above the lakes are warmer than the surrounding land and air.
--When a cold, dry air mass moves over the lakes, it picks up moisture and heat from the lakes.
--When air reaches the other side of the lakes, the air cools and water vaper forms snow.

Front 35

What are some snowstorm safety tips.

Back 35

--Find shelter from the wind.
--Cover exposed parts of your body and try to stay dry.

Front 36

What is a meteorologist?

Back 36

Scientist who study the causes of weather and try to predict it.

Front 37

How does a meteorologist predict the weather?

What tools to they use?

Back 37

They use maps, charts and computers to analyze weather data and to prepare weather forecasts.

Front 38

What kinds of information do weather satellites collect?

Back 38

temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and direction; they also provide images of clouds and storm systems.

Front 39

Study weather symbols and know how to read a weather map. 1. What is the symbol for a cold front?
2. How is wind direction indicated?

Back 39

1. A line of triangles on the front side.
2. By thedirection of the line extending out from a weathermap symbol.

Front 40

List three technologies used to gather weather data.

Back 40

1. weather ballons,
2. weather satellites, and 3. weather stations