Severe Storms

What is the top speed of a tornado?

300 mph

What direction do they spin in the northern hemisphere?

Counterclockwise

How does a tornado form? What type of cloud is responsible?

Cumulonimbus;Cold dry air and warm moist air meet

What are the three stages of a thunderstorm?

Cumulus stage, mature stage, and dissipating stage

Describe the events of each stage?

Cumulus: Over the course of 15 minutes, the cloud moves upward. Mature: Water droplets get larger and fall. The droplets create downdrafts when they fall. Water droplets cool the air in the cloud and rain occurs. The downdraft pulls in air from the side of the cloud, creating stronger downdrafts. Dissipating: The downdrafts in the cloud begin to dominate over the updrafts. Since warm, moist air can no longer rise, cloud droplets can no longer form.

What are the stages of development into a hurricane?

Disturbance formation, Tropical disturbance, Tropical depression, Tropical storm, Hurricane, Dissipation, Disturbance formation

What scale classifies tornadoes? How many categories are there?

Enhanced Fujita Scale There are 5 categories of tornadoes.

What is entrainment and where does it occur in a thunderstorm life cycle?

Entrainment is the pulling in of surrounding air. The air being pulled in contains moisture which increases the moisture content of the cloud. It occurs in the mature stage.

What is the most dangerous aspect of a hurricane?

Floods, spawned tornadoes, and water surges

When is hurricane season?

June 1-november 30

What must happen for a cyclone to be considered a tornado?

Must be in a low pressure area

How does lightning occur?

Positive and negative charges separate during the formation of ice pellets.

What is used to predict the possibility of a tornado?

Radar, wind profilers

List the varieties of tornado

Rope tornado Cone Tornado Waterspout Landspout Nonsuper cell Wedge tornado Multivortex tornado Satellite tornado

What type of thunderstorm can spawn a tornado?

Supercell thunderstorms

What are the three major components of weather?

The three major components of weather are temperature, atmospheric pressure, and wind.

Can tornadoes be accurately predicted?

They cannot be accurately predicted

What causes thunder?

Thunder is created when lightning passes through the air.

When do thunderstorms usually occur?

Thunderstorms usually occur during the spring and summer.

Where is tornado alley

Tornado alley is in the central part of the united states

What causes a hurricane to lose strength?

When it hits land and cold water

What is a multiple vortex tornado?

there are a few spiral columns in the funnel

What conditions cause a hurricane?

when water vapor release heat to the warm water come together