Weather and Natural Disasters.

This page will deal with facts about weather, and natural disasters.

How Weather Works.

Water Vapor is lifted into the sky, then cools to form clouds, yet colder air will cause the water vapor to form rain, hail or even snow.

Lightning is iniciated when a negatively charged channel emerges from the base of a thunder cloud (called a stepped leader) and multipies itself downward at the speed of 1 millesecond in durration and 150-300 ft in length. As it nears the ground positively charged streamers rush upwards from objects on the ground. When one of these positive charges contacts the leading edge of the stepped leader the lightning channel is opened. Negative charges start flowing to the ground in a return stroke that is illuminated (true lightning), this lasts about 1/10th of a second. Sometimes other leaders will multipy down the decaying lightning channel, yet they aren't stepped branches, they are more dirrect, and continuous, they will produce more return strokes (lightning). Lightning can travel at 90,000 miles per second, which is about half the speed of light.

Thunder is created by lightning. As a lightning bolt travels from cloud to cloud it opens a channel. When the lightning is gone the air collapses back creating a sound wave (The boom of thunder).

Dust Devils are like mini tornados that spin at 30-70 mph, formed when the ground temprature is + 68 degree farenhieght, hotter than the air above. An updraft from the heated ground catches the rising air and the rotation of the earth gets the air spinning and collecting dust forming a Dust Devil. Sometimes they can pick up flames from a nearby forrest fire creating wirling firestorm.

The Eye of a Hurricane is the roughly cicular area of comperatively light winds that encompasses the center of a sever cyclone, this is completely or partialy surrounded by the eye wall a ring of cumulusnimbus clouds that swirl around the eye where the heaviest percepitation, and the strongest winds are found.

Below is a breif summery of the Fujita scale as it relates to tornados.

F0-Gale Tornado 40-70 Mph winds, this can dammage sign boards, uproot small plants, and break branches off trees.

F1- Mild /Moderate Tornado 73-112 Mph winds, this can push over mobile homes, and even move cars and other moderately heavy things around a bit .

F2- Significant Tornado 113-157 Mph winds, this can snap trees in half and even up root some of them, turn train cars over.

F3- Severe Tornado 158 -206 Mph winds, that can tear the walls and roof right of some well constructed homes, uproot most trees, lift heavy cars and other objects of the ground for a bit.

F4-Devistating Tornado 207-260 mph winds, this can level well constructed homes, cars thrown, heavy debrees.

F5- Incredible Tornado 261+ mph winds, this causes major dammage, homes destroyed, roads torn up, ect.

Link To Top of Page

Horizontal Divider 9

Weather Facts.

In 1933 over the Atlantic area there was a record of 21 major storms (hurricanes, tropical storms and subtropical storms) named. The year 1887 was the first year the number of actual huricanes in this area was over 10.

Tropical storms and Hurricanes are named by the National Hurricane Center by using a 6 yr rotating list of male and female names. If a major hurricane/tropical storm reaches land and causes death and dammages, the name of that hurricane is then retired from the list (for that period) to advoid confussion. Hurricane Season for the US usualy starts June 1st and ends on November 30th.

Part of the midwestern United States is known as tornado alley, as it get's most of the country's tornadoes. The heart of this region extends from central Texas and goes northward covering parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado and South Dakota. Less intense areas include Arkansas, Louisiana,Mississippi,Iowa,Kentucky, Tennessee,Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Since 1986 an average of 86 people die each year as a result of lightning strikes. Yet the odds of getting struck by lightning are still aproximately 1 in 800,000.

Lightning keeps some plant's alive, the heat of lightning forces nitrogen in the air to mix with oxygen, forming nitrogen oxides that are water soluble and will mix with the rain as it falls to earth. The temprature of a lightning bolt is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

There are nearly 2,000 thunderstorm cells are estimated over the planet at any given time. The United States usualy has over 100,000 thunderstorms a year. The average life of a thunderstorm is only 7 to 12 minutes, yet it's frequently self perpetuating so it just spawns another to take it's place.

A large Cumulonimbus cloud can hold enough water for 50,000 baths. Most water droplets evaporate with only one fifth reaching the ground.

Link To Top of Page

Horizontal Divider 9

Weird&Historical Weather.

March 1993 The worst snow storm to hit the United States caused at least 270 fatalities, and did at least $2 billion in damages. This storm was dubbed the "Storm of the Century" and the "1993 Super Storm". Said storm caused all of the East Coast Airports to close at one point during the snow storm.

In 1990 Galveston Texas was hit by a Catagory 4 Hurricane the deadliest to date. The death toll was atleast 6,000.

In 1989 in Ipswich Austrailia 800 sardines fell into a persons front lawn during a "light shower".

The worst tornado recorded was the 1925 Annapolis MO tornado. in 3 hrs it left a 980 ft wide trail of demolished buildings, uprooted trees, and overturned cars. an estimated 823 people were killed and at least 3,000 were injured.

In 1914 we had the shortest Hurricane Season on record 6 days september 14-19th with only one hurricane springing up.

The largest snowfall over a 24 hr period was 63 inches or 5 feet, 3 inches. Recorded in Georgetown Colorado on December 4 1913.

The largest snowflake ever was found on January 28 1887 by Matt Coleman a ranch owner in Fort Keogh Montana. The flake was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.

In 1881 a thunderstorm in London England brought down tons of periwinkles, and hermit crabs.

In 1873 it was reported that Kansas city Missouri was blanketed with frogs that dropped from the sky during a rain storm.

The largest hail stone recorded was 17.5 inches in diameter-bigger than a basketball.

Link To Top of Page

Horizontal Divider 9

Natural Disasters

How Natural Disasters Work.

Volcanic Mountains are the results of Volcanic eruptions, as the magma (that is produced with in the upper parts of earths mantle) shoots out of a vent and cools it builds on itself and forms hills or mountains. Magma that breaks the earth's surface and erupts from a volcano is called Lava which is one of the hottest liquid substances around. As the lava cools it forms volcanic rocks. Sometimes ash also comes out of a volcano and can pollute the air for miles. Volcanoes aren't just an earth based phenomenon either, there is evidence that volcanoes have or do exist/ed on Mars and Venus, and even our own Moon.

Tsunamis and Tidal Waves are two diffrent things. Tsunamis are waves that are caused by either landslides, volcanoes or earthquakes (common). This movement of the sea floor either up or down will raise or lower the water above it creating a wave, the size of a Tsunami wave depends on the area that moves on the ocean bottom and how far it moves. Tidal waves on the other hand are waves that are caused by the pull of the moon. a natural tidal bore (as they are sometimes called) is an example of a self-reinforcing solitary wave.

Floods occure for many reasons most having to do with rains and storms. Flash floods are any sudden and severe flood event. Floods sometimes occure when the terrain of a certian area won't absorb water (due to lack of vegitation, soil type,ect). Sometimes ice jams cause floods, as ice sheets on water at times form dams when they are pressed against something (a bolder, or a group of trees).

Link To Top of Page

Horizontal Divider 30

History's worst Natural Disasters.

To date the worst volcanic eruption occured in 1815, in Indonesia Tambora exploded causing 92,000 deaths most were because of starvation.

To date the worst earthquake occured on

January 23 1556, in Sanshi China. 830,000 people were killed.

Link To Top of Page

Horizontal Divider 30

Natural Disaster Facts.

There are atleast 6,000 Earthquakes per year with a magnitude greater than 4.0 and thousands more smaller ones that at times tend to go undetected. In total there are atleast 50,000 earthquakes through out the world each year. Some animals have been known to feel the smaller forshocks of major earthquakes before humans do since they are more sensative to the first seismic waves that earthquakes produce.

The "Ring Of Fire" is an Arch of Volcanoes that streches from New Zealand through the eastern edge of Asia over to Alaska and down to North America (from British Columbia Down to California) to South America (the Andes). This ring holds 75% of the world's active and dormate volcanoes.

Link To Top of Page