Name: Joshua FernandezName: Joshua FernandezLearning Unit 6: Extreme Weather Review QuestionsThis assignment is designed to assess your understanding of Unit 6 and includes some of the Questions for Review at the end of Chapters 10, 15 and 14 from your text plus a few additionalquestions. Each question can be answered in one to two sentences. Please limit yourself to a maximum of three sentences. Access the assignment, complete it with ANSWERS IN A DIFFERENT COLOR FONT as a separate file, and send it back for evaluation and grading through the assignment tab by or before the due date. 1. What causes the Earth’s seasons, such as winter and summer?- The earths axis is tilted with respect to its annual orbit around the sun2. How do greenhouse gases warm the Earth’s atmosphere?- The gases trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere3. An area of low atmospheric pressure is characterized by what kind of weather? - Inclement weather (cloudy, windy, rain).4. What is the equation for calculating relative humidity and how to changes in water vapor content and temperature effect relative humidity?- The percent of moisture in air relative to maximum amount it can hold under its given temperature and pressure. - Changing the water content, add water, increase relative humidity, subtract water, decrease, humidity - Changing temp, increase temp, decrease humidity, decrease temp, increase humidity5. What processes force air aloft?Stable and unstable air.6. What is the main distinction between a cold front and a warm front? Why are storms found at both warm fronts and cold fronts?- Cold front is when cold air masses advance rapidly and warm air front is when warm air masses advance rapidly. Storms are found at both because there needs to be a lift where cold air would push under warm air in order for the storm to happen/occur.7. What causes adiabatic lapse rate and what effect does the adiabatic lapse rate have on a rising parcel of air?- Temperature changes with altitude in falling or rising air, air pressure decreases with an increase in altitude, rising air expands and sinking air compresses.8. Why do clouds have a fairly well defined base at a particular altitude?- Due to lifting condensation level, the rising parcel reaches saturation temperature and the cloud forms 9. What causes the Coriolis force and what effect does it have on free moving objects, including wind, in the northern hemisphere?- Due to the rotation of the earth on its axis. Deflects all free moving objects to the right of their path in the northern hemisphere, to the left in the southern hemisphere. Deflection increases with wind speed. Deflection is strongest at the poles and weakens equator ward.10.Which way does the air rotate or circulate around a low pressure area?- Inwards counter clockwise flow develops11.Why do you see lightening before you hear thunder? How far away is lightning if you hear the thunder 3 seconds after you see the flash of lightening?- Because light travels faster than sound. About .6 miles away 12.What causes the loud boom that we hear as thunder? - The lightning heats up the surrounding air to about 30,000 degrees Celsius, which expands at supersonic speeds, creating the crashes 13.What can you feel that is a sign that you are at high risk of being struck by lightning? What should you do to avoid being killed by lightening if caught out in the open with no place to take cover?- A sign would be when your hair is standing up due to the difference in charge to overcome air resistance, visible electrical discharges as well. If there is no place to take cover, get low and cover your head with your arms.14.What process permits hailstones to grow to a large size?- Strong updrafts lift the hailstones up and down, letting it collect more freezing rain.15.When is tornado season in the central United States?- Late spring – early summer 16.What is a wall cloud and what is its significance?- Rotational cell sags below the cloud base to form a distinct slow rotating wall cloud, strong tornadoes form within it17.In what direction do most mid-continent tornadoes travel along the ground and how fast do tornadoes move along the ground?- Northeast direction and can travel from 50 – 80 kmph18.What is the greatest danger (what causes the most deaths) from a tornado?- Flying debris and extreme winds19.What is used to classify the severity of tornadoes and what is the severity based on?- Fujita scale, based on wind speed estimation20.How do weather forecasters watching weather radar identify an area that is likely to form tornadoes?- They form in the tailing area of the heaviest rain21.If you do not have a tornado shelter, where in a home is the safest place to be? If you do not have a basement, where in the home is the safest place to be?22.When is hurricane season? Why then?- From august or September because it takes a while for the ocean to heat up diring the summer, giving the hurricane energy23.Why do hurricanes track west from Africa towards North America rather than from North America towards Africa? And why do hurricanes generally curve northward as they approach the east coast of North America?- Because of the tropical water of west Africa. They are pushed to north America because of the trade winds 24.Where in a hurricane are the winds strongest? (e.g. in the eye, just outside the eye, half way out to the outer fringe of the hurricane, at the outer fringe). - Strongest at the eye wall25.Why are skies clear in the eye of a hurricane?- Because the heated, rising air creates very low atmospheric pressures at the surface, thepressure in the upper atmosphere above the storm is actually higher, causing a downward flow of air in the center of the storm forming the “eye”.26.Where would the area of highest storm surge be compared with the eye of a major hurricane moving to the west? What local circumstance increase the height of storm surge?- North to northeast quadrant of a hurricane, what could increase the height would when it comes during a high tide, raising sea level even higher27.Of the main hazards in a hurricane, which causes the greatest amount of dollar damage? Which causes the greatest loss of life?- Flooding from storm surges, because of how high water can be, it can destroy property, roads and take lives away28.What factors cause a hurricane to dissipate?- Strong vertical winds shear tears hurricane apart, moving over cooler water, moving over land as there’s no more moisture and
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