The Physics of Storms
This is the horizontal movement of air always flowing from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure
What is wind?
Because the Earth is spinning, winds in the Northern Hemisphere move this way around a high pressure system
What is clockwise?
On a weather map, these smooth lines connect points that have the exact same air pressure
What are isobars?
What type of front is shown by triangles on one side of a line?
What is a cold front?
What type of pressure is located near the equator?
What is low pressure?
Hurricanes act like giant engines, getting their massive amounts of energy from this specific source
What is warm ocean water?
These global winds are responsible for driving most weather systems, including blizzards and hurricanes, from Southwest to Northeast across the United States
What are the Westerlies?
This is the number of days required to complete a full cycle of moon phases
What is 29.5 days?
On a station model, what weather variable is shown in the upper-left corner?
What is temperature?
Air is generally doing what at 30° latitude?
What is descending/sinking?
When air molecules are heated, they move faster and spread further apart, leading to this change in density that causes the air to rise
What is becoming less dense?
While data on storm frequency is often inconsistent, global climate models clearly predict an increase in this storm characteristic
What is storm intensity?
This is the reason we always see the same side (the near-side) of the moon
What is the Moon revolves around Earth and rotates on its axis at the exact same speed?
What kind of weather is MOST commonly associated with a low-pressure system?
What is cloudy/stormy weather?
What jet stream is located near 60° latitude and is associated with the polar front?
What is the polar front jet stream?
This weather phenomenon occurs at fronts when warm, moist air is forced upward by cooler, denser air, causing water vapor to lose energy and condense
What is precipitation (rain or snow)?
Scientists have higher confidence in the IPCC WGI Interactive Atlas because its predictions are based on this, which enhances its precision
What are multiple, consistent data sets?
By looking at a weather map, you can tell where the fastest wind speeds are located by looking for this pattern in the isobars
What is where the isobars are closest together?
A weather station shows a wind barb pointing from the northwest with two full feathers.
What direction is the wind coming FROM and what is the wind speed?
What is from the northwest at 20 knots?
What atmospheric layer contains most weather?
What is the troposphere?
Hurricanes are most likely to form near the equator during these specific months in the North Atlantic because sea surface temperatures are at their highest
What are June through November?
Climate models based on past glacial-to-warm period transitions suggest that as the planet warms, global wind and precipitation bands will shift in this direction
What is North (or poleward)?
These occur during New and Full moons when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align, resulting in the highest high tides and lowest low tides
What are Spring Tides?
A station model shows “103” for pressure. What is the actual sea-level pressure?
What is 1010.3 mb?
This is what happens to air between two hadley cells (include movement of air, associated weather, and associated pressure).
What is air is rising, forming clouds and precipitation and a Low Pressure?