Hurricanes
a large rotating tropical storm with wind speeds of 74pmh or higher
what is a hurricane?
A large powerful thunderstorm with a rotating updraft
What is a supercell?
Warm air below cold air
What is unstable air?
Sinking cool air inside a thunderstorm cloud
The force caused by the Earth's rotation that makes air and water moving long distances across Earth, appear to move in a curve instead of a straight line
What is the Coriolis Effect?
The area of the hurricane with the lowest pressure
What is the eye?
A change in wind speed and/or direction with height that causes air to rotate horizontally
What is wind shear?
The "lightning capital" of the world
What is Tampa, Florida?
The transfer of heat by warm air rising and cool air sinking
What is convection?
Spiral bands that bring heavy rain, flooding, and even tornadoes
What are rainbands?
The most dangerous area of a hurricane
What is the eye wall?
tilts the rotating air vertically to form a tornado
What are updrafts?
mountains forcing air to rise, and then subsequently cool and condense into clouds
What is orographic lifting?
Rising warm air inside a thunderstorm cloud
What is an updraft?
At least 80o F
How warm ocean water has to be for a hurricane to form?
The scale hurricanes are measured on based on sustained wind speed
What is the Saffir-Simpson Scale?
a large powerful thunderstorm with a rotating updraft
supercell
cooler ocean air moves inland, forcing the warm humid air over the land to rise, triggering cloud formation and afternoon thunderstorms
What is a sea-breeze storm?
Form inside strong thunderstorms clouds with intense updrafts, powerful upward winds toss raindrops into freezing layers of the atmosphere
What is a hailstorm?
Clockwise spin
What is the direction storms rotate in the Southern Hemisphere?
Storm moves over land, encounters cool water or high wind shear
What makes a hurricane weaker?
The scale used to measure tornado damage
What is the Enhanced Fujita Scale
What is the cumulus stage?
The energy that is released from a phase change from gas to liquid when water vapor condenses into water droplets
The boundary between two different air masses
What is a front?