Exam 14: Thunderstorms

An ordinary thunderstorm is most intense during the ____ stage.

When damage associated with straight-line winds extends for several hundred kilometers along the path of a squall line, the storm is called a(n)____________________.

Distant lightning that is so far away you cannot hear the thunder is called ____.

All thunderstorms require ____.

Supercell thunderstorms differ from ordinary cell (air mass)thunderstorms because ____.

When thunderstorms bring repeated heavy rain to a region for days or weeks, this phenomenon is known as ____________________ flooding.

Squall lines generally do not form ____.

This type of cloud is especially prevalent when the atmosphere is very stable near the base of a thunderstorm.

In some thunderstorms, lightning is seen but thunder does not get produced by the lightning.

When warmer hailstones come in contact with colder ice crystal, an important phenomenon occurs: There is a net transfer of ____________________ ions (charged molecules)from the warmer object to the colder object.

Describe the atmospheric conditions at the surface and aloft that are necessary for the development of most supercell thunderstorms. (Include in your answer the role that the low-level jet plays in the rotating updraft.)

Thunderstorms may form along or just east of a boundary called a(n)____________________, which represents a narrow zone where there is a sharp horizontal change in moisture.

Floods that develop rapidly with little or no advance warning are called ____ floods.

The majority of lightning strikes occur within the cloud, whereas only about ____ percent or so occur between cloud and ground.

Describe the relationship between flooding and thunderstorms.

A small thunderstorm cloud with virga falling out of its base and blowing dust at the ground could warn of a severe hazard to an airplane because ____.

When thunderstorms are passing over the same area, they are ____.

What is a squall line? Where would you expect squall lines to form?

Thunder will not occur ____.

The initial stage of an ordinary thunderstorm is the ____.