pro prof stroms and waves

1.
Be wary of the main storm hazards. Thunderstorm Hazards (lightening, hail, tornado, downpours of rain flooding, downbursts of air gustfronts
Hurricane Hazards contain thunderstorms, storm surge/coastal flooding, high waves, coastal erosion

2.
Describe the different types of lightning, how they form, and what happens when they strike something. Cloud-to-cloud lightening: occurs when voltage gradient within a cloud, or between clouds overcomes electrical resistance of air.
Cloud-to-ground lightening: occurs when negative charges accumulate in lower portions of cloud. Can be positive or negative. Negative strikes are more frequent, come from cloud base. Positive strikes are less frequent, come from anvil, primary cause of natural wild fires.

3.
Recognize thunderstorms, be able to identify Tstorm components, and explain how they evolve. Looks like anvil or mushroom.Thick clouds.
Sometimes a very large, rotating single-cell thunderstorm forms, called a supercell Tstorm.
They can cause tornadoes, large hail, frequent lightning, heavy rain, strong wind

4.
Explain how storms get their energy from the sun. Solar energy is absorbed at 3 different heights: thermosphere (top), stratopause (middle) and earth surface (bottom).
-absorbed sunlight at ground changes to sensible heat (warms the air) -> temperature increases. and latent heat (evaporates water from lakes, etc) -> humidity increases. 2 heat sources forms fuel storms.

5.
Explain the main characteristics that make a supercell so much nastier than a normal Tstorm sometimes a very large, rotating single-cell thunderstorm forms, called supercell. They can cause the most violent tornadoes, large hail, frequent lightning, heavy rain, strong winds. Rotates as a Mesocyclone, and can spawn tornadoes

7.
Explain the behavior of downbursts and gust fronts, and identify their associated cloud & dust features ✦ What: Downburst - cold (dense) air sinking.
✦ Why: Tstorm can create dense air where rain falls; due to •precipitation drag & •evaporative cooling.
✦ Risks: Often invisible, but hazard to aircraft
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✦ What: Gust front - leading edge of straight-line winds.
✦ Why: downburst air hits ground & spreads out.
✦ Visible: haboob (if dry ground); arc cloud (if moist air)
✦ Risks: can blow down large trees and destroy weak structures (mobile homes; out-buildings); hazard to aircraft during take-off/landing

8.
Describe why the fact that cold air holds less water vapour is critical in explaining how Tstorms can extract energy from humid air some vapour must condense into liquid droplets.
• But condensation releases latent heat.
If Saturation Humidity value becomes smaller than the actual Humidity, then condensation occurs.
This condensation does 3 things:
•releases sensible heat into storms,
•reduces the humidity down to the equilibrium
(saturation) value, &
• produces or increases liquid cloud drops, which can grow to become rain drops

10.
Explain why supercell thunderstorms spawn the most dangerous tornadoes. Supercell storm consists of a single, extremely powerful cell rather than a number of individual cells. Typical lifespan of supercell is 2-4 hours.

11.
Relate the Enhanced Fujita scale to different amounts of damage. determined by amount of damage to buildings .
EF0 = very weak tornado -> might break a few windows.
EF5 = exceptionally strong tornado

• TORRO Scale determined by wind speed(Europe)

12.
Describe safety procedures near tornadoes. If indoors:
• below ground, in a basement or storm cellar
• get out of mobile homes (worse place to be in tornado)
If outdoors on foot:
• get into a ditch or hole
• place your body below "line of fire"of fast moving debris
If in car:
• drive away from tornado on best convenient road
• preferably to right or left of translation direction of tornado.
• Do NOT hide under highway bridge or overpass

13.
Identify the times and places for high tornado risk Oklahoma-Toronto

14.
Recognize mammatus clouds and the flanking line, and describe their relationship to Tstorms Mammatus Clouds=Circular

15.
Forces & Accceleration Forces create winds. F= m * a
If you push on an object harder (with greater force), then it accelerates faster in the direction you push it.
Acceleration = change of velocity (v) during time interval, where velocity has both speed and direction

16.
Explain how vertical and horizontal winds are created by heat released in storms. buoyancy force (vertical) => causes up & downdraft pressure-gradient force (PGF) (horiz. or vert.)
[horizontal PGF -> horizontal winds]

Warm air rises -> updrafts
Cold air sinks -> downdrafts

The buoyancy of an air parcel depends on the difference between the parcel temperature and the temperature of the surrounding air

Warmer air is less dense
(i.e., the molecules are further apart), resulting i n an upward buoyancy force. Colder air is more dense
(molecules are closer together), resulting in a downward buoyancy force. Condensation in Tstorms releases latent heat.
Latent heat warms the Tstorm air, making it buoyant and causing the air to rise.This is what drives the violent updrafts in thunderstorms.

17. continued Pressure Gradients drive Horizontal Winds
Summary of How it works:
• horizontal changes in temperature ==>
• horizontal changes in pressure that increase with height ==>
• pressure gradient increasing at higher altitudes ==>
• drives faster winds at higher altitudes.
This type of pressure-gradient force drives the violent winds in hurricanes

18.
Explain what the continuity effect is, and how it ties vertical and horizontal motions into circulations Continuity Effect = Air molecules tend to spread themselves smoothly and evenly
• They don't leave any gaps (i.e., they don't leave a vacuum)
• They don't get bunched together.
• Namely, air is continuous

In real life, circulations develop smoothly and continuously to try to maintain continuity as air parcels start to move. Circulations can be driven: by buoyancy in the vertical, or by horizontal pressure gradients. Vertical & horizontal motions are linked by the effect of continuity

19.
Heat to Motion (Summary) • Forces create winds
• Temperature alters buoyancy => vertical forces => vertical winds
• Temperature alters pressure => horizontal forces => horizontal winds
• Continuity links vertical and horizontal winds into circulations.

20.
Describe rain and hail hazards of Tstorms, and state actions you can take to be safe near Tstorms Rain: Tstorm rain can be heavy, covering small area, very large raindrops, very transient, moving with storm.
✦ Hazards: Downpours can cause flash floods, and reduced visibility while driving. (& can trigger landslides)
✦ Safety: Move to high ground. Don’t drive through water of unknown depth.

Hail: can come from any large Tstorm, but are most common with supercells (low precip.)
✦ Hazards: injury or death, dent metal cars, break windows (sending shards of glass to your eyes), flatten crops, kill livestock
✦ Safety: get indoors. If in a car, U-turn to leave hail area, or park under a roof. If car is exposed to strong hail, pull over to the side of the road and park, and close your eyes to keep glass shards out.

21.
Identify the components of a hurricane
(draw)

Hurricanes & typhoons are tropical cyclones, with surface winds turning counterclockwise
(in N. Hem.) & spiraling in.
Eye = center of hurricane
• relatively clear
• relatively calm
• low pressure at sea level
Hurricanes are made of thunderstorms:
• eye wall = ring of thunder-storms around the eye.
• spiral bands = bands of Tstorms extending out from the eye wall

22.
Explain how hurricanes get and utilize heat energy, and why hurricanes can exist for weeks ambient atmosphere happens to have right amount of wind shear that: continually blows fresh fuel into storm. or blows Tstorm to new regions having boundary-layer fuel - Supercell

Hurricanes and their T-storms are longer-lasting because they manipulate the environment to continually create new fuel from heat stored in the ocean

23.
List the requirements for hurricane existence, describe how hurricanes evolve, and what causes them to die Hurricanes can persist only if :
• central pressure in eye remains low (to create wind, waves, and to suck in fuel of warm humid air), AND
• the hurricane remains over the warm ocean.
Hurricanes weaken and die if :
• cannot generate sufficient fuel of warm, humid air. This happens when hurricanes move over:
• colder water, or land
• larger-scale weather systems interfere

24.
Why can hurricanes last for weeks, in spite of all the air molecules continually blown into the core? Heavy condensation and precipitation from thunderstorms in the eye wall cause the hurricane core (eye + eye wall) to become very warm relative to its surrounding

25.
Describe the risks associated with hurricanes, and appropriate safety procedures Hurricane predictions are inaccurate. Therefore, forecast maps of hurricane danger usually include probabilities.
Recommendations for your Safety:
• Don’t buy or build houses on or near the beach in SE USA.
• Plan in advance for evacuation. Don’t “ride out” the storm.

26. key properties of waves • Crest = highest point
• Trough = lowest point
• Wavelength (L or λ) = distance for one full cycle
(e.g. crest-to-crest, or trough-to-trough)

• Wave Height (H) = vertical distance from crest to trough
• Amplitude (a) = H/2 (one-half the height)
• Steepness = H/L (height divided by wavelength

27.
Use these properties to determine wave speed and behaviour in either shallow or deep water

• Period, (T) = time for one wavelength to pass a point
(e.g. seconds per cycle)
• Frequency (f) = number of waves per time period
(e.g. cycles per second)
• Celerity (c) = L/T (distance per time period,
e.g. meters per second). Often just called SPEED

28.
Explain how waves move matter and energy

Water moves back & up, then and down & forward
 CIRCULAR motion (orbits)
ENERGY passes through the water, but there is only NEGLIGEABLE NET MOVEMENT of the water