Weather

SCOTT HANDELNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Photo: Courtesy NOAA

Why Become A Meteorologist?

Weather Affects Everyone!Being Able to Predict the Weather Saves

Lives!!!

Outline

• Clouds• Thunderstorms• Hail/Lightning• Tornadoes• Hurricanes• Tsunamis (Time Permitting)

Types of Clouds

Name That Cloud

Name That Cloud

Cumulus

Name That Cloud

Name That Cloud

Stratus

Name That Cloud

Name That Cloud

Cirrus

Name That Cloud

Name That Cloud

Stratus(Fog)

Name That Cloud

Name That Cloud

Cumulonimbus

Thunderstorm Formation

How do Clouds Form?

Hail

How does Hail Form?Strong updrafts of warm air and down-drafts of cold air are in a thunderstorm. If a water droplet is picked up by the updrafts...it can be carried well above the freezing level. With temperatures below 32°F...our water droplet freezes. As the frozen droplet begins to fall...carried by cold downdrafts...it may thaw as it moves into warmer air toward the bottom of the thunderstorm But...it may also get picked up again by another updraft...carrying it back into very cold air and re-freezing it. With each trip above and below the freezing level our frozen droplet adds another layer of ice. Finally...our frozen water droplet...with many layers of ice - much like the rings in a tree...falls to the ground - as hail!

What can hail do?

Lightning

How Lightning Forms

The connection is made and the protons rush up to meet the electrons. It is at that point that we see lightning and hear thunder. A bolt of lightning heats the air along its path causing it to expand rapidly. Thunder is the sound caused by rapidly expanding air.

Tornadoes

What is a tornado?"a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud."

WHERE DO TORNADOES FORM?

WHY DO TORNADOES LIKE THE CENTRAL U.S.?

HOW DO TORNADOES FORM?

Are Winds Faster In the Strongest Hurricane or In the Strongest

Tornado?

Fujita Tornado Damage ScaleScale Wind Estimate

(MPH)Typical Damage

F0 < 73 Light – Some damage to chimneys, branches broken, signs damaged.

F1 73-112 Moderate – Peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned.

F2 113-157 Considerable – Roofs torn off frame houses, mobile homes demolished, large trees snapped

F3 158-206 Severe – Roofs and some walls torn off well constructed homes, trains overturned

F4 207-260 Devastating – Well-constructed homes leveled; cars thrown and large missiles generated

F5 261-318 Incredible – Strong frame houses leveled off foundation and swept away, trees debarked

F0 Damage

F1 Damage

F2 Damage

F3 Damage

F4 Damage

F5 Damage

Tornado Embeds

Tornado Embeds

Tornado Embeds

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F2

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F4

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F1

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F2

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F4

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F3

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F5

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F2

Rate the Tornado

Rate the Tornado

F2

http://www.archive.org/details/tornadafootageilp

HURRICANES!…An overview of tropical cyclones

Princeton UniversityQuest Science Workshop

July, 2007

Where do hurricanes form?

When do hurricanes form?

How Do Hurricanes Form?3. Having lost most of its heat and energy, the air is now expelled outward away from the center of the storm in the cooler hurricane outflow at high levels.

In mature hurricanes, an eye forms in the center. Here, the air is descending and the region is generally cloud-free.

2. The warm, moist air rises in thunderstorms surrounding the eye, supplying the fuel that helps strengthen the storm and intensify the winds.

1. As air rushes into the hurricane’s low pressure center, the air picks up heat and moisture (fuel) from the warm ocean surface.

H HL

What causes the winds to rotate around a hurricane?

H

H H

H

L

The Coriolis Effect:

Saffir Simpson Scale

Wind Damage examplesA 1x4 board of wood was pierced through a palm tree by Hurricane Andrew’s winds in August, 1992.

A mobile home park near Miami, FL was completely destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in August, 1992.

An historic home along the Gulf Coast before and after the passage of Category 5 Hurricane Camille in August, 1969.

Storm Surge

http://www.archive.org/details/AH-Tsunamis_-_Know_What_to_Do

http://www.archive.org/details/tsunami_koh_lanta_thailand

http://www.archive.org/details/Tsunami_399

http://www.archive.org/details/tsunami_penang_beach