Severe Weather. Copyright 2006 InstructorWeb

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Jane Cole
5 years ago
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1 Severe Weather People need to know what the weather is going to do. Sometimes severe weather can happen. Severe weather can cause property damage, injuries to people and animals, and even loss of life. Three common types of severe weather in the United States are thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Thunderstorms are happening all the time. All thunderstorms produce lightning. Lightning is a giant spark of electricity. In the same way that metals are attracted to a magnet, lightning is attracted to the ground. A lightning bolt can be 50,000º F! The sound of thunder we hear is lightning exploding the air. Lightning can cause deaths and property damage. In fact, lightning is often what kills most people in a thunderstorm. Get inside if you can. If you are outside when lightning is happening, you should stay away from trees or utility poles. Squat on the ground on the balls of your feet. This reduces your contact with the ground to a very small area. Hail happens when rain falls through very cold air. As it falls, it freezes. The balls of ice grow. Hail can range from pea-sized to grapefruit-sized. Ice this big can cause a lot of damage to cars, homes, crops, and buildings. Hail causes more monetary (money) loss than any other type of severe weather because of the damage to crops every year. Often a severe thunderstorm can cause flooding. The rain comes down so hard and heavy that the ground can t soak it in quickly enough. In just half an hour, a thunderstorm can drop millions of gallons of water in one area. The water runs off, filling up rivers. The rivers overflow and flood low areas. Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. Never try to walk through floodwaters. You don t know how deep it is or what may be underneath. Some thunderstorms can turn into dangerous super cells. A super cell can produce severe weather including high winds, heavy rainfall, large hail, dangerous lightning, and sometimes tornadoes. The strongest and most damaging tornadoes form within super cells. A tornado forms around a low-pressure air mass. The air around it begins to rise. Rising air begins to spin. Winds can reach speeds of over two hundred miles per hour. About one thousand tornadoes hit the United States each year. In fact, the United States has more tornadoes than anywhere else on Earth. They can form at any time of the year. Tornadoes are hard to predict. They can cause a lot of damage. If there is a weather bulletin for your area warning of a possible tornado, you should move to a basement or underground cellar. If you don t have a basement, the bathroom

2 Severe Weather (cont d) or another interior room is often the safest place in the house. Mobile homes and cars are dangerous places to be in case of a tornado. It s better to leave them and take shelter in a safer place. If you re in your car and you see a tornado funnel, get out of the car and lie in a ditch or other low spot. Hurricanes form over warm ocean water. They often last a week or longer. They cause damage when they move over land. Hurricanes are large, powerful storms with high winds ranging from 74 to 180 miles per hour. Winds can cause a lot of damage, but the most dangerous part of a hurricane is its storm surge. A storm surge is a wall of water that is blown from the ocean. This giant wave acts like a bulldozer on land. It pushes everything in its path. When a hurricane moves over land, it usually produces at least one tornado. The United States usually gets about five hurricanes each year. Tropical storms are like hurricanes but weaker. If the wind speed has not reached at least 74 miles per hour, the storm is called a tropical storm instead of a hurricane. They also form over warm ocean water but may move over land. They can cause damage, too. Be alert to weather forecasts. Use good judgment if you are outside and the weather begins to change. Severe weather can kill and injure, but technology can give us a warning before it occurs. If you know what to expect from severe weather, you can protect yourself.

3 Severe Weather Questions Fill in the blank: 1. Severe weather can cause,, and. 2. All thunderstorms produce. 3. A lightning bolt can be degrees. 4. is often what kills people during a thunderstorm. 5. causes the biggest monetary loss every year. 6. are the most common natural disaster in the U.S. 7. has more tornadoes than anywhere else in the world. 8. Tornadoes can form of the year. 9. The is the most dangerous part of a hurricane. 10. A hurricane with wind speeds of less than 74 M.P.H. is called a. Matching: Match the type of severe weather to its description. 1. thunderstorm a. forms over ocean, winds less than 74 M.P.H. 2. hail b. forms over ocean, winds more than 74 M.P.H. 3. flooding c. heavy rains cause rivers to overflow 4. hurricane d. balls of ice that damage homes, crops, buildings 5. tornado e. rain and lightning 6. tropical storm f. spinning winds of up to 300 M.P.H.

4 Severe Weather Questions True/False: 1. Thunderstorms only happen in the spring. True or False 2. If you hear thunder, it means there is lightning. True or False 3. Lightning can not hurt you. True or False 4. Hail does not do any damage to property. True or False 5. Floods are not very common. True or False 6. If there is flooding, it is okay for you to walk in water that is only 6 inches deep. True or False 7. Super cells do not produce dangerous storms. True or False 8. The United States does not get very many tornadoes. True or False 9. Tornadoes only happen in the spring. True or False 10. You will be safe in your car during a tornado. True or False 11. Hurricanes do not do any damage to land because they form over the ocean. True or False 12. The most dangerous part of a hurricane is the wind. True or False 13. A tropical storm is like a hurricane but with weaker winds. True or False 14. The United States never has hurricanes. True or False 15. Tropical storms can not do any damage. True or False

5 Severe Weather Answers Fill in the blank 1. property damage, injuries, loss of life 2. lightning 3. 50,000 degrees F. 4. lightning 5. hail 6. floods 7. The United States 8. anytime 9. storm surge 10. tropical storm Matching: 1. e 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. f 6. a True or False: 1. False 2. True 3. False 4. False 5. False 6. False 7. False 8. False 9. False 10. False 11. False 12. False 13. True 14. False 15. False

3 Severe Weather. Critical Thinking

3 Severe Weather. Critical Thinking CHAPTER 2 3 Severe Weather SECTION Understanding Weather BEFORE YOU READ After you read this section, you should be able to answer these questions: What are some types of severe weather? How can you stay