Severe Weather Guided Notes

What are the 3 conditions needed for thunderstorm formation?

1. There must be abundant source of moisture in the lower levels of the atmosphere
2. Some mechanism must life the air so that the moisture can condense and releases latent
heat
3. The portions of the atmosphere through which the cloud grows must be unstable

What are the 3 steps in the lifecycle of a thunderstorm?

Cumulus stage- Air stats to rise nearly vertically upward

Transported moistures condense into a visible cloud and release heart
As the cloud droplets coalesce, they from larger droplets, which eventually fall to Earth
as precipitation

Mature stage- The precipitations fall and cools the air around it which becomes denser
that the surrounding air, so it sinks creating downdrafts

Dissipation stager- The supply of warm, moist air runs out because the cool downdrafts
cool the area from which the storm draws energy

What is a tornado and how are they classified?

A tornado is a violent, whirling column of air in contact with the ground. Tornadoes are
classified by their estimated wind speed, which could be how strong or damaging a tornado is.

How do tropical cyclones (hurricanes) form?

Hurricanes for with an abundant supply of warm ocean water and some sort of disturbance to lift
warm air and keep it rising.
What are the stages of a tropical cyclone?

Tropical cyclones usually begin as disturbances that originates either from the ITCZ or as weak,
low-pressure systems called tropical waves. Only a small percentage of there ever develop into
hurricanes because conditions throughout the atmosphere must allow rising air to be dispersed
into the upper atmosphere.
1. When a disturbance over a tropical ocean aquiers a cyclonic circulation around a center
of low pressure, it is known as a tropical depression
2. When wind speeds around the low-pressure center of a tropical depression exceed 65
km/h, the system is called a tropical storm
3. If air pressure continues to fall and winds around the center reach at least 120 km/h, the
storm is officially classified as a hurricane.
Once a hurricane, the developments of a calm center of the storm, called an eye, takes place.
The eyewall is a band immediately surrounding the eye that contains the strongest winds in a
hurricane.

How are tropical cyclones classified?

The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale classifies hurricanes according to wind speed, air pressure in
the center, and potential for property damage. Ranges from Cat 1 to Cat 5.

What are hurricane hazards?

Hurricane hazards cause a lot of damage along coastal areas. Much of the damage is associated
with the winds of the eyewall.
Storm surge occurs when hurricane-force winds drive a mound of ocean water toward coastal
areas where it washes over the land.
Floods are a hurricane hazard if the storm moves over mountainous areas.
National Hurricane Center- tracking and forecasting the motion of hurricanes