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WeatherBook_Huntsville_AL10.indd 1 10/1/10

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Section 1

4 introduction to B

Weather underSta

6 Layes o the Atmosphee

7 Wate Cycle

9 Basic Ai Pessue

Section 2

12 Weather PatternS

13 Weathe Vaiables

15 Pecipitation

19 Seasons

Section 3

32 Why the Wind BloW

33 High/Low Pessue

36 Ai Density

37 Tonadoes

41 Huicanes

Section 4

46 Severe Weather al

47 Local Geogaphy

48 Saety Pocedues

50 Watches and Wanings

Section 5

52 Weather terminol

aBout dan Satterfield

In late July I spent 12

days in Geenland. Most

o this time I was at ascience camp on top o the

Geenland ice sheet. This

camp called NEEM is only

about 700 miles om the

Noth Pole. The ice hee is

2.5 kilometes thick. Thats

ove 1.5 miles! The elevation

at NEEM is aound 8,300

eet and the ai is vey thin.

Much like the South Pole.

To get to NEEM we wee

taken on a U.S. Ai Foce C

130 plane equipped with

skis instead o wheels.

The New Yok Ai National

Guad opeates these planes. They also ew me to the South

Pole. The 109th wing o the Ai Guad ies scientists to places in

Antactica and the High Actic that ae vey had to get to saely.

Dan has a Bachelos o Science in

Meteoology om the Univesity o Oklahoma

and a Mastes Degee in Eath Science.

A ull membe o the Ameican

Meteoological Society since 1981, Daneaned the AMS Seal o Appoval in 1985, and went on to

ean the Cetied Boadcast Meteoologist Seal. He is also

a membe o the AMS Station Scientist Committee and

a membe o the Intenational Association o Boadcast

Meteoologists. Dan has been WHNTs Chie Meteoologist

since 1994.

He is a membe o the Boad o Diectos o Huntsvilles Sci-

Quest , a Hands-on Science Cente, and woks had to impove

science education among students o all ages.

WeatherIN THE tenneSSee valley CLASSrOOM

A guide for

understAnding

your weAther

Copyright 2010 by Classroom weather. all rights reserved.

taBle of contentS

herBook_Huntsville_AL10.indd 2-3

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to best understAnd how the

weAther works, you must

first understAnd how the

Atmosphere (the thin lAyer

of Air thAt surrounds our

plAnet) is structured. As

we will see as we begin to study

weathe moe in detail, the sun isthe diving oce behind all o ou

weathe. I the sun wee to go away

suddenly, we would not be able to

live on ou planet and the weathe

as we know it would cease.

Look ove the diagam on the next page

showing how the atmosphee is made up

om gound up. Notice that the atmosphee

extends ove 80 miles up om the suace, but

vey little ai is ound once you go up just a ew

miles up. The ai gadually thins out so much that

eventually you ae in oute space, whee thee ae

no ai molecules.

Then look at the wate cycle on the ollowing page.

Notice how wate continually moves about in a

cycle. Pick a stating point and ollow the lieo a

dop o wate as it moves though the ai, clouds

and gound. Notice that this cycle is on-going

at all points, meaning thee is always some

wate in the ai, always some wate in the clouds,

always some wate in the ives and oceans, etc.

Finally, ead ove the section on ai pessue and

youll be set with the basics that you will need to

undestand how much o the weathe happens!

WeatherThe Basics

Intro to

Basic Weather

UnderstandinglayerS of the atmoSPhere

Water cycle

BaSic air PreSSure

4 Copyright 2010 by Classroom weather. all rights reserved. Copyright 2010 by Classroom weather. all rights reserved.

BaSic underStanding intro to Weathintro to Weather


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Layers of the Atmosphere The Water Cycle

6 Copyright 2010 by Classroom weather. all rights reserved.

BaSic underStandingintro to Weather


BaSic underStanding intro to Weath


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Layers of the Atmosphereand the Water Cycle

revieW

1 In what laye o the atmosphee do the tempeatues get the w amest? ______________________________________

2 What laye o the atmosphee is cl osest to the gound? ___________________________________________________

3 As wate evapoates om the suace and begins to lit up into coole ai, what pocess happens that

tuns that moistue into clouds?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

4 When wate does not uno into lakes and ives, it soaks into the soil into what we c all ____________________ wate.

5 When the clouds gow in size, they poduce _________________________ which bings moistue om the

ai back down to the gound.

6 In the statosphee thee is a laye o ozone, a gas that absobs incoming sola adiation.

This makes the tempeatue go up in the statosphee. When you get to the mesosphee, what happens

to the tempeatues as you go up in height?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

7 In what laye does all weathe occu? _________________________________________________________________

8 Wate that is given o by tees in the wate c ycle is known as ______________________________________________

9 In what pat o the atmosphee do most meteos bun up?________________________________________________

Air pressure is the weight of Air on

An object. That means you ae adding up all

o the ai molecules on top o something. I you

ae standing on the beach (at sea level) thee

is appoximately 14.7 lbs. o ai sitting on top o

evey inch o you body. That means on top o

you head thee is ove 400 lbs. o ai!

Size o you head* is appoximately 30 squae

inches

Weight o ai at sea level is 14.7 lbs pe squae

inch.

(30x 14.7 = 441 lbs on top o you head!)

Conside the clusteing o ai molecules nea the

suace o the Eath. They ae pulled down by

gavity. As you go up in the atmosphee, the ai

is thinne and ewe molecules ae pesent.

*Average size o a childs head at age 10.

1 I you ae on top o a mountain, would the pessue o the ai be heavie o lighte than on the beach?_______

2 Would you have moe o less oxygen up in the mountains than on the beach? _________________________

3 What causes so much ai to cluste nea the gound?______________________________________________

Understanding Air Pressure

airBecomeSthinnerWithheight


BaSic underStandingintro to Weather


BaSic underStanding intro to Weath


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noteS


noteS


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What is Temperature?temperAture i s the wAy we

meAsure the Amount of heAt

we cAn feel. Actually, tempeatue

is a measue o the speed o tiny

paticles in the ai. Eveything is

made up o vey tiny objects called

molecules. These molecules move

aound. The hotte it is, the aste they

move, and the highe the tempeatue.

So, tempeatue is eally just a measue

o how ast these little molecules ae

moving aound. The amazing thing

is, it usually means the same thing as

how hot we eel.

As the tempeatue gets colde and

colde, the molecules move slowe and

slowe. In theoy, at some point the

molecules stop moving altogethe. It

cannot get any colde than this. This

tempeatue is known as u. Although the wod zeois used,the tempeatue in Fahenheit (F) is

-459F and in Celsius is 273C.

How Can You Measure Temperature?We use a h to measue tempeatue. Thee ae seveal ditypes o themometes. Some ae made o glass and mecuy, othes a

digital, while othes look like a dial. How can all o these measue temp

Well, eveything eacts to tempeatue changes. When it gets hot outs

you body can sense it. Also, when it gets hot, metal expands. Mecuy

metal, does this as well. When it gets cold outside, you body can eel i

can eeze up, metal contacts and so does mecuy.

So many dieent types o mateial can be used in a themomete to mits eaction to tempeatue. Since these dieent mateials eact to hot

cold ai, we can measue the changes in them and gue out the temp

That is how a themomete woks.

exPeriment: (N ch: although many lled-glass thermometers are lled with mercury, we stronglyrecommend to not use mercury thermometers in the classroom to ensure

saety. Instead, do the experiment using alcohol-lled glass thermometers.)

1 Take an alcohol lled themomete and look at whee the level o alcohol is.

2 run the themomete unde c old wate. Now whee is the level o alcohol? ____________________________

3 Whee is the nal level o alcohol? ____________________________________________________________

Why did the alcohol move inside the tube? _____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

What liquid othe than alcohol would change its size because o the tempeatue?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Weather PatternsWeather variaBleS

PreciPitation

SeaSonS

huntsvilles extr

Hottest:

111F on 7/29/1930

Coldest:

-11F (1/21/1985 & 1/30/1

37 Staight days ove 90 in

35 Staight days ove 90 e

8/22/2010

huntsvilles hottest

temperAtures

1. 111 7/29/1930

2. 110 7/28/1930

3. 108 (5 times, Most ecent 6/29/1931)

4. 107 (5 times, Most ecent 6/28/1931)


temPerature Weather PatterWeather PatternS


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What are Clouds?

you see them All of the ti meup in the sky.

Sometimes they ae at. Sometimes they ae puy.

Sometimes they ae white. Sometimes they ae gay.

Sometimes they ae big and tall. Sometimes they aent

thee at all. They ae clouds. Cu ae made up owate doplets o ice cystals. They appea to hang

in the sky, but they ae actually just esting on the ai

below them.

So what is a cloud, eally? Well, st we have to know

what is in the ai. Ai is made up o gases like nitogen,

oxygen and cabon dioxide. Ai is also made up o

wate. Not liquid wate, but wate vapo. W vpis tiny dops o wate suspended in the ai. We cannot

see wate vapo, but the wate is thee. On humid days,

thee is moe wate vapo in the ai. On dy days, thee

is not much wate vapo in the ai.

When ai is lited, it cools. I the ai cools down enough

the wate vapo condenses and tuns into wate

doplets. These doplets ae bigge than the little piecesthat make up vapo, so we can see them. They appea

to be white when the sun shines on them. I a cloud is

thick enough that enough wate doplets block out the

sun, the cloud appeas gayish.

Types o clouds

cumuluS

These ae white, puy clouds that ae oten at on the

bottom. They ae usually ound when the weathe is

nice.

StratuS

These ae low, thick, at, gayish clouds that usually

cove the whole sky. These clouds oten ae ound on

cool days and m ake it tuly cloudy.

nimBuS

These look much like status clouds, but nimbus clouds

have ain o snow alling om them.

cirruS

These ae vey high in the sky. They ae thin and white

and sometimes the sun can shine ight though them.

cumulonimBuS

This is a thundestom cloud. When a cumulus cloud

begins to gow talle and talle, it stats to ain and

sometimes hail, lightning, and tonadoes can occu om

cumulonimbus clouds.

Identifying Clouds

Try to identiy the ollowing clouds by the defnitions given on the previous page.Write your answers below each picture.


cloudS cloudSWeather PatternS Weather Patter


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Making a Cloud

directionS

Tape the black pape to the outside o the ja so that it only coves hal

o the ja. You should be able to look though one side o the ja and

see the black pape on the othe side. (Make sure the paper does not

touch the bottom o the jar)

1 Put two cups o hot wate into the ja.

2 Make cetain that the wate is hot enough to make the

ai inside the ja vey hot and humid.

3 Place nylon ove mouth o ja and secue with the ubbe band.

4 Place ice cubes on top o the nylon and watch the cloud develop

ight below the nylon inside the ja. (You may need to peel back the

nylon to let the cloud escape to see better.)

N:This experiment can also be done by covering the jar with analuminum pie plate in place o the nylon and rubber band. In that

orm, you would place the ice on top o the aluminum pie plate.

leSSon

What have you done?

The wam, humid ai in the ja epesents the wam wate nea the eaths

suace. As it ises, the ai aound it cools (that is what the ice on the nylon

epesents).As the warm, humid air is cooled by t he cold air above it, it orms a

cloud in the jar!

materialS

1 large, large-mouthed glass jar

1 rubber band

1 piece of nylon (to cover jar mouth)

2 cups of warm water

5 ice cubes

1 piece of black paper

tape

The Sky is Falling!

whenever A cloud is full of droplets or ice crystAls, they cAn grow

to become too lArge to remAin in the cloud. They stat gowing by sticking to

a dust paticle o a small piece o suspended mateial in the ai. Moe and moe doplets o

cystals stick to it until it is too heavy to emain in the cloud and the doplet o collection

o cystals begins to all. This is called pcipiin.

I the pecipitation that alls is a lage doplet (wate), then

it is called in. Wate eezes at 0C (32F). So, i the ai inthe cloud is vey cold, then a lage collection o ice cystals

may om into a ake and all as nw. Thee ae sevealothe types o pecipitation, as well. I a aindop alls om a

wam cloud though some vey cold ai and it eezes, then

it becomes . Sleet is a aindop that oze on the waydown to the gound and hits the gound in the om o an ice

pellet. Anothe type o pecipitation is fing in. Feezingain is a aindop that is just about to eeze on the all to the

gound. It looks like ain, but coats eveything it hits in ice. It

can om an icy glaze on oads, cas, tees, etc.

revieW

Now that you know so much about rain, sleet, reezing rain, and snowsee i you answer the ollowing questions:

1 What season would you most likely nd eezing ain, sleet and snow? ________________________________

2 I a snowake ell and melted on the way to the gound, what type o pecipitation would it be?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

3 What i that snowake melted on the way down, but then e-oze just beoe hitting the gound.

What type o pecipitation is that? ____________________________________________________________

4 Can you have ain and snow alling at the same tim e? _____________________________________________

BonuS Why o why not? ____________________________________________________________________

rAiny huntsville

Wettest year

73.58(1989)

Wettest moNtH

18.68(Decembe 1990)

Wettest day

9.07(12/22/1990)


exPeriment: making a cloud rain, Sleet, and SnoWWeather PatternS Weather Patter


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Making a Rain Gauge

rAin clouds Are mAde of dro plets of wAter so smAll thAt there Are billions of them in

A single cloud.How much ain alls duing a showe, o duing a day, week, o month? You can nd out by

measuing it with a ain gauge.

directionS

1 Using the ule and pape, make makings on the pape so

that it becomes a ule. You can make it in whateve

incements you wish. Divide it up by inch, and then inquates, and even smalle i you want to.

2 Once you have the ule made, cut it out.

3 Cove the ule with clea cellophane, ont and back. This

will potect it om the ain, and make it study so that the

ule can stand staight.

4 Stand the ule inside the containe so that the ule ests on the

bottom o the containe. Tape it at the top, to the inside o the ja,

so that the ule does not all.

5 Place you ain gauge outside, and measue the amount o ainall

that occus each day. Place the ain gauge in a place away om

tees and buildings, as this may aect the amounts. Also, you may

wish to glue the ja to a block o platom o wood, so that it does

not tip ove i it is windy.

materialS

1 straight-side clear plastic container(curved sides would skew the rain totals )

scissors

clear cellophane or plastic sandwich bag

tape

rainy days

graph paper

plain paper

ruler

record reSultS

recod the amount o ain you eceive evey time it ains on you gaph pape and compae that to the amount ecoded

at the neaest ofcial ain gauge. (You may want to record the ocial rain total on the same graph paper in a dierent color. ) Youcan see some o the states ofcial amounts on the website: (note that the daily amount is updated a couple times pe day,

but the ofcial amount is not ecoded o that day until just ate midnight, so it may be best to compae the amounts on

the next day)

Once on the website o Weathe in the Classoom,(web link can be ound on the ont cove), simply ollow the links o

Daily Weathe and Climate Data.

Understanding Seasons

in order to understAnd the seA sons, you need to first understAnd how the eA rth revol

Around the sun once per yeAr. Look at the pictue below showing the Eath at dieent positions in space

the yea.

In this gaphic, the thick, solid line shows you whee

the noth and south poles ae. Notice that the

Eath is tilted, that is to say that it does

not have the Noth Pole at the veytop and the South Pole at the

vey bottom.

The Eath evolves aound

the sun once each yea.

Nea Decembe 21st,

the South Pole is acing

towad the sun and the

Noth Pole is acing away

om the sun. This gives

the Nothen Hemisphee

(whee we live) shote days

and less diect sunshine. This

makes ou weathe colde and we

call this season WINter.

Then the Eath moves so that the sun shines

diectly ove the Equato by Mach 20th. The Equato is

a line that maks the halway point between the Noth and South Poles.

When the sun shines diectly ove this line, the days and nights ae nealy o equal length. The season changes at th

and we call it sPrING.

The Eath then moves aound the sun so that the Noth Pole is acing the sun. The daylight becomes longe o the

Nothen Hemisphee and the sunlight moe diect. By June 21st, the sun is at its stongest o the Nothen Hemispand the tempeatues wam up. We call this season sUmmer.

The Eath continues to evolve aound the sun. By Septembe 22nd, the sun is once again ove the Equato. The day

nights ae again nealy equal length. The Nothen Hemisphee is cooling down and we begin a season called AUT

Fall.

Jun

Sept. 22nd

Dec. 21st

Mar. 20th


exPeriment: making a rain gauge SeaSonSWeather PatternS Weather Patter


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What to Expect in the Tennessee Valley

Read the ollowing descriptions o what to expect with each season in the Tennessee Valley:

Winter

Days are short, nights are long

Sun is lower in the sky

Sun is directly over the

Southen Hemisphee

Temperatures are colder

Rain, ice or snow can fall

Temperatures change often

Most trees have no leaves on them

Strong winds can produce dangerously

cold wind chills

fall

Days and nights are equal length at the

beginning o Fall

Days get gradually shorter throughthe season

Sun is directly over the Equator on the

st day o Fall

Leaves begin to change colors and fall

om the tees

Temperatures gradually cool down

Rain and thunderstorms occassionally occur

Temperature changes often

SPring

Days and nights are equal length at

the beginning o Sping

Days get gradually longer through

the season

Sun is directly over the Equator on the

st day o Sping

Flowers bloom and trees producenew leaves

Temperatures gradually warm up

Rain and thunderstorms are frequent

Temperature changes often

Summer

Days are long, nights are short

Sun is higher in the sky

Sun is directly over the Northern Hemisphere

Temperatures are hotter

Plants grow all season

Humidity is high throughout much ofthe season.

Daytime heating leads to occasional

pop-up thundestoms.

Temperatures do not change much day

to day

Questions about the Seasons

Use the previous pages on the seasons to answer the ollowing questions:

1 What would the season be on Apil 20th? ______________________________________________________

2 On the st day o which season is the sun diectly ovehead the Nothen Hemisphee? __________________

3 In which season would you expect to see the most sleet? __________________________________________

4 What season ae the days the longest? _________________________________________________________

5 Complete the ollowing pictue by shading the side o Eath that would be dak. Fom this dawing,

gue out which season it is.

What season is it in the pictue above? ____________________________________________________________

north Pole

South Pole

snowiest seAson in huntsville - 24during the winter of 1963-64


SeaSonS QueStionS: SeaSonSWeather PatternS Weather Patter


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What is Humidity?

wAter is plentifu l on

eArth. It coves nealy

two-thids o the suace o ou planet. But

wate is also commonly ound in lage quantities in

the ai. You can see the eect o the suspended wate

doplets in the atmosphee. rainbows, clouds, hazy

skies, and even og ae all ways we can visibly see the

wate doplets suspended in the ai. Howeve, evenwhen it seems as though we cannot see the wate in

the ai, it is still thee. Sometimes thee is little wate

pesent and the ai is dy. At othe times thee is a lot

o wate in the atmosphee and we say that it is humid.

These ae ways to descibe the huii.

Humidity is oten misundestood. relative humidity is

dieent o evey tempeatue. Why? Because elative

humidity is a pecentage showing how much wate

is the ai compaed to how much wate the ai could

hold h pu. So i the tempeatuechanges, so does the elative humi dity. Wam ai can

suspend moe wate than cold ai. So, i the amount

o wate doesnt change, then the elative humidity

would go down when it gets wame (because the ai

could hold moe at that tempeatue) and the elative

humidity would go up i gets colde (since the ai

cannot hold as much wate when cold). I the elative

humidity is 50%, then you ae eally saying that the

ai has hal o the amount o wate it cu hold atthat tempeatue. I the humidity is 100%, then the

atmosphee cannot hold any moe wate. At that point,

og may om o dew may om

on suaces.

Keep in mind, since elative humidity isdependent on tempeatue, you cannot

compae humidity om one place to anothe

o om one time to anothe unless the

tempeatues ae the same. Fo example, 100%

humidity at 45 degees actually has less wate in

the ai than 75% humidity at 80 degees. It may

sound conusing, but we have anothe way to help

us compae humidities. remembe that dew may

om when the humidity is 100% because the ai

cannot hold any moe wate. So, i you can gue

out when dew will om, then you know how much

wate you have in the ai. This is called the w pintempeatue.

To nd the dew point you need to take the ai you

cuently have and cool it down without losing

any o the wate in the ai. As you cool the ai, the

humidity will ise. When the humidity ises to

100%, you have eached the dew point. Now

you can compae dew points om one place to

anothe as a good measue o the amount o

moistue in the ai.

intereSting note:Sometimes people will exaggerate about the relative humidity. It is common or people on a hot,

humid summer day to say that the temperature and humidity are high. However some people will say that it is 95 degrees and

100% humidity. This could never happen on Ear th. That would make the dew point 95 degrees, too, since the humidity is 100%.

Dew points rarely go higher than 80, and we could not physically handle dew points into t he 90s on Earth or very long.

Measuring Humidity

directionS

1 Outside on a wam, humid day in the sping

summe, put a couple o inches o wam

(about 75F) wate in a cup.

2 Measue the tempeatue o the wate. Now

ew dops o ice cold wate to you cup.

3 While you ae adding wate, keep stiing an

measuing the tempeatue o the wate.

4 repeat this pocedue by adding a small am

cold wate to the cup until you see a thin l

wate om on the outside o the cup.

5 Make a note o the tempeatue o the wate

soon as you see the wate vapo om on th

outside o the cup.

The temperature you measured is the DEW POINT!

materialS

a thin metal cup or a drinking glass ( not thermal)

thermometer

ice water

a large dropper

(a measuring cup with a pour spout will do)

leSSon

What happened?As you added colde wate to the wam wate in the cup, the

tempeatue o the wate in the cup kept dopping. The sides

o the cup got colde as the wate inside got colde. The cup

also chilled the ai ight next to it! When the tempeatue o

the metal cup eached the dew point... The ai just next to the

cup was cooled to the dew point as well and wate began to

condense om the ai and stick to the cup!

revieW

1 What was the tempeatue o the wate when you stated you expeiment?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

2 What was the tempeatue o the wate when you saw the condensation om on the outside o the cup?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

3 Would you cup o wate have to be colde o wame to each the dew point i the ai outside is vey dy?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

How you can measure the dew point.


humidity exPeriment: meaSuring humidityWeather PatternS Weather Patter


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Dew and Frost

recall that dew oms when the humidity eaches 100% and the atmosphee can no longe hold any moe wate.

Some o the wate is deposited on suaces as dew. This happens when the tempeatues ae above eezing. When the

tempeatues all below eezing when the humidity hits 100%, something else oms.

Instead o doplets o wate oming on the gass and on ca windshields, we see ice cystals oming on suaces. This is

called f.

Demonstrating Frost & Dew in the Classroom

materialS

2 metal cans

rock salt

ice cubes

thermometer

directionS

1 In one can, place seveal ice cubes.

2 In a sepaate can place a mixtue o ice cubes and ock salt.

3 Wait a ew moments and notice what happened to the two cans.

revieW

1 Which o the cans had the ost om on the outside?

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

2 Which o the cans had dew om?

____________________________________________________________

3 What was the tempeatue o the two cans?

____________________________________________________________

4 What made one can colde than the othe?

____________________________________________________________

leSSon

What have you done?The can with ice and salt will

be colde. The eason o this is

saltwate has a lowe eezing

point that pue wate (the

same eason salt is applied to

oadways in winte). This lowe

eezing point allowed o moe

wate to evapoate and moe

evapoative cooling o the

saltwate in the can. Thus, the

nal tempeatue was colde o

the saltwate can.

note: During the winter months, the air can become very dry (especially on cold days) and it may be dicult to cool the

cans down to the dew point temperature. On a very dry day, you may see only rost orm on the colder can, but no dew. I this

is the case, wait and try again on day when the dew point is higher (more moisture in the air). You can nd the dew point

temperature by ollowing weather observations online.

Recording the Weather

Use the Recording the Weather DATA CHART to fll inthe weather inormation or one week.

directionS

1 Pick a city in the Tennessee Valley and log on to the Weathe in the Classoom website.

You can nd the link o the website on the ont cove o this booklet.

You will then be able to select Cuent Weatheo the ollowing aeas o the state:

Tennessee Valley (around Huntsville)

Central Alabama (around Birmingham)

Middle Tennessee (around Nashville)

2 Click on the city on the map you have chosen to see the cuent conditions.

3 recod the tempeatue, wind diection, wind speed, ai pessue, cuent weathe type and elative humidity.

4 Do this at the beginning o the school day, the middle o the day and again at the end o the day.

5 Wite down any inteesting things that happened with the weathe on the recoding the Weathe

INFormatIoN PaGe. Be sue to include big changes om sunny skies to cloudy skies o when pecipitationstated to all.

6 When you have nished ecoding the weathe o the week, answe the questions on the

recoding the Weathe QUestIoN sHeet.


exPeriment: demoStrating deW and froSt exPeriment: recording the Weather Weather PatterWeather PatternS


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Weather Data Chart

oBServationS

monday:

Wee thee clouds today? ___________________________________________________________________

Was thee any pecipitation? _________________________________________________________________

*Descibe the weathe o the day? ____________________________________________________________

tueSday:



Descibe the weathe o the day? ____________________________________________________________

WedneSday:




thurSday:




friday:Wee thee clouds today? ___________________________________________________________________



* Weather might include partly cloudy, og, rain, snow, sunny, windy, breezy, cold, warm, hot, etc.

Information Page


exPeriment: recording the Weather exPeriment: recording the WeatherWeather PatternS Weather Patter


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Question Sheet

Ater recording weather conditions or the week, look over the weather data youcollected and answer the ollowing questions:

1 What time o day did you notice the coolest tempeatues?

a. Moning b. Midday c. Atenoon

2 What time o day did you notice the highest tempeatues?a. Moning b. Midday c. Atenoon

3 What time o day did you notice the lowest elative humidity?


4 What time o day did you notice the highest elative humidity?


5 Did you have any ain o snow duing the week? I yes, what happened to the humidity when the

pecipitation was alling? __________________________________________________________________________

6 What was the stongest wind speed you ecoded duing the week? ________________________________________

What was the weathe d uing the time you ecoded that wind speed? ______________________________________

7 Did you notice a patten with the ai pessue duing the times you ecoded it? Was it going up?

Was the ai pessue dopping? ______________________________________________________________________

8 Did a change o wind diection occu duing the week? I so, what wee the tempeatues like the day

beoe the wind shited? What about the day ate the wind shited? ________________________________________

9 Did clouds aect the tempeatues o the week? (Wee sunny days wame than cloudy days?

Wee cloudy days wame than sunny days?) ___________________________________________________________

10 How many dieent types o weathe did you ecod duing the week? ______________________________________

Mapping the Weather

directionS

Use the Mapping the WeatherAREA MAP tocomplete the ollowing activities:

1 Wite the tempeatues on the map above each citys name.

2 Daw tempeatue contous o 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55.

(Tempeatue contous ae lines that connec t equal tempeat

You may need to ask an adult to help you complete this step

3 Colo the aea below 35 in dak blue.

4 Colo the aea between 35-40 in light blue.

5 Colo the aea between 40-45 in geen.

6 Colo the aea between 45-50 in yellow.

7 Colo the aea between 50-55 in oange.

8 Colo the aea ove 55 in ed.

materialS

Colored pencils

(dark blue, light blue, yellow, orange, green)

Use the ollowing temperaturesor your mapping:

huntSville: 48

athenS: 41

decatur: 39

ruSSellville: 34

gunterSville:49

florence: 33

muScle ShoalS: 34

neW hoPe: 53

ScottSBoro: 56

ft. Payne: 59

moulton: 38

BridgePort: 62

madiSon: 44

fayetteville: 46


QueStionS: recording the Weather exPeriment: maPPing the WeatherWeather PatternS Weather Patter


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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Mapping the Weather Area Map

Florence

muscle shoals

russellville

moulton

decatur

athens

madison

new hope

scottsboro

bridgeport

guntersville

Fort payne

huntsville

Fayetteville

directionS

Using the ollowing county names,fll in the names o the counties

on the map above:

tenneSSee

GILES

LINCOLN

WAYNE

alaBama:

CULLMAN

COLBERT

DEKALB

FRANKLIN

JACKSON

LAUDERDALE

LAWRENCE

LIMESTONE

MADISON

MARSHALL

MORGAN


noteS

exPeriment: maPPing the WeatherWeather PatternS


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High Pressure & Low Pressure

High Pressurehigh pressure is seen on A weAther mAp As A

blue cA pitAl h. Since the pessue is high, ai needs to move away

om a high pessue. Nea a high pessue, the winds ae usually light and

ciculate clockwise away om the high. Because ai is leaving the high pessue

aea, ai om above comes down to eplace the ai that let. This sinking ai keeps

the skies mostly clea and ee om clouds that could develop into showes o

thundestoms. High pessue is usually associated with nice weathe.

Low Pressurelow pressure is seen on A weAther mAp As A red cApitAl l. Since the pessue is low, ai needs to

so it moves towad the low, but aound it counteclockwise at the same time. Oten the winds can be quite stong

a low pessue. Because the ai is piling up at the low, some o the ai is oced up. This ising ai oten becomes clou

even poduces ain. I the atmosphee is unstablethen the ising ai can become thundestoms. Low pessue is o

associated with stomy weathe.

In the pictue below, the winds ae shown aound aeas o high and low pessue at the suace.

Why the Wind BlowsWeather variaBleS

PreciPitation

SeaSonS


high PreSSure and loW PreSSure Why the Wind BlWhy the Wind BloWS


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Making a Barometer

Barometers are used to measure air pressure.Use the ollowing directions to make your ownbarometer and measure changes in the air pressure.

directionS

1 Take a small coee can and cove it

tightly with plastic wap. Secue the

plastic wap with a ubbe band

aound the can as shown above.

2 Tape a staw to the top o you plastic

wap cove with one end o the staw

in the middle o the cans cove and

the othe end slightly o the edge o

the can. (see right)

3 Next place the can beside a lage

index cad. Use this cad to mak and

label whee the staw is pointing on

the cad. remembe to wite down

the day and time beside each mak

you make. Notice the changes on the

position o the staw duing each day

o the week.

leSSon

Notice that when the ai

pessue is high, it pushes

down on the plastic wap and

the staw is tilted up. When

the ai pessue is low, the

plastic wap lits upwad and

the staw points down.

materialS

small coee can

plastic wrap

rubber band

drinking straw

large index card

revieW

Ater recording your air pressure results or the week, answer the ollowing questio

1 What d ays had the highest pessue? __________________________________________________________

2 What days had the lowest pessue? __________________________________________________________

3 Why did the plastic wap get pushed down by high pessue? ______________________________________

4 What inteesting weathe happened when the pessue was changing? ______________________________

The Effect ofFriction

friction is A force thAt Acts to slow down the movement of An object. Ice has a vey low amount o

iction, so walking acoss it is vey slick, but sandpape has a high iction and you could get good taction walking acoss

sandpape.

I thee wee no iction at the suace o a non-otating Eath (no tees, no gass, no hills, etc) then the wind would ty to

blow staight om high pessue to low pessue like this:

But thee since the Eath is constantly otating, the wind tuns as the wold tuns. This is known as the Cii fc.So, when you have high and low pessue with a otating Eath, but no iction, then the wind blows like this:

But thee is iction at the suace. Fiction not only slows the speed o the wind, but it also changes the eect o the spin o

the Eath. This causes the winds to blow like this:


high PreSSure and loW PreSSureWhy the Wind BloWS


exPeriment: making a Barometer Why the Wind Bl


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What are Tornadoes?

tornAdoes cAn tAke on severAl sizes And

shApes And sometimes hAve severAl

different nAmes. It is impotant to

undestand what dieent tonado-elated

wods mean and how to use them.

A n (sometimes called a

wi o ccn) is an aea o apidlyciculating winds that blow aound a small,

but intense, low-pessue aea. Tonadoes

usually extend om the base o a thundestom.

A funn cu is simila to a tonado, but its ciculationis in the ai and has not eached the gound. At the point

the ciculation eaches the gound, a unnel cloud becomes a

tonado.

A w cu is a loweing out o the base o a thundestom (evenlowe than the bottom o the thundestom itsel ) which is otating. Wall

clouds ae sometimes difcult to detect because o thei agged appeaance.

Howeve, wall clouds ae indicatos o the most dangeous pat o the thundestom

base. It is in this aea that tonadoes develop.

tornAdoes form when conditions Are right

And cAn even help lArge thunderstorms

keep themselves going. Without the tonado, many

thundestoms would lose thei souce o wam, humid

suace ai that keeps them alive. Lage thundestoms

take lage amounts o ai om the suace up into the

body o the thundestom. Some ai must come back

down to eplace the ai that was sucked up into the

thundestom. This downwad moving ai is called a

downdat. Downdats ae necessay, but they can choke

a thundestom and give it no way to suck wam, humid

ai up into the main body o the stom. That is whee

the tonado can be helpul to a thundestom. It all

a thundestom to take in lage amounts o ai at a t

into the stoms body. Unotunately, this pocess is

damaging to anything in its path.

Tonadoes can have wind speeds anywhee om ne

65mph all the way up to moe than 300mph. They v

size, too. Small tonadoes may only be a ew eet wi

lage tonadoes can each a diamete moe than on

wide. Most tonadoes ae between 300 and 2000 e

Each yea in the United States, about 1,000 tonado

Balloons & Air Density

in this experiment, you will see how Air density chAnges when the

temperAtures chAnge. Density is a measue o the amount o mass (o amount o molecules) in

a given volume. Moe simply, it is how compact o how thick a substance is. So what happens when ai

is heated and cooled? Does it become moe o less compact? Find out and see!

WarNING: In the ollowing expeiments, avoid getting the glass bottle too hot o too cold.Tempeatue extemes may cause the bottle to beak.

directionS

Experiment 11 Fill a lage bowl with ice cold wate. Set aside.

2 Fill the glass bottle with vey wam to hot wate.

This allows the bottle to get aily wam, as well.

3 Empty the glass bottle and quickly cove the bottles

opening with a balloon. This taps in vey wam ai

inside the wam bottle.

4 Now place the bottle upight in the bowl o cold

wate. This will cool the ai inside the bottle down.

Obseve what happens to the balloon.

Wite down you esults.

Experiment 21 Fill a lage bowl with vey wam wate. Set aside.

2 Fill the glass bottle with cold wate. This allows the

bottle to get aily cold, as well.

3 Empty the glass bottle and quickly cove the bottles

opening with a balloon. This taps in cold ai inside

the cold bottle.

4 Now place the bottle upight in the bowl o wam

wate. This will heat the ai inside the bottle. Obseve

what happens to the balloon. Wite down you esults.

leSSon

What did you learn?

In epin 1, the ai inside the bottle wascooled. When ai is cooled, it contacts and the

density is highe (moe compact). Since the ai was

contacting, it sucked the balloon into the bottle.

In epin 2, the ai inside the bottle washeated. When ai is heated, it expands and the

density is lowe (less compact). Since the ai wasexpanding, it caused the balloon to expand outside

the bottle, as well.

In the atmosphee the wame, lighte ai ises since

it is lighte, and the colde ai sinks since the density

is highe. Sinking cold, ai can ceate aeas o high

pessue and ising, wam ai oten c eates aeas o

low pessue.

Why do tornadoes orm?

materialS

glass bottle

balloon

large bowl

water


tornadoeSexPeriment: BalloonS and air denSityWhy the Wind BloWS Why the Wind Bl


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Ranking theTornadoes

tornAdoes Are meAsured

by the Amount of dAmAge

they produce. It would be

impossible o anyone to accuately

measue a tonado the way we

nomally measue wind, becausethe tonado would destoy the

equipment. Also, tonadoes om

and go away beoe we could get

the equipment to the tonado. So,

the only way let to measue them

is to look at the damage they did.

We use a scale to measue the

damage caused by a tonado and

om that damage, we can estimate

the winds. Look at the Fujita scale

below o tonadoes and the

desciption o the damage caused.

This is the new wind damage scale

that was st used in 2007.

Why do Tornadoes rotate anyway?

tornAdoes Are mAde only

in certAin types of weAther

pAtterns.This allows meteoologists

to issues oecasts and Tonado Watches to

wan you ahead o time. To make a tonado, you need the winds to be

tuning as you go highe and highe up in the atmosphee.

Fo example, say the wind on the gound is blowing om the southeast.But, i you go 500 eet above the gound, the winds ae blowing om the

southwest. That means that the winds ae tuning om the southeast to the

southwest nea the gound. Also emembe that the ai om the gound level eeds

a thundestom. This ai is tuningaleady and as it is sucked into the thundestom, the

whole thundestom begins to tun, o otate.

What happens when you take a glass o wate and sti it up vey ast with a spoon?

As the wate in the glass otates aste and aste, a little unnel oms in the middle o

the glass and ties to each the bottom o the glass. In a simila way, a thundestom

has ai otating aound the inside o it and eventually a unnel cloud may om out o

the bottom o the thundestom. I that unnel cloud eaches the gound it becomes a

tonado!

The Invisible Tornado

not All tornAdoes cAn be seen cleArly. some Are disguised by heAvy rAin. Some take place at

night in the dak. Some, howeve, ae not wapped in ain o at night, but you still cant see them! These ae like invisible

tonadoes.

So how do you know that a tonado is thee? Fist o all, emembe that tonadoes om beneath otating thundestoms.

A tonado is a tonado i its otating winds have touched the gound. Sometimes the unnel-shaped cloud is not visible.

At the point the tonado touches the gound, it begins to swil dit and debis. This is called a i cu. I you seea debis cloudbut no visible tonadoyou have just spotted an invisible tonado. These ae just as dangeous as any

othe tonado!

deadlIest alabama torNadoesd at e # d ea d # I Nj Ur ed r at IN G C oU Nt Ie s a FF eC te d

3/21/1932 49 150 F4 PErrY/BIBB/CHILTON/SHELBY/COOSA

4/20/1920 44 700 F4 OKTIBBEHA/CLAY/MONrOE/ITAWAMBA

MArION/FrANKLIN/COLBErT/LAWrENC

3/21/1932 41 325 F4 TALLADEGA

3/21/1932 38 500 F4 MOrGAN/MADISON/JACKSON (AL), MAr

3/21/1932 37 200 F4 TUSCALOOSA

1/22/1904 36 150 F4 HALE/TUSCALOOSA

4/8/1998 32 256 F5 TUSCALOOSA/JEFFErSON

3/21/1932 31 200 F4 PErrY/CHILTON/COOSA

4/3/1974 28 260 F5 LAWrENCE/MOrGAN/LIMESTONE/MAD

3/21/1913 27 60 F4 CLArKE/WILCOX

4/20/1920 27 100 F4 MADISON

teNNessee Valley torNadoes IN 2010

date CoUNty(Ies) F-sCale WINdsWIdtH

(IN Feet)PatH leNGtH

(IN Feet)

1/21/2010 Madison, AL EF2 111-135 1350 6.6

1 /2 1/ 20 10 F a nk ln , T N/

Maion, TN

EF0 65-85 900 2.46

3/25/2010 Mogan, AL EF1 8 6-110 150 2.86

4/24/2010 DeKalb, AL EF4 166-200 2640 6.81

4 /2 4/ 20 10 D eK al b, A L/

Chatooga, GA

EF3 136-165 1320 4.29

4 /2 4/ 20 10 M a sh al l, A L/

DeKalb, AL

EF3 136-165 3960 38.96

4/24/2010 Cullman, AL EF2 111-135 900 5.75


tornadoeStornadoeSWhy the Wind BloWS Why the Wind Bl


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What is a Hurricane?

Albertville Tornado aPril 24, 2010

A hurricAne is A lArge, strong storm thAt develops over the wArm wAters of the oc eAn.

aea o wam ocean wate is known as the topics. Huicanes om when ai moves towad an aea o low pessue

ove vey wam wate. At the low-pessue cente, this ai begins to ise oming a lage aea o thundestoms. I th

is allowed to evacuate om the top o the huicane (high pessue in the uppe-levels o the atmosphee causes w

to spead out) and the stom emains ove wam wate, then the huicane will stengthen. (Note that the wate o

west coast o the United States is much colde than the wates o o the East Coast. That, along with moe avoabl

pattens in the East Coast aeas, makes a land-alling West Coast huicane a ae occuence.)

remembe that ai spins counte-clockwi se aound low pessue. Lets say that at the ocean suace a low pessue

to develop. The ai begins to move in towad the low pessue and aound it counteclockwise. As all o this ai com

togethe, too much piles upin this aea and some has to ise to escape. This liting ai oten develops into thunde

As the pessue dops, the ai spins aste and moe ai ises oming moe thundestoms. This keeps g oing and go

the stom system is vey stong. It has vey ast winds spinning counte-clockwise with bands o thundestom ota

aound it, too. This is now a huicane.

revieW

Use your knowledge o tornadoes to answer the ollowing questionsto the best o your ability.

1 About how many tonadoes occu in the United States evey yea? _________________________________________

2 Accoding to the National Weathe Se vice, Alabama aveages aound 54 tonadoes pe yea.

In which season o the yea do you think most o these tonadoes occu? ____________________________________

3 I a amed house was hit by a tonado and the d amage consisted o a oo that was ton o, windows wee blown out,but most o the walls wee still standing, then what would the Fujita-scale anking be o this tonado?

(use the cha t on the pevious page o assistance on this one) _____________________________________________

4 What type o cloud otates at the bottom o a thundestom and is a waning sign o a possible tonado?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

5 What is the name o the cloud o dust and boken mateials that oms at the bottom o a tonado?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

6 A tonado looks like it is developing om a t hundestom. What would the name o this developing tonado be BEFOrE

it eaches to the gound? __________________________________________________________________________

alBertville -EF3 136-165 mph, on the gound o 38 miles

geraldine, dekalB county- 14 hut, 200 stuctuesdamaged, 33 minutes waning time

mt vernon- EF4 - 170 mph, on the gound o 7 miles

Two Long-Tracked Tornadoesin the Tennessee Valley


hurricaneSQueStionS: tornadoeSWhy the Wind BloWS Why the Wind Bl


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revieW

Answer the ollowing questions rom what you have learned in the previous pages class about hurricanes.

1 residents o Noth Caolina watch which ocean o developing huicanes and topical stoms?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

2 Why would you not be concened about a huicane hitting San Fancisco, even though it sits ight on the coas

_______________________________________________________________________________________

3 Look up the link on huicane names at the Weathe in the Classoom website (see ont cove o web addessand ll in the names o this yeas huicane season.

AName ____________________

BName ____________________

C Name ____________________

D Name ____________________

EName ____________________

F Name ____________________

G Name ____________________

HName ____________________

I Name _____________________

JName ____________________

K Name ____________________

LName ____________________

MName ___________________

N Name ____________________

O Name _____________

P Name _____________

r Name _____________

SName _____________

T Name _____________

V Name _____________

W Name ____________

4 Put the ollowing topical systems in ode

om weakest to stongest: Huicane,

topical depession and topical stom.

W ___________________

___________________

sng ___________________

Naming the Hurricanes

since hurricAnes do so much dAmAge, people often

wAnt to tAlk About A certAin hurricAne. The easiest way

to talk about something is i you give it a name. So, huicanes ae

named. (The same could be done or tornadoes, but there are too many

to name!)

As a stom in the topics develops and gets stonge, it is given

dieent names. A pic pin is a developing stom thathas maximum winds o 39mph o less. As the stom gains stength,

and eaches winds o 40mph to 73mph, it is called a pic .A topical stom becomes a huicn when the maximum winds othe stom each 74mph. Huicanes can have wind gusts moe than

200mph.

Each yea, thee is a list o names that will be given to huicanes o

topical stoms in the ode that they occu. The st named stom

gets an A name, the second a Bname, and so on. The name list

altenates mens and womens names though the list and each oc ean

has its own set o names. Huicanes ae also anked into categoies

by stength on the Saf-Simpson Scale.

Where Most TropicalSystems Form

interested in becoming A meteorolog

To be a meteorologist, you have to be sharp in math and scien

Geography is important. You have to know your 50 states an

countries or tracking hurricanes. Depending on where you doweather, you have to know your local counties and cities espe

severe weather. Taking announcing classes wouldnt hurt. Its

that your audience can understand what you are saying.

Weather is also important outside o TV. Pilots need to know t

weather when fying a plane.

Weather impacts sporting events like baseball and ootball.

Hot, cold, wind, rain, snow and severe weather impacts everyo

what we wear, to how we plan activities.


QueStionS: hurricaneShurricaneSWhy the Wind BloWS Why the Wind Bl


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Where do You Live?

BeloW iS a m aP of the tenneSS ee valley.

When there is severe weather, warnings are issued or each county.Do you know the county in which you live? Find your county and shade it in red.

fill in the folloWing information for your uSe:

In what state do you live? _________________________________

In what county do you live? _______________________________

In what city do you live? __________________________________

Place a sta on the map closest to whee you live and go to school.

Severe Weather AlertsWeather variaBleS

PreciPitation

SeaSonS


Where do you live? Severe WeathSevere Weather


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Tornado Safety

What to do in caSe of a tornado:

Always ty to get to a basement o stom shelteyou cannot nd a bette place o shelte than below gound.

What to do if there iS no BaSement or Storm Shelter:

Go to a small oom in the cente o you home on the lowest oo with no windows. A closet o bathoom is best.

The best thing to do is to cove yousel with pillows, blankets, mattesses, etc. The idea is to potect yousel om

ying objects. I you do not have a cente oom, go to a small oom along the east wall o you home.

if your home iS not on a Permanent foundation:

Do not tust a home that is not on a pemanent oundation, such as a mobile home. You should have a place in mind,

beoe the stom even oms, o whee you can go. Make a stom saety plan. You need to choose the closest place o

saety (a basement o stom shelte is best).

if you are traveling in a car or truck:

Cas and tucks can be atal sheltes. I you ae in the stoms path, GET OUT OF YOUr VEHICLE and take shelte in a

ditch o ceek.

What aBout overPaSSeS and BridgeS?

recent studies have ound that taking shelte unde a bidge o ovepass is moe dangeous than lying at in a ditch.

Winds undeneath this bidge o ovepass can acceleate and liteally suck you out om undeneath it. Moe than

anything, it is NEVEr a good idea to be anywhee outside o a stom shelte o basement duing a tonado!

Severe Weather Safety

whAt to do in cAse of A thunderstorm:

I you ae eve outside and a thundestom appoaches, you need to nd a place o shelte om the stom. Unles

thee is a tonado, getting inside is the best om o shelte. (I thee is a tonado, you need to ollow the tonado

saety guidelines.) You should not stay outdoos duing a stom. Even in a weak thundestom, lightning possesse

enough enegy to kill you. Because o this, you need to take shelte indoos away om the theat o lightning stik

whAt to do if you Are in A hAilstorm:

Hailstoms can cause seious bodily injuy. Although most hailstones ae aily small, they ae alling om heights

o up to 9 miles high. They ae moving vey ast and can do moe than just hut you. Even medium size stones ca

ende you unconscious, beak bones, and, at the vey least, buise you. Thee is no need to be outside duing an

thundestom, especially a hailstom.

lightning is very dAngerous. remember this:

Lightning is the most equent example o dangeous weathe. Do not let this ool you into thinking that it is not

as seious. Moe people ae killed in the U.S. om lightning in a given yea than om tonadoes. Lightning is vey

dangeous and can stike up to ve miles om the base o thundestom. As a stom appoaches, you should tak

shelte indoos to avoid lightning stikes.

if your cAr is struck by lightning:

Most cas will not allow you to be shocked i you ae inside when it is stuck. But, i you get out o the ca and step

the gound while still touching the ca, you can allow the emaining electicity in the ca to tavel into the gound

and you will be shocked! You should always jump out o the ca without touching the ca and gound at the sam

time i you eel you ca has been stuck.


Severe Weather Safetytornado SafetySevere Weather Severe Weath


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the nAtionAl weAther service, Along with locAl te levision stAtions, use A system of wAtches

And wArnings to keep you Advised during severe weAther. read ove the ollowing denitions o the

watches and wanings and ty to answe the questions below.

Watches & Warnings

QueStionS aBout Weather Safety

1 Which is moe seious? a) Tonado Watch b) Tonado Waning

2 Duing a tonado waning, the best place to take shelte is:

a) you gaage b) a lage oom with plenty o windows c) basement o stom shelte.

3 It is sae to go outdoos duing a Sevee Thundestom Waning. Tue o False

4 At what point should you take shelte om a tonado?

a) When a Tonado Waning is issued b) When a Tonado Watch is issued

c) When a Sevee Thundestom Watch is issued d) Neve

5 A sevee thundestom is detected on ada moving towad you county. Which o the ollowing would be issued?

a) Tonado Waning b) Tonado Watch

c) Sevee Thundestom Waning d) Sevee Thundestom Watch

6 Thee is plenty o time to move away when lightning begins to stike. Tue o False.

7 Hailstones ae alling vey ast and can hut you i you dont take shelte inside. Tue o False.

Severe thunderStorm Watch

This means that conditions ae avoable o sevee

thundestoms to develop (usually issued o a lagenumbe o counties).

Severe thunderStorm Warning This

means that a sevee thundestom has been detected o

a specic aea (usually issued o one o two counties).

tornado Watch This means that conditions

ae avoable o stoms to develop that could poduce a

tonado (usually issued o a lage numbe o counties).

tornado Warning This means that a tonado

has been eithe detected on ada o sighted (usually

issued o one o two counties).


noteS

WatcheS and Warnin gSSevere Weather


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AadVeCtIoN - The hoizontal tanse o anypopety in the atmosphee by the movemento ai. Examples include heat and moistue

advection.

aIr -This is consideed the mixtue o gases that

make up the eaths atmosphee. The pinciplegases that compose dy ai ae Nitogen at78.084%, Oxygen at 20.946%, Agon at .93%, and

Cabon Dioxide .03%

aIr mass - An extensive body o ai thoughout

which the hoizontal tempeatue and moistuechaacteistics ae simila.

Bbarometer - An instument used to measueatmospheic pessue. Examples include theaneoid baomete and the mecuial baomete.

barometrIC PressUre - The pessueexeted by the atmosphee at a given point. The

measuement can be expessed in millibas(mb)o in inches o mecuy(Hg).

blIzzard - A sevee weathe conditionchaacteized by low tempeatues, winds35mph o geate, blowing snow that can educe

visibilities to 1/4 mile o less o moe than 3hous. A sevee blizzad is chaacteized bytempeatues at o below 10 degees Fahenheit,

winds exceeding 45mph, and visibility educedby snow to nea zeo.

CCalm - Atmospheic conditions devoid o windo any othe ai motion.

CHINook - rees to the wam downslope windin the rocky Mountains that may occu ate anintense cold spell when the tempeatues may

ise 20-40 degees in a matte o minutes.

CIrrUs - High clouds usually above 18,000 eet,composed o ice cystals

ClImate - The histoical ecod o aveage

daily and seasonal weathe events. Statisticsae geneally dawn ove seveal decades. Thewod is deived om the Geek klimameaning

inclination, and eects the impotance ealyscholas attibuted to the suns inuence.

ClImatoloGy - The study o climate. I ncludesclimatic data, the analysis o the causes o the

dieences in climate, and the application oclimatic data to the solution o specic design oopeational poblems.

CloUdbUrst - A sudden, heavy ainall o ashowey natue.

CoalesCeNCe- The meging o two watedops into a sin gle lage dop.

Cold FroNt - The leading edge o anadvancing cold ai mass that is unde unning

and displacing the wame ai in its path.Geneally, when a cold ont passes thetempeatue and humidity decease, the pessue

ises, and the wind shits om southwest tonothwest. Pecipitation is usually along o aheado the ont in the om o thundestoms.

CoNdeNsatIoN - The pocess by which watevapo undegoes a change in state om a gas to

a liquid. Its opposite is evapoation.

CoNVeCtIoN - Motions in a uid that tanspot

and mix the popeties o the uid. Thesepopeties could be heat and/o moistue. Otenthe tem convection is used to descibe upwad

motion o wate vapo (moistue) oced toise by suace heating in tun ceating ain othundestoms

CoNVerGeNCe- Wind movement that esultsin a hoizontal net inow o ai into a paticula

egion. Convegent winds at lowe levels aeassociated with upwad motion.

CorIolIs ForCe - A oce pe unit mass thataises solely om the eaths otation, actingas a deecting oce. It is dependent on the

latitude and speed o the moving object. In theNothen Hemisphee the ai is deected to theight, and in the Southen He

asu whnt wic 2010 2011

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