Storms 4

Question 1

Where are mammatus clouds

Answer 1

underside of thunderstorm anvil

Question 2

What are winds

Answer 2

air motions
or air-parcel movement

Question 3

Moisture Advection

Answer 3

wind blowing in warm, humid air (storm fuel)

Question 4

Storms can become organized due to

Answer 4

moisture advection

-> positive feedback
-> longer-lasting storms

Question 5

Radiative heat from the sun causes (what does sensible and latent heat do)

Answer 5

sensible: air gets warmer
latent: humidity rises

Question 6

What creates winds

Answer 6

forces

Question 7

acceleration formula

Answer 7

(Vnew - Vold) ÷ ∆t

Question 8

Prognostic equation / “forecast method” for wind

Answer 8

Vnew = Vold + [ (F/m) x ∆ t ]

Question 9

Air parcel is

Answer 9

hypothetical blob of air
- size of city block

Question 10

Buoyancy force

Answer 10

vertical
causes up and downdrafts

Question 11

Pressure-gradient force (PGF)

Answer 11

horizontal OR vertical
drives horizontal winds

Question 12

How does temperature alter buoyancy to drive vertical winds?

Answer 12

Temp -> density -> buoyancy
warm air rises (updraft)
cold air sinks (downdraft)

Question 13

Buoyancy of an air parcel depends on the DIFFERENCE btwn ___ & ___

Answer 13

parcel temp and surrounding air temp

Question 14

What is the driving force of storms?

Answer 14

Buoyancy

Question 15

What processes drives the violent updrafts in Tstorms?

Answer 15

1. Condensation in storms release latent heat
2. latent heat warms the air, making it buoyant / rise

Question 16

Pressure equation and units

Answer 16

Force / Area
N / m^2

Question 17

True or false: pressure drives winds

Answer 17

true

Question 18

Pressure gradient is

Answer 18

pressure DIFFERENCE across a distance
(air moves to lower pressure region)

force uses ∆ p, the diff btwn opposing pressures

Question 19

What is in the core of a hurricane? How does this make the core warmer?

Answer 19

lots of thunderstorms

-> condensation in these storms makes the core warmer

Question 20

Summary of how pressure gradients drive horizontal winds

Answer 20

Review slides for explanation

Horizontal changes in temp
-> Horizontal changes in pressure (High pressure at top, Low at bottom)
-> pressure gradient increases at higher altitudes
-> drives faster winds at higher heights

Question 21

What type of force drives the violent winds in hurricanes? (and also atmospheric rivers)

Answer 21

Pressure-gradient force

Question 22

What are atmospheric rivers and how do they pose a danger?

Answer 22

flowing streams of water vapour

-> when air hits mountains, it is forced to rise
-> air cools at adiabatic lapse rate (10C/km)
-> causes water vapour to condense = rain + flooding

Question 23

Continuity concept

Answer 23

(Assuming at the same temperature)

Air molecules tend to spread smoothly and evenly
- no gaps, don’t get bunched together

Question 24

What does continuity cause?

Answer 24

circulations

Question 25

What is circulation? Describe how it happens

Answer 25

when initial vertical motion (due to buoyancy) generates horizontal motion in surrounding air (keeps going) 1. buoyant air rises, leaves a room of low pressure below it 2. surrounding air sucked in to fill hole to maintain continuity 3. air above rising parcel is compressed, expands horizontally

Question 26

Circulations can be driven by

Answer 26

Buoyancy or horizontal pressure-gradients

Question 27

Continuity effect links ____ into ____

Answer 27

vertical and horizontal winds into circulations

Question 28

Hail falls when they are

Answer 28

heavy enough to oppose the updraft

Question 29

Hail safety

Answer 29

safety glasses drive away stay under a roof, etc

Question 30

What place is most at risk of hail?

Answer 30

Red Deer, Alberta

Question 31

What forces does temperature alter

Answer 31

buoyancy and PGF

Question 32

Rain Hazards Summary

Answer 32

- can be heavy - cover small area - transient (lasts for short amount of time) - moves with storm - flash floods & trigger land slides - reduced visibility - move to high ground

Question 33

Hail Hazards Summary

Answer 33

- can come from any large Tstorm - most common with supercells (low precipitation) - injury or death - dent cars, break windows - flatten crops within minutes, kill livestock - get indoors, leave, go under a roof - safety glasses

Question 34

True or false: storms of the same type have the same hazards

Answer 34

False diff storms behave differently, so they don't all have the same hazards!

Question 35

Mammatus clouds on the underside of anvils usually happen near

Answer 35

sunset

Question 36

Hail is most common with what type of Tstorm?

Answer 36

Supercells (low precipitation)

Question 37

True or false: a larger buoyancy implies a greater vertical acceleration

Answer 37

True

Question 38

True or false: a warm air parcel will not want to rise if the surrounding air is warmer

Answer 38

True

Question 39

What would happen if air molecules are removed from a hurricane core?

Answer 39

the hurricane strengthens