Extreme Weather By Kim Brasseur Types of Extreme

Extreme Weather By Kim Brasseur

Types of Extreme Weather • • • Tornadoes Hurricanes Thunder and Lightening Blizzards Floods

Tornadoes • Tornadoes are the most powerful, unpredictable and destructive weather system on earth. • A tornado is a violent rotating funnel-shaped column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. • They can have wind speed up to 300 mph. • Tornadoes happen where dry, cold air masses mix with warm, moist air masses. • More tornadoes occur in the United States than in any other country.

Hurricanes • A huge storm that measures several hundred miles in diameter • Hurricanes have two main parts • First is the “eye” of the hurricane, which is a calm area in the center of the storm. • second is the wall of the clouds that surrounds the calm eye. This is where the hurricane’s strongest winds and heaviest rain occur. • Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around the eye. • Hurricane winds can be 74 to 200 mph. • Hurricanes are born over warm, tropical oceans. • They are fueled by water vapor that is pushed up from the warm ocean surface. • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=OEPZOC 6 YHUc

Thunder • A thunderstorm is a storm with lightning and thunder. • Thunder is caused by lightning. • They are produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, usually producing gusty winds and heavy rain, and sometimes hail. • Thunderstorms are caused by rapidly rising and falling currents of air. • When a lightning bolt travels from the cloud to the ground it opens up a little hole in the air called a channel. • Once then light is gone the air collapses back in and creates a sound wave that we hear as thunder.

Lightning • Lightning is a sudden, violent flash of electricity between a cloud and the ground, or from cloud to cloud. • A lightning flash, or bolt can be several miles long. • Lightning is so hot, with a average temperature of 34, 00 degrees Centigrade, that the air around it suddenly expands with a loud blast. This is the thunder we hear. • Lightning occurs in hot, wet storms.

Blizzards • A blizzards is a long-lasting snowstorm with strong winds, intense snowfall, and cold temperatures. • Winds of 35 mph or greater, and little visibility. • Three things are needed to have a blizzard; cold air at the surface, lots of moisture, and lift. • When a mass of polar air and warm air meet, the polar air pushes the warm air up and settles in the atmosphere where the water vapor forms snow clouds. • The winds and low temperatures combine with the snow to create a blizzard.

Flash Flood • A flash flood is the fastest moving type of flood. • They happen when heavy rain collects in a stream or gully, turning the normally calm area into an instant rushing current. • Flash floods appear and move quickly across the land, with little warning that it’s coming. • Flash floods are generally a result of heavy rainfall concentrated over one area. • Most flash flooding is caused by slow-moving thunderstorms, thunderstorms that repeatedly move over the same area, or heavy rains from hurricanes and tropical storms. • Dam failure can also cause a bad flash flood. When a dam breaks a gigantic amount of water is suddenly loose downstream. • Flash floods move so fast they have the power to tear out trees, destroy buildings, and break bridges.

Sources • • • Information http: //www. livescience. com/environment/lightning_science. html http: //weatherwizkids. com/index. htm http: //fema. gov/kids http: //wwwworldstory. net/en/tunder. html http: //weathereye. kgan. com/expert/blizzard/wnstroms. html http: //www. theteachersguide. com/weather. html http: //www. livescience. com/hurricanes/ http: //www. extremescience. com/weatherport. htm http: //library. thinkquest. org/3805/events/Bliz. htm

Sources • Pictures • • • http: //www. howtosurviveit. com/tornado-natural-disaster-400 a 061807. jpg www. pntmc. org. nz/ photos/Wanganui/ pages/ Flood_2. html ed 101. bu. edu/. . . /mattwall/Extreme%20 Weather. htm www. flickr. com/ photos/blackwolve/ 1471494190/ https: //www. novelmaker. com/index/genre_select. . . www. ehow. com/how_4027_prepare-home-hurricane. html www. sun-tek. com/Ext. Wthr. htm Remove frame www. topnews. in/regions/greece