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Ch 13
Nature of storms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Air-mass Thunderstorms | type of thunderstorm in which air rises because of unequal heating of Earth's surface within a single air mass and is most common during the afternoon and evening. |
| Cold Wave | extended period of below-average temperatures caused by large, high-pressure systems of continental polar or arctic origin |
| Downbursts | a localized area of strong winds in a downdraft beneath a severe thunderstorm |
| Drought | a long period of dry weather |
| Eye | Center of a hurricane where air is calm. |
| Eyewall | They are a tall band of strong winds and dense clouds that surround the eye and is usually the part of the cyclone with the strongest wind. |
| Frontal Thunderstorms | a thunderstorm that is produced by advancing cold fronts and , more rarely, warm fronts |
| Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale | scale used to rate a tornado's intensity |
| Heat Wave | A prolonged period of extensively hot weather. |
| Hurricane | A severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more than 129 km/h spiral in toward the intensely low-pressure storm center. |
| Lightning | A sudden spark, or energy discharge, caused when electrical charges jump between parts of a cloud, between nearby clouds, or between a cloud and the ground |
| Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale | Classifies hurricanes according to wind speed, air pressure in the center, and potential for property damage |
| Sea-breeze Thunderstorms | local air-mass thunderstorms that occur because land and water store and release thermal energy differently |
| Storm Surge | A dome of water that sweeps across the coast where a hurricane lands |
| Supercell | Extremely powerful, self-sustaining thunderstorm characterized by intense, rotating updrafts |
| Tornado | A mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds having the appearance of a funnel-shaped cloud and advancing beneath a large storm system |
| Tropical Cyclone | A severe storm with high winds that spiral around a calm center |
| Wind-Chill Factor | A measure of cooling combining temperature and wind speed. |