18. THUNDERSTORMS & TORNADOES

5 Written Questions

1. 1) Warm, moist air: releases Latent Energy when lifter to provides buoyancy and maintain lift
   -need continuous supply to overcome dry air & evaporation
   
   2) High surface temperatures -- enhances instability, air parcel warming, and uplift
2. -The sound emitted by rapidly expanding gases along a channel of lightning discharge
   - the lightning flash causes the surrounding air T&deg to rise by 8000° to 33,000°C
   - air heated quickly, expands explosively and you hear the sound waves = thunder
   -thunder travels at a speed of about 1082 feet/sec(the speed of sound), SO it takes about 5 seconds for it to travel 1 mile
3. -initial buildup of cumulus clouds fueled by updrafts (up to 160 kph) of warm, moist air cooling adiabatically
   -droplet formation by Bergeron process and collision coalescence
4. -raindrops start to fall initiating downdrafts
   -process of entrainment, the influx of cool, dry surrounding air helping to fuel the downdrafts
   -heavy rains, lightning, thunder, & often hail
5. -ball lightening
   -St Elmo's fire
   -spites
   -blue jets

5 Matching Questions

1. lightening
2. what causes lightening?
3. Stages of Thunderstorm Formation
4. requirements for tornado formation
5. blue jets

1. a -charges are separated w/in the cloud as the t storm develops
   -positive charges near the top, negative at the base
   -lightening is the clouds way of trying to equalize this change diff or imbalance
   -after a charge difference builds to millions or hundreds of millions, a lightning stroke occurs to discharge the negative base of the cloud
   -may do this by: w/in cloud base lightening, cloud to cloud lightening, cloud to ground lightening)
2. b Flash of light generated by the flow of electrons between oppositely charged parts of a cloud or between the cloud and the ground.
3. c 1) Cumulus stage
   2) Mature stage
   3) Dissipating stage
4. d -t storms, usually assoc w/ a cold front or squall line
   -2 air masses w/ strong temp gradient across the frontal boundary
   -moist air w/ high degree of instability
   -upper level support jet stream which helps pull away rising air promoting greater surface uplift
5. e -an upward moving of electric ejection from tops of the most active Tstorms. move at 60 mph, attaining heights of 30 mi above the surface

5 Multiple Choice Questions

1. small(less than 2 mi in diameter),severe downbursts are also a potential prob of T storms. Their wind shear is capable of causing air crashes
   1. Derechos
   2. spites
   3. mircoburst
   4. tornadoes
2. -the SE US tornado season in March/April , then the season shifts to the lower Great Plains, then by mid to late summer the main area is upper mid west
   1. seasonal tornado occurrences
   2. Locations of Occurrence
   3. Dissipating stage
   4. tornadoes
3. -strong linear or "straight-line" winds produced by a t storm
   -winds in excess of 58 mph and they reach speeds of
   1. spites
   2. tornadoes
   3. Derechos
   4. blue jets
4. -characterized by a cumulonimbus cloud and accompanied by lightening and thunder
   -relatively short duration (a few hours)
   -accompanied by strong wind gusts, heavy rain, sometimes hail, & tornadoes
   -great instability and vertical development
   1. Thunderstorm
   2. Derechos
   3. Mature stage
   4. thunder
5. -tropical areas along the ITCZ
   -in the US from primarily east of the Rocky Mts w/ Florida being the stage w/ the highest incidence of t storms (#of days per year)
   -great plains w/ greatest #per year
   1. Thunderstorm
   2. Stages of Thunderstorm Formation
   3. Locations of Occurrence
   4. locations where thunderstorms occur

5 True/False Questions

1. The Lightning Stroke → -downdrafts dominate
   -rain lessens
   -cooling with loss of warm source and energy
   -cooling with loss of warm air source & energy; storm breaks up & clouds evaporate

   True        False

2. formation of weak tornadoes → (EF2-EF5)
   -start out in a horizontal position. As wind is drawn into the t storm from tens of miles away, air closest to the ground moves slower than air above it, causing air to tumble. This mesocyclon is drawn upward by updrafts and becomes a vertically oriented column of spinning air (a vortex)

   True        False

3. St Elmo's fire → -result of ionization in the air causing tall objects to glow as they emit sparks

   True        False

4. tornadoes → -The sound emitted by rapidly expanding gases along a channel of lightning discharge
   - the lightning flash causes the surrounding air T&deg to rise by 8000° to 33,000°C
   - air heated quickly, expands explosively and you hear the sound waves = thunder
   -thunder travels at a speed of about 1082 feet/sec(the speed of sound), SO it takes about 5 seconds for it to travel 1 mile

   True        False

5. ball lightening → Flash of light generated by the flow of electrons between oppositely charged parts of a cloud or between the cloud and the ground.

   True        False