Severe Storms

Question 1

what are the 3 conditions needed for a storm?

Answer 1

1. abundance of moisture
2. mechanism of lift
3. unstable air (rise only if there is warmer air around it)

Question 2

what are 2 things that affect the growth of storms (growth limits of storms)

Answer 2

the rising air meets stable air above it

the rate of condensation

Question 3

condensation ___ with height

Answer 3

decreases

Question 4

involving the rate of condensation… there is not enough latent heat to keep cloud __ that surrounding air

Answer 4

warmer

Question 5

Single cell thunderstorms last about ___ minutes

and are about ___ km in diameter

Answer 5

30 minutes

24 km in diameter

Question 6

what is the thunderstorm capital of the world?

Answer 6

The U.S.

Question 7

How are thunderstorms classified?

Answer 7

they are classified by the mechanism that causes the air to rise

Question 8

What are the 2 different kinds of thunderstorms?

Answer 8

air mass

frontal

Question 9

Air mass thunderstorms:
mechanism of lift=
reaches max at ____

Answer 9

uneven heating

mid-afternoon

Question 10

there are 2 types of air mass thunderstorms, what are they? and why are they created?

Answer 10

mountain: orographic lifting

sea-breeze: extreme temperature

Question 11

in a frontal thunderstorm, what is the mechanism of lift?

Answer 11

advancing cold front

Question 12

in a frontal thunderstorm, the initial lift occurs___

Answer 12

off a steep leading edge of a front

Question 13

thunderstorms that occur at night have to be ___ thunderstorms

Answer 13

frontal

Question 14

what are the 3 stages of development in thunderstorms?

Answer 14

1. Cumulus
2. mature
3. dissipation

Question 15

in the cumulus stage, there is nearly a ___ ___ of air, the updraft ___ ___ into the upper clouds. Then it ___ and ___ ___. Precipitation begins

Answer 15

vertical rise
moves moisture
condenses
releases heat

Question 16

what happens when precipitation falls in the mature stage of a storm?

Answer 16

the precipitation cools the air around it as it falls

Question 17

In the mature stage of a storm, cooled air becomes denser and then ___ ___ and this causes ___.

Answer 17

sinks rapidly

downdrafts

Question 18

In the mature stage, updrafts and downdrafts cause what?

Answer 18

convection cells

Question 19

In dissipation, ___ cool the earth

Answer 19

downdrafts

Question 20

In dissipation, the earth is cooled by ___, updrafts slow, then ___. This causes precipitation to ___.

Answer 20

downdrafts
stop
no longer form

Question 21

what is the most common type of storm?

Answer 21

Mulit-cell storm

Question 22

what are multi-cell storms?

Answer 22

clusters of single cell storms

Question 23

what cell storms are self sustaining?

Answer 23

super cells

Question 24

in super-cells, you are able to see movement inside the cloud which is…?

Answer 24

intense rotating of 240 km/h

Question 25

about how long do the duration of super-cell storms last?

Answer 25

1 hour

Question 26

super-cells are ___% of all storms

Answer 26

10%

Question 27

what can super-cell storms rise/trigger?

Answer 27

tornadoes

Question 28

what is the mechanism of lift involving super-cells?

Answer 28

a cold front with upper level low pressure

Question 29

when there is upper level low pressure, what is created?

Answer 29

high winds underneath the low pressure

Question 30

convection cells are able to continuously ___

Answer 30

regenerate

Question 31

super-cells are able to _____

Answer 31

lift a continuous supply of warm humid air

Question 32

what season does hail mostly occur? and how is it formed?

Answer 32

spring | formed when super cooled water freezes in ice pellet

Question 33

how does hail grow in size?

Answer 33

it rides the "convection belt" | it rides updrafts and downdrafts

Question 34

when hail is the largest, what does this mean for the updrafts?

Answer 34

more powerful the updrafts= larger hail | on the convection belt longer

Question 35

where are squall lines found?

Answer 35

found in warm areas of wave cyclone about 160 km ahead of cold front

Question 36

what do squall lines produce?

Answer 36

strong straight line winds, hail, sometimes tornadoes

Question 37

what was the main cause of damage in the SL storm of 1998? and what was it called?

Answer 37

straight line winds | Derecho event

Question 38

what was the twisting damage in the 1998 storm caused by?

Answer 38

gustanadoes

Question 39

what are down-burst winds?

Answer 39

concentrated straight line winds (wind does not disperse when it hits surface)

Question 40

when wind speed and direction change suddenly in the event of a tornado, what is this called?

Answer 40

wind shear

Question 41

what kind of cell thunderstorm form tornadoes?

Answer 41

super-cell

Question 42

On a radar, what indicates where a tornado can form?

Answer 42

hook echos

Question 43

what are the 3 things that the Enhanced Fujita scale depend on?

Answer 43

time on ground path of destruction wind speed