Extreme Weather 1 Extreme Weather Hazards Learning objectives

Extreme Weather 1

Extreme Weather Hazards

Learning objectives What is an extreme weather hazard? What are the causes and effects of massive hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina? What are the causes and effects of tornados? What are the causes, effects and dangers of other weather hazards? 3

What is an extreme weather hazard? A weather hazard is any naturally occurring weather condition that has the potential to cause either harm or damage. We need to understand weather hazards so that we can minimize the risk to human life. Weather hazards can have short-term and long-term effects.

Short-term effects of extreme weather hazards Short-term effects might include superficial damage to land buildings or a temporary population migration from an area. Food sources, power lines and supply routes may also be temporarily damaged by any number of weather hazards. Short-term effects will only last a few days or weeks. They will not cause any lasting changes to the ecosystem, the population or the ecology of the land. Not being able to go to school due to too much ice or snow on the roads would be a short-term effect of a weather hazard. OMG what is he doing wrong here? 5

Long-term effects of extreme weather hazards Long-term effects can include large-scale destruction of property, or a complete alteration of the physical landscape. Some weather hazards may permanently alter the ecosystem through habitat destruction, which can have knock on effects for many species. This picture shows the Chandeleur islands in the USA, which have had their geography, permanently altered by Hurricane Katrina. This is a long-term effect of a weather hazard. 6

Short-term and long-term effects 7

Learning objectives What is a weather hazard? What are the causes and effects of massive hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina? What are the causes and effects of tornados? What are the causes, effects and dangers of other weather hazards?

How do hurricanes form? 9

Hurricane Katrina was the most powerful hurricane to hit the United States in known history. 10

Hurricane Katrina Winds of over 250 kilometres per hour were recorded as Katrina hit the coast, causing a storm surge 8. 5 metres high. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on the morning of the 29 th August 2005 bringing with it terrible destruction. New Orleans 11

Effects of Hurricane Katrina At first New Orleans seemed to have weathered the worst of the hurricane, but later storm surges breached the city’s protective levees. Levees are walls and embankments built alongside the rivers to keep New Orleans safe from flooding. 12

Effects of Hurricane Katrina 80% of the city was flooded and over a million homes were left without electricity. Over 1, 800 deaths were caused by the storm, around 700 of them in New Orleans. In some areas the flood level rose to over six metres. Those that had decided to stay in their homes had to either find high ground await rescue or risk swimming and wading through polluted floodwater. 13

Effects of Hurricane Katrina The storm forced over a million people to leave their homes. It also damaged oil refineries, spilling 24 million litres of crude oil. In total, Hurricane Katrina caused over $81 billion worth of damage, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane ever. Much of the damage is still being felt. Would In June 2014, the population of New you have Orleans was only about 65% what it gone had been before the hurricane and back? repairs on the levee system were Why? only just being finished. 14

Dealing with Hurricane Katrina For the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, Hurricane Katrina was the greatest challenge he had ever faced. Imagine yourself in his position. You need to - 1. Prepare the city as best you can, 2. Monitor the defences and communicate effectively with state and national organizations and 3. Coordinate a relief effort during a time of great crisis. Which part of this job would you find the most important and why? 15

Decide the alert level 16

Hurricane Katrina news report 17

Learning objectives What is a weather hazard? What are the causes and effects of massive hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina? What are the causes and effects of tornados? What are the causes, effects and dangers of other weather hazards? 18

Tornados are one of nature’s most powerful forces. Although hurricanes may be larger in size, the winds inside a tornado are far more concentrated. This gives them the power to cause extreme devastation wherever they hit. Powerful tornados have produced wind speeds of over 500 kmph, (about double those of Hurricane Katrina).

Tornado formation Tornados form where there is warm air rising upwards from the ground. If this rising, warm air then collides with the descending cool air of an oncoming thunderstorm, it can produce a spinning vortex (similar to the vortex you see when you take the plug out of the bath). If this spinning vortex, known as a funnel cloud, has enough energy, it grows larger until it eventually hits the ground, forming a tornado.

Tornado Alley Tornados occur worldwide but a large percentage form in an area of the USA known as Tornado Alley. Describe where Tornado Alley is on this map.

A different map? Tornados per year <1 1– 5 6– 10 11– 15 Tornado Alley >15 22

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Tornado Alley in the USA is particularly prone to tornados as it is where cool, dry air moving southwards from Canada, collides with warm, humid tropical air moving northwards from the Gulf of Mexico. When the cold front and the warm front meet, the combination of warm rising air and cold falling air is exactly right for tornado formation. The tornado season in the USA generally lasts from March until August.

Classifying tornados

768 mph + 417 -509 kph 330 – 516 kph 250 – 329 kph 180 -249 kph 115 – 179 kph 80 – 114 kph Damage F 1, F 2, F 3, F 4, F 5 F 6 up to F 12

Tornado Preparation – True or False? 1. Listen to the weather (information from satellites) 2. Know what the warning sound is (siren) 3. Pick a safe lower room with few/no windows 4. Practice drills to make sure you know way out 5. Keep book on survival handy 6. Have a ball ready for recreation 7. Check your insurance documents 8. Keep a spare pair of glasses somewhere nearby 9. Keep a walkie-talkie in a safe place 1. Replace all windows with thicker glass 2. Know the direct number of the police 3. Make your safe room even safer by reinforcing it 4. Check trees and safety equipment 5. Tie up trash cans 6. Spare prescribed medicines 7. Watch for danger signs 8. Bring in your pets 9. General medical kit for cuts etc 28

Learning objectives What is a weather hazard? What are the causes and effects of massive hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina? What are the causes and effects of tornados? What are the causes, effects and dangers from other weather hazards?

Heatwaves A heatwave is when a region experiences a prolonged period of unusually hot weather. A heatwave in Britain may only reach temperatures considered normal for other areas of the world, but it will still be classed as a heatwave because it exceeds that region’s normal temperatures. 30

European heatwaves In August 2003, Europe suffered one of the most extreme heatwaves of recent time. Temperatures in France soared to up to 40°C. Over 50, 00 people died from the effects of the heat, nearly 15, 000 of them in France. There were also shortfalls in crop production due to drought. 31

Forest fires Extreme heat can also bring with it the danger of fire. Forest fire has been recognized as a natural part of the ecosystem, with many plants and trees requiring fire for germination of their seeds. The eucalyptus tree even has flammable oil in its leaves to encourage fire. Fire gives this tree an advantage over its competitors as it is faster at re-growing. However, forest fires not only harm humans and animals, they can also burn away much of the vegetation that prevents erosion. This can sometimes result in landslides. 32

Why do forest fires start? Forest fires start when there is little rain and a lot of heat. This dries out the soil, which causes the plants to release ethylene, a flammable gas. The combination of this and a lot of dry fuel on the forest floor, makes the environment highly flammable. Some fires can start through spontaneous combustion - materials like hay and tree resin will catch fire if sufficiently heated. However, lightening and human carelessness cause most forest fires. 33

Humans and forest fires Human activity and carelessness cause the greatest number of forest fires, however fires caused by lightning tend to burn far larger areas, as often these occur in remote places and it may be some time before fire-fighters are aware of them. As human development encroaches further into areas of wild vegetation, the risk to human life becomes far greater. In recent years, cities like Sydney, Australia and populated areas in southern California have all suffered great damage due to large forest fires. 34

Drought Perhaps the most potentially dangerous weather hazard to human life, is long-term drought. Like heatwaves, there may be relative differences in drought conditions from region to region, but all droughts result from lack of available water. Without water, crops fail and animals die, so droughts are often followed by famines. Disease is also prevalent during droughts due to a lack of sanitation and the pollution of water sources. 35

Human activities and drought Droughts are not just the result of weather conditions. Human actions can also cause droughts. Constructing dams may severely affect the course of a river, causing it to dry up further downstream. Deforestation (the removal of forests) can dramatically alter the soil’s ability to hold water, drying out the ground and triggering desertification. 36

Match the definitions 38

Lightning effects It is thought that lightning strikes occur 100 times every second. Most of these strikes only happen within storm clouds and never reach Earth, but those that do can be very dangerous. One estimate suggests that over 2, 000 people die each year from lightning, but with many strikes unreported or occurring in remote areas, it is hard to gauge the real number. Central Africa has the highest rate of lightning strikes per year. 39

Why does lightning occur 40

• Clouds need to form first over warm water or land. • Clouds have to get very tall (cumulo - nimbus) • Ice particles form at the top of the cloud and swirl around touching against each other • Water drops do the same at the bottom of the cloud • When they rub against each other it makes static electricity • Like in a battery the negative charge is on one end of the cloud and the positive on the other. • When the charge in the cloud becomes to great it discharges to the ground (the ground might produce a spike first). • The charge goes through the ions in the air and thunder is the sound of air exploding 41

1. When the charge in the cloud becomes to great it discharges to the ground (the ground might produce a spike first). 2. Clouds need to form first over warm water or land. 3. The charge goes through the ions in the air and thunder is the sound of air exploding 4. Like in a battery the negative charge is on one end of the cloud and the positive on the other. 5. When they rub against each other it makes static electricity 6. Clouds have to get very tall (cumulo - nimbus) 7. Ice particles form at the top of the cloud and swirl around touching against each other 8. Water drops do the same at the bottom of the cloud 9. The charge goes through the ions in the air and thunder is the sound of air exploding 42

Lightning facts A lightning bolt contains on average over 300 million volts and can raise the air temperature around it to 27, 700°C, (about 5 times that of the surface temperature of the sun). Lightning also moves more than 15, 000 times faster than a bullet with the average length of a lightning streak being around six miles long. 43

How does hail form? 44

Hailstorm effects Hailstorms can devastate crops and cause extensive damage. On rare occasions, hailstones have grown so large that their impacts have had fatal consequences. The heaviest hailstone ever recorded had a mass of over one kilogram and fell during a big storm in Laxey, Isle of Man that killed 92 people. 45

Flooding is the most frequently occurring disaster in the world today. Heavy rain concentrated in a local area can cause water levels to rise sharply which may result in a flash flood. Flash floods arise quickly with little advance warning, like the flood at Boscastle, England in 2004. Flooding occurs when rivers cannot contain their waters and overflow. Flooding can also occur when storms at sea drive large amounts of water onto the coast which can surge past flood defences. 46

Flood defences To combat the dangers of flooding, humans have built a variety of flood defences. Dykes and levees act as flood barriers along major rivers. Dams make it possible to control the amount of water flowing through a river. Sea walls and costal defences can help protect shorelines from sea-flooding. The Thames barrier is a floating barrier which can close to protect London from sudden tidal surges. 47

Flood plains and wetlands Although flood defences can minimize the danger from flooding to certain areas, flooding is an natural event that can never be fully controlled. In many parts of the world, flooding brings great benefits as it spreads mineral-rich silt and nutrients over the land, making the soil very fertile. Wetlands and flood plains contain animal and plant life specially adapted to deal with flooding. These areas also act as flood defences, soaking up lots of water like a sponge, which prevents flooding elsewhere. 48

Human impact on flooding Building roads and houses on flood plains dramatically increases the risk of flooding disasters. Water simply runs off tarmac and concrete and continues on its journey to more populated areas, without being absorbed into the ground. Dams and flood defences also disturb the natural flow of water. Although dams offer protection to some areas, they may inadvertently cause flooding elsewhere. 49

Blizzards A blizzard is an extreme winter storm, which is characterized by strong winds, decreased visibility, freezing temperatures and falling snow or ice. The decreased visibility in blizzards causes many accidents. For anyone trapped or injured in a blizzard, the risk of hypothermia is very severe. 50

White-out The most extreme form of blizzard is known as a whiteout. This is when the snow is so heavy that it becomes impossible to distinguish the ground from the air. People easily become lost and disorientated in these very dangerous conditions. Car accidents are common and aeroplane pilots caught in these conditions, may have difficulty in keeping a steady altitude. 51

Weather hazards bingo 52

Key ideas Hurricanes form out at sea, when warm ocean air rises upwards to create a cycle of evaporation and condensation. Tornados occur when warm fronts collide with cold fronts, forming a vortex or funnel cloud which then hits the ground. Heatwaves are when the temperature is unusually high over an extended period for a certain region. Forest fires are mainly caused by human activity but are also caused by lightning. Drier conditions increase the risk of fire. Droughts are extended periods when water availability falls below the statistical requirements for a region. 53

Key ideas Lightning is an electrostatic discharge which occurs within a cloud, or strikes from a cloud to the Earth. Hail forms when ice crystals gather moisture and refreeze over and over again, until heavy enough to fall to Earth. Floods are an overflow of water that submerges land. They vary in severity and may occur for many different reasons. Blizzards are extreme winter storms, characterized by strong winds, freezing temperatures and decreased visibility. 54