High School Earth Science: Weather - Storms — Flashcards

Storm is a generic term, popularly used to describe a large variety of atmospheric disturbances, ranging from ordinary rain showers and snowstorms to thunderstorms, wind and wind-related disturbances, such as gales, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, and sandstorms.

Cyclones and Anticyclones    
A cyclone is a large system of winds that are rotating around a low-pressure center. The winds rotate because of the Coriolis effect. They rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.    
Low pressure occurs because the swirling air rises. The rising air cools, creating clouds and precipitation.    
Stormy weather is likely. There are two types of cyclones: mid-latitude cyclones and tropical cyclones.    
- Mid-latitude cyclones are the main cause of mid-latitude winter storms, such as blizzards and nor-easters.    
- Tropical cyclones are very large storms that are also known as hurricanes, typhoons, or other local names.    
The opposite of a cyclone is an anticyclone. An anticyclone is a large system of winds that are rotating around a high-pressure center. The winds rotate in the opposite direction to a cyclone, and the air sinks to the ground instead of rising. Anticyclones generally bring fair weather rather than storms.