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Ch 13
Nature of storms
Term | Definition |
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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. |