4.5 STORMS

Question 1

What forces tropical/extra tropical storms (cyclones) to exist?

Answer 1

Energy from the sun
Rotation of the earth

at any one time there are multiple weather systems active around the globe with variable atmos pressures & winds. when these pressures and winds are averages over many years, a well-defined global circulation pattern appears.

Question 2

How is the earth tilted in a northern hemisphere summer?

Answer 2

• north pole tilted towards the sun
• sun’s rays strike n. hem. more DIRECTLY in summer
• summer solstice = june 21 or 22; sun’s rays hit earth most directly along the tropic of cancer (23.5deg N)

Question 3

How is the earth tilted in a northern hemisphere winter?

Answer 3

• tilt of the earth’s axis points away from the sun
• light from the sun is spread out over larger area, so it’s not heated as much
• fewer daylight hours => less time for sun to warm area
• winter solstice for northern hem = dec 21 or 22

Question 4

What are the three hemisphere cells?

Answer 4

• hadley
• ferrel
• polar

Question 5

What happens in the troposphere?

Answer 5

the part of the atmosphere where most of the weather takes place.

Question 6

What are idealised pressure belts and resulting wind systems significantly modified by?

Answer 6

1. EARTH’S TILT - which produces the seasons
2. The air of the continents gets colder in the winter & warmer in the summer than the air over adjacent oceans because of the HEAT CAPACITY of water compared to rock
3. As a result, during winter, continents usually develop HIGH PRESSURE CELLS; during summer, they develop LOW PRESSURE CELLS

Question 7

What are cyclones like in the Northern hemisphere?

Answer 7

• air currents bend to the RIGHT

- so the cyclones rotate ANTICLOCKWISE

Question 8

What are cyclones like in the Southern hemisphere?

Answer 8

• air currents bend to the LEFT

- this makes cyclones rotate CLOCKWISE

Question 9

What are cyclones?

Answer 9

Large air masses that rotate around a center. As they rotate, they pull air into that center/eye.

Question 10

What is the Coriolis effect on regular winds in the Northern hemisphere?

Answer 10

• As warm air rises near the equator, it flows towards the poles.
• In the N. hem., these warm air currents move to the RIGHT as they travel north
• they BEND EAST