What are the three conditions needed thunderstorm formation?

1. There must be an abundant source of moisture in the lower levels of the

atmpospehre
2. 2. Some mechanism must life the air so that the moisture can dondense and
release laten heat
3. The portion of the atmosphere through which the cloud grow must be
unstable
What are the three steps in the lifecycle of a thunderstorm
1. It meets a layer of stable air that it cannot overcome
2. The rate of condensation, which diminishes with height, is insufficient to
generate enough laten heat to keep the cloud warmer than the surrounding
air
3. It diminishes (last 30 minutes)
What is a tornado and how are they classified
1. A tornado is a violen,t whirling column of air in contact with the ground
2. A tornado forms when wind speed and direction change suddenly with iheght,
a phenomenon known as wind shear
How do tropical cyclones form?
1. Tropical cyclones thrive on the tremendous amount of energy in warm,
tropical oceans
2. This latent heat from water that has evaporated from the ocean is released
when the air begins to rise and water vapor condenses
3. Rising air creates an area of low pressure at the ocean surface
4. The cyclonic rotation of a tropical cyclone begins as warm air moves toward
the low pressure center to treplace the air that has risen
5. An abundant supply of very warm ocean water
6. Some osrt of disturbance to lift warm air and keep it rising
What are the stages of a tropical cyclone?
1. Topical cyclones usually begin as disturbances that originate either from the
itcz or as a weak, low pressure systems called tropical waves
2. Only a msall percentage these ever develop into hurricanes because
conditions throughout the atmosphere must allow rising air to be dispersed in
tht upper atmosphere
How are tropical cyclones classified?
1. When a disturbance over a tropical ocean acquires 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
exceeed 65 km the system is called a tropical storm
3. If air pressure continues to fall and winds around the center reach at least
120 km the storm is officically classified as a hurricane

What are hurricane hazards

1. Hurricanes can cause a lot of damage, particulary along coastal areas.
2. Much of this damage is associated with violent winds of the eyewall, the band
about 40 to 80 km wide that surrounds the calm eye.
3. In the northern hemisphere, a storm surge occurs primarily on the right side
of a storm relative to its eye, where the strongest onshore wnid occur
4. Floods are an additional hurricane hazard, particulary if the storm movoes
over mountainous areas, where orgraphic lifting enchanges the upward
motion of air
5. The national hurricane center, which is responsible for traking and forecasting
the intensity and motion of tropical cyclones in the western hemisphere,
issues a hurriance warning at least 24 hours before a hurricane strikes
6. The center also issues regular advisories that indicate a storms position
strength, and movement
7.