Storms

1. Storms Brought to you by Weather Girl Jessica Good

2. Types of Storms • Thunder and Lightning • Tornadoes • Waterspouts • Hurricanes

3. Thunderstorm and Lightning Storms • Develop in warm, moist air on the leading edge of a cold front. • Frozen raindrops collide in a thundercloud, creating electrical charges. • Lightning forms from the buildup of electrons in a cloud that are attracted to positive charges in other clouds or on the ground.

4. Tornadoes • A tornado is a powerful column of winds spiraling around a center of low atmospheric pressure. • They can be identified by the large black funnel coming from a storm cloud. • As winds spiral upward, an internal vacuum is created and sucks up everything in its path. • They rotate counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. • They can form and vanish very quickly. • Tornadoes develop as a result of a change in wind direction and increasing speed. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjjwPQRVbWk

5. Waterspouts • Waterspouts are weak tornadoes that form over warm water. • Often found in the Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of the Atlantic side of the Florida coast.

6. Hurricanes • Hurricanes are huge storms with winds that rotate counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere direction and form an eye in the center. • The size of the storm can measure up to 600 miles across and have strong winds spiraling inward and upward at speeds of 75-200mph. • They typically last for over a week, moving 10-20 mph over the open ocean. • The eye in the center is a calm part of the storm with light winds and fair weather; while the bands carry heavy rain and strong winds that when they pass over land, can damage buildings, trees and property. • Hurricanes only form over really warm ocean water.