Weather

Question 1

Name the 5 air masses that affect the UK

Answer 1

1. Arctic Maritime
2. Polar Maritime
3. Tropical Maritime
4. Tropical Continental
5. Polar Continental

Question 2

Describe where the Arctic maritime comes from and what weather it brings

Answer 2

Air masses form over the Arctic Ocean

Bring cold wet air - cold weather and rain

Question 3

Describe where the polar maritime originates and the weather it brings

Answer 3

Air masses form over the North Atlantic Ocean

Bring cold, wet air - cold weather and rain

Question 4

Describe where the tropical maritime originates and what weather it brings

Answer 4

Air masses form over Atlantic Ocean

Bring warm, wet air - warm weather and rain

Question 5

Describe where the tropical continental originates and what weather it brings

Answer 5

Air masses form over Africa

Bring warm, dry air - hot, dry weather

Question 6

Describe where the polar continental originates and what weather it brings

Answer 6

Air masses form over Siberia
Bring cold, dry air - very cold, dry weather
- can bring snow if air picks up moisture from North Sea

Question 7

Name a temperate storm which hit the UK and when it was

Answer 7

The Great Storm

15th Oct 1987

Question 8

Describe the formation of the Great Storm 1987 (3 stages)

Answer 8

1. Depression began over Bay of Biscay - south westerly winds (warm, wet air from North Atlantic) met north easterly winds (cold air from Pole)
2. Depression deepened rapidly due to unusually warm sea surface temperatures in bay of Biscay and a steep temperature gradient between the 2 air masses - low atmospheric pressure at the core of the depression lead to very strong winds
3. Polar front jet stream located further south than normal - depression formed over England rather than N.Scottland

Question 9

Describe how the pressure changed in the Great Storm in 1987

Answer 9

15th oct - pressure in centre of depression fell from 970mb at midday to 950mb at midnight (uk AV. 1013mb)

Question 10

Where did the Great Storm of 1987 affect?

Answer 10

Midnight - South coast Cornwall and Devon

moved across Midlands and reached Humber Estuary (east coast) at 05:30

Question 11

Where did The Great Storm affect the most?

Answer 11

South East
03:00 - 06:00
Gusts of up to 196km/h
Highest hourly mean wind speed recorded in Shoreham-by-Sea 140km/h for 20mins continuously

Question 12

Name 3 social impacts of The Great Storm 1987

Answer 12

1. 18 people died in England (4 in France)
2. Power and telephone lines knocked down - 150,000 homes lost telephone connection, 100s of 1000s homes no electricity for 24hrs
3. Some historical buildings were damaged or destroyed - Shanklin Pier on Isle of Wight destroyed by waves

Question 13

Name 4 economic impacts of the Great Storm 1987

Answer 13

1. > 1million buildings damaged - insurance claims £1.4bn
2. Transport disrupted - fallen trees blocked roads and railways
3. Gatwick airport closed - lost power
4. 1000s boats wrecked - MV Hengist (cross channel ferry) beached

Question 14

Name 2 environmental impacts of the great storm 1987

Answer 14

1. 15million trees blown down

2. Some areas lost 97% of their trees - loss of woodland habitat

Question 15

Name 5 short term responses to the great storm 1987

Answer 15

1. During storm emergency services dealt with 4 months worth of calls in one night
2. Phone companies and electricity boards worked round the clock repairing and replacing equipment until power and phone lines were restored
3. Highways agencies began clearing roads and railway companies cleaned railways
4. Forestry workers began clearing the fallen trees in forests (4million m cubed of timber) - took 100s workers over 2 years to clear and store it all
5. Forestry commission established the Forest Windblow Action Committee - help woodland owners to recover fallen trees and offer advice on replanting

Question 16

Why were the Met office criticised for their action during the great storm 1987?

Answer 16

1. Severe weather warnings were only issued 3 hrs before storm hit
2. Ministry of Defence were only warned that military assistance might be needed to help deal with the impacts of storm at 01:00 on 16th oct

Question 17

What changes were made after there as an inquiry into the management of the great storm 1987 by the met office (3)

Answer 17

1. More observations of weather systems are now made by ships, aircraft and satellites
2. Improved computer models are now used to forecast weather
3. Government established a national severe weather warning service to improve the way severe weather warnings are made and issued

Question 18

Name when and where a tropical revolving stormed occurred in an LDC and an MDC

Answer 18

MDC - Hurricane Katrina - S.E. USA - 29th Aug 2005

LDC - Cyclone Nargis - Burma - 2nd May 2008

Question 19

Outline the progression and formation of Hurricane Katrina

Answer 19

1. Formed over Bahamas 23rd Aug
2. Moved N.W. - strengthened into hurricane - went over tip of California into Gulf of Mexico
3. Whilst over warm water - strengthened from cat.1 to cat.5 hurricane
4. 28th Aug - weakened to cat.3
5. Morning of 29th - struck land - winds 200km/h, 200-250mm rain Louisiana, 8.5m storm surge Mississippi
6. Travelled 240km inland

Question 20

Name 7 social impacts of hurricane Katrina which affected Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans and Cuba on 29th Aug 2005

Answer 20

1. 1800 died
2. 300,000 homes destroyed
3. 100s of 1000s made homeless
4. 3million - no electricity
5. One of main routes out of Louisiana closed - part of I-10 bridge collapsed
6. Water supplies polluted - sewage, chemicals, dead bodies - 5 people died from bacterial infections caught from water
7. Education of 1000s children suffered - 18 schools in New Orleans destroyed - 74 badly damaged

Question 21

Name 5 economic impacts of Hurricane Katrina 29th Aug 2005

Answer 21

1. 230,000 jobs lost - businesses damaged or destroyed
2. Total cost of damage = $300bn
3. 30 oil platforms in Gulf of Mexico damaged or destroyed - 9 refineries had to close - disruption to oil industry
4. 5000km squared forest destroyed in Mississippi - affected logging industry (loss of income $5bn)
5. Many ports were damaged - Gulf Port in Mississippi - disrupted shipping industry

Question 22

Name 4 environmental impacts of Hurricane Katrina 29th Aug 2005

Answer 22

1. Coastal habitats - sea turtle breeding beaches - damaged
2. Some coastal conservation areas destroyed - 1/2 of Breton National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana washed away
3. Flooding damaged oil refineries in Louisiana - massive oil spills
4. Permanent flooding of salt marshes in Louisiana caused loss of habitat

Question 23

Outline 2 warnings of Hurricane Katrina that allowed the USA to respond quickly on 29th Aug 2005

Answer 23

1. USA has a sophisticated monitoring system to predict if (and where) a hurricane will hit. National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Florida tracks and predicts hurricanes using satellite images and ‘hurricane hunter’ planes that collect weather data on approaching storms
2. Aug 26th NHC issued a hurricane warning for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama - continued to track and update gov. on where and when it would hit

Question 24

Name 4 responses to Hurricane Katrina before it hit on 29th Aug 2005

Answer 24

1. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinated the response
2. State of emergency declared in Louisiana on evening of 26th Aug and in Mississippi on 27th. FEMA and other organisations began preparations for the hurricane eg.
   - US Coast guard positioned helicopters and boats around area likely to be affected
   - FEMA organised teams and supplies - mortuary teams with refrigerated trucks to deal with dead bodies
3. Morning of 28th Aug - Mayor of New Orleans ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city - 80% residents evacuated before hurricane hit - reduced death toll
4. Voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders also issued in other places along coast

Question 25

Name 3 responses during and after Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug 29th 2005

Answer 25

1. ~100,000 people didn't evacuate - wanted to stay to protect their property, not enough money or no transport - emergency shelters set up for these people - Louisiana Superdrome in New Orleans sheltered 26,000 during hurricane 2. Coastguard, police, fire service and army rescued 50,000 people after hurricane hit 3. Lots of organisations sent teams and supplies into area after the hurricane: - FEMA sent search and resume teams, medical teams, water, ice and ready meals - 58,000 National Guard Troops (reservists) deployed from all over US - responsible for rescuing 17,000 people and evacuating 70,000 - charities collected over $4bn of donations from the public to provide aid to victims of Katrina - Salvation Army provided 5.7million hot meals to people in and around New Orleans

Question 26

Give 3 reasons why the responses to Hurricane Katrina 29th Aug 2005 were criticised

Answer 26

1. Some emergency shelters weren't properly prepared for the number of people needing shelter - National Guard delivered enough food to the Louisiana Superdrome to feed 15,000 people for 3days - 26,000 turned up 2. Widespread looting took place in many areas - in New Orleans because not enough police or troops 3. Most people agreed that the evacuations saved many lives but they were criticised for not helping people without transport to get out

Question 27

Outline the formation of cyclone Nargis

Answer 27

1. Formed in Bay of Bengal during last week of April 2008 2. 28th April strengthened - classed as cyclone 3. As approached coast of Burma - strengthened to cat. 4 on saffir-Simpson scale 4. May 2nd hit coast of Burma - wind speeds 215km/h - storm surge 5m (waves added 2m on top of this) 5. Weakened as moved inland - downgraded to storm on 3rd May

Question 28

Name 2 places affected by Cyclone Nargis on 2nd May 2008

Answer 28

1. Irrawaddy Delta - hardest hit - 14,000km squared flooded | 2. Sri Lanka - heavy rainfall led to flooding and landslides

Question 29

Name 9 social impacts of cyclone nargis on 2nd may 2008

Answer 29

1. 140,000 died 2. 450,000 homes destroyed, 350,000 damaged 3. 4000 schools destroyed or severely damaged 4. 75% health facilities destroyed or severely damaged 5. 2.5million homeless 6. 40% freshwater ponds (source of fresh water for locals) damaged by salt water 7. 70% pop. no access to clean water 8. Many people suffered from diseases caused by poor sanitary conditions and contaminated water - dysentery, diarrhoea 9. Many people suffered from mental health issues - 30% people treated by one aid agency

Question 30

Name 4 economic impacts of Cyclone Nargis 2nd May 2008

Answer 30

1. 600,000 hectares of agri land damaged - 65% rice paddies in region 2. Crops were lost, 200,000 farm animals killed, 40% food stores destroyed - huge impact on agri industry 3. Millions lost their livelihoods - many fishing boats destroyed 4. Total cost of damage = $4bn

Question 31

Name 2 environmental impacts of cyclone nargis 2nd may 2008

Answer 31

1. 38,000 hectares of mangrove forests destroyed | 2. Flooding caused erosion and salination of land

Question 32

Outline 3 reasons why Burma was not prepared for Cyclone Nargis 2nd may 2008

Answer 32

1. Burma doesn't have a dedicated hurricane monitoring centre - Indian weather agencies warned the Burmese Gov. that Cyclone Nargis was likely to hit the country 48hrs before it did 2. Burmese weather forecasters did give warnings the cyclone was coming via TV and radio - didn't say how severe it would be or give advice on how to prepare/evacuate - increased no. killed as people didn't know what to do or where to evacuate to 3. No emergency preparation plans, no evacuation plans and the country didn't have an early warning system

Question 33

Outline 7 reasons why response to cyclone nargis in Burma was really slow

Answer 33

1. Gov. initially refused to accept any foreign aid 2. 9th May decided to accept donations of things like food and tents - wouldn't allow aid workers in. Some countries and organisations sent aid that helped reduce the impacts eg. - UN refugee agency (UNHCR) sent 22 tonnes of tents and other supplies from Thailand - charities sent aid - Muslim aid distributed water purification tablets, blankets and food parcels - Italy sent 25 tonnes emergency equipment - shelters, 1st aid kits and water purifiers 3. Helped a lot as still problems - French ship carrying 1500 tonnes supplies refused entry because gov. thought it was a warship 4. Some aid seized by military delaying delivery to people who need it - 2 shipments of high energy biscuits 5. 19th May ASEAN held emergency summit to discuss situation - following this a burka decided to allow aid workers from ASEAN countries in to help 6. After talks with the UN Secretary General and the Burmese leader Than Shwe, all aid workers were allowed in on 23rd May - 3 weeks after disaster occurred 7. Gov. response to the disaster heavily criticised by other countries - meant aid came too late - more deaths