Extreme Weather

Extreme Weather Exploration

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Which one do you think would be the most extreme?Be able to explain why

Explore & Explain

Blizzard

Tornado

Hurricane

Flood

Thunderstorm

Dust Storm

Drought

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A Blizzard

• Gusty winds
• White out conditions.
• Below freezing (32*F) temperatures
• Long periods of heavy snow

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What makes a snowstorm a blizzard is strong wind. First, warm air from the Equator mixes with cold air from the Arctic. Wind forms when warm air rises over the cold air; the faster the warm air rises over the cold air, the stronger the wind becomes.

Tornado

Also known as twisters, tornadoes are violently spinning, funnel-shaped columns of air that stretch from the dark thunderclouds they form in all the way to the ground. The wind from a tornado can top 250 miles an hour—that’s faster than a race car! These extreme gusts can rip apart buildings, destroy bridges, flip trains, and send cars flying. They can even tear the bark off trees and suck all the water from a riverbed.

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Hurricane

Hurricanes begin when a tropical depression forms in the ocean. A tropical depression is a line of rain showers and weak thunderstorms that circle around an area of low air pressure. If the water is at least 79°F, a hurricane might form.

• Start as a tropical depression, then a tropical storm.
• Once moving at 74 MPH its a hurricane
• Forms over warm water
• Can cover a large storm area

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Floods

Floods can form slowly over several days or overwhelm an area with little warning. How quickly a flood forms often depends on the habitat.

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• Floods can happen almost everywhere on Earth.
• If you are ever in a flood, head to high ground
• A car can be washed away in as little as 2 feet of water.

Thunderstorms

A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are sometimes called thundershowers. Thunderstorms occur in a type of cloud known as a cumulonimbus.

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• Lightning happens everywhere on Earth
• It strikes 8 million times a day.
• Lightning is hotter than the sun's surface , 50,000*F!
• Thunderstorms can produce a lot of rain

A Dust Storm

A dust storm, or sandstorm, is a storm of small particles of sand and dirt. Dust storms happen when a strong wind front blows loose sand and dust from a dry surface. Particles are picked up and suspended in the air, causing soil erosion where they were.

• Wind drops the dust & dirt in another place on Earth.
• Scientists use satellites in space to catch the first signs of dust storms.
• Can reach wind speeds of 25 MPH

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A Drought

A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy.

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• Can be difficult to detect
• Lasts longer than other weather events.
• Increases chances of wildfires