1. Tornados are associated with thunderstorm activity. The mostly likely time
for a tornado to occur is during the spring season. Spring is the time of year
when both warm, moist unstable air and cold, dry dense air are present. The
mixing of the two different types of air masses produces a highly unstable
atmosphere. Sometimes as the air is forced aloft, the wind shear increases with
height causing the updraft to rotate, thus causing the birth of a tornado.
2. When a tornado watch has been issued for your area, conditions are
favorable for the formation of tornadoes. A tornado warning, however, indicates
that either a tornado or funnel cloud has been spotted in the area. Go over
with students your school's tornado safety rules. Make sure students know what
to do at school and at home if a tornado warning has been issued.
3. The Fujita Tornado Scale is a subjective scale that puts an area's
tornado into perspective. With the scale an area can keep track of the most
violent storms occurring at specific times of the year. By studying these
weather patterns, states may learn to prepare better in the future.
4. The answers are as follows:
unconcerned --- sunny skies and high pressures in the atmosphere are
associated with nice days
concerned --- steady drop in the barometric pressure with increasing
clouds indicates stormy weather
concerned --- large chunks of ice with little rain are associated with
intense thunderstorm activity
unconcerned --- high clouds in the sky known as cirrus clouds are
associated with nice weather
concerned --- low lying cumulonimbus clouds extending from the base of
thunderstorms could be a wall cloud from which tornadoes may form
concerned --- a dark greenish sky indicates stormy activity and thick
dark cumulonimbus clouds
concerned --- a loud wind rush indicates rapid velocity winds which
often accompany tornadoes
5. A. DON'T - Never get close to a window! You may get hit from flying
B. DON'T -Never try to outrun a tornado. Tornadoes can travel more than 50 mph
and are very unpredictable.
C. DO - If you are in a mobile-home abandon it. It may be lifted by high
D. DON'T - Never seek protection in a high structure. These may be in the
direct paths of tornadoes.
E. DON'T - Both a watch and a warning should be taken with caution. Remain
alert to changing conditions.
F. DO - A ditch or under a bridge are excellent places to seek shelter if
caughtoutside during a tornado.
7. Florida's location (adjacent to water on both sides) results in a
constant supply of warm, moist air. When cold air is still present, an unstable
atmosphere is created by a clash between the warm and cold air masses. The warm
air is forced aloft and thunderstorms develop. Florida and North Carolina
inform their citizens of the advancement of tornadoes and how to prepare for
them. In Florida, some tornadoes are waterspouts and most tornadoes are weaker
in intensity. The number of deaths seems low compared to the number of actual
Summer 96 - Hot Summer Days
1. Summer, Spring, Fall, and Winter. The earth not only rotates around the sun
but it rotates with a 23.5 degree angle. This tilt is the cause of our seasons.
When the earth is tilted toward the sun in June, the Northern Hemisphere has
the summer season. Six months later, when the earth is tilted away from the
sun, the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing the winter season.
4. All receive the same
5. The tilt of the earth causes the Southern Hemisphere to experience
opposite seasons than the Northern Hemisphere. When the Southern Hemisphere is
tilted toward the sun they experience summer while the Northern Hemisphere
experiences winter. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun they
experience summer while the Southern Hemisphere experiences winter.
6. The winds are moving clockwise around the high pressure system, which
often brings warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico to
the southeast United States.
7. A. False, blood does not thicken or thin with temperature.
C. False, it was recorded in Death Valley, California, in the desert.
D. False, always wear sunscreen, because 80% of the sun's ultraviolet rays
8. You should always avoid the sun's rays between these hours because they
are the most intense. This is true because the sun's angle is directly overhead
intensifying radiation. If you ever experience dizziness, immediately stop what
you are doing and seek a cooler place.
10. The Appalachian Mountains block cool shallow air masses in the Southeast
that come in from the Northwest in the summer.
Winter 96 - Cool Winter Weather
1. Television, News, the Weather Channel, Newspaper, Internet, Regional
ClimateCenters, National Climatic Data Center.
2. Closest National Weather Service Office, airport weather station, or
National Weather Service Cooperative weather station
3. A. Key West, FL due to Florida's position on the continent (nearness to
the Atlantic Ocean and latitude).
B. Washington, DC due to Washington, DC's position on the continent
4. 4F on February 2, 1961
5. 85F occurred 3 times - February 12, 1982
February 20, 1984
February 22, 1989
6. Key West, FL - 2.54 inches on February 22, 1966
Washington, DC - 1.91 inches on February 11, 1983
7. Answer dependant on data gathered by students.
8. Normals for your area can be obtained by contacting the SERCC via the web
at http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sercc or
by phone (803) 737-0849.
Spring 97 - El Nino/Southern Oscillation
2. Southeast to Northwest
4. High, Low
5. Southern Oscillation
6. Weaken as a result of the pressure in the eastern portion in the Pacific
7. 4-7 years
8. Fishing and Farming
10. Heavy rains and flooding along the West Coast and Gulf States and droughts
in the Midwest.
S A N C H O V Y P K L V T B S A
T E L E C O N N E C T I O N S T
R K P N T K Q S R L R B C D S S
A G S S U B E A U I B M K L G H
D D R O U G H T I M O J S A T E
E P A M T S A S P A C I F I C I
W T C O J P Z T G T E F S B N G
I U Y K L F A C K E L N I N O P
N R Z A N E R A I N S K D C B S
D A B I M K D L D P B M R F S B
S I P N D T S U P W E L L I N G
ancovy - first line, second letter, across
teleconnections - second line, first letter, across
trade winds - second line, first letter, down
enso - second line, fourth letter, down
drought - fifth line, second letter, across
Peru - first line, ninth letter, down
climate - secon line, tenth letter, down
hazards - fifth line, seventh letter, down
Pacific - sixth line, ninth letter, across
El Nino - eigth line, tenth letter, across
rain - ninth line, seventh letter, across
upwelling - last line, eighth letter, across
Summer 97 - Atlantic Hurricanes in 1997
1. The dates of hurricane season are June 1 - November 30.
2. Warm ocean waters "feed" the storm.
3. Hurricanes do not occur the entire year because in the winter the ocean
temperatures are not warm enough for hurricanes to form.
4. Convection occurs because heat rises.
5. Hurricanes usually "die" shortly after reaching shore because
there is no warm water to keep them going.
6. Hurricane wind speeds have been recorded as high as 200 mph.
7. A tropical storm is not classified as a hurricane until winds reach 74 mph.
8. The storm surge would have been 20 ft. (23 - 3).
9. Storm surge is worst during high tide.
10. A hurricane watch is issued when a hurricane could hit an area within a few
11. 1997 Prediction column has the most named storms.
12. 1997 Prediction has the most intense hurricanes.
13. The prediction for 1997 is above average
Fall 97 - Clouds: Where Would We Be Without Them?
1. False. Clouds can be composed of water droplets, ice crystals, or a
combination of both.
2. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air.
3. Cloud nuclei
4. False. Clouds form from cooling as water vapor condenses.
High clouds are composed of ice crystals.
Middle clouds are composed of a combination of ice crystals and water droplets.
Low clouds are composed of water droplets.
6. True. Fog is a low cloud with its base at the earth's surface.
8. False. Air in the upper atmosphere (of the troposphere) is cool and thin.
9. If clouds did not exist there would be no rain, snow, thunder, lightning, or
Winter 97 - Let It Snow!
1. Unlike snow grains, pellets are brittle, crunchy, and they bounce or break
apart upon hitting a hard surface.
2. Sleet turns back into ice before striking the surface because it refreezes
while falling through the deep freezing layer. Freezing rain does not refreeze
until it hits the surface.
3. Low temperatures with winds above 30 knots.
4. Flurries come from cumulus clouds. Snow squalls either fall from cumuliform,
nimbostratus, or altostratus.
5. Most precipitation, year round, begins as snow in the upper atmosphere.
8. freezing rain
9. Use encyclopedias or storm data reports to obtain storm data for states. You
may also contact the SERCC at (803) 737-0849.
Spring 98 - El Nino's Impacts on the Southeast US
1. Student answer. See http://water.dnr.state.sc.us/climate/sercc/el_nino.html
2. Above normal precipitation
3. Columbia - 26.55 Birmingham - 30.88 Richmond - 27.02 Atlanta - 27.79 Miami -
21.79 Raleigh - 28.33
4. Columbia - 19.85 Birmingham - 25.46 Richmond - 16.44 Atlanta - 23.52 Miami -
10.97 Raleigh - 17.16
5. Above normal
6. Student answer
8. Student answer
9. Above normal precipitation during winter months
Summer 98 - Acid Rain
1. Acid rain became a problem during the industrial revolution.
2. Unpolluted rain has a pH of 5.6.
3. The strongest acid would have a pH of 0.
4. No, It is not likely that the pH of rain water collected anywhere would have
a pH of 7.
This is because distilled water, once in contact with the air, becomes slightly
acidic, around 5.6, due to the absorption of carbon dioxide.
5. The major cause of acid rain is the burning of fossil fuels.
6. The main chemicals that cause acid rain are sulfur dioxide (SO2), and
nitrogen oxides (NOx).
7. The gases can be produced naturally. Natural sources include swamps,
volcanoes, oceans and lightning.
8. The combination of acid rain and dry deposited acid is called acid
9. Animals that live near lakes may depend on aquatic animals as a primary food
source. If aquatic animals are killed from acid rain, the other animals will
suffer from food loss.
10. One way acid rain effects trees is by washing essential nutrients out of
the soil. Another way trees are effected is by dry deposition. Acids clog the
stomata in the leaves of trees, hindering photosynthesis.
11. Historic monuments are being eaten away by acid rain.
12. Acid rain effects human health with respiratory problems including asthma
13. Acid rain causes haze that decreases visibility.
14. Acid rain is a regional problem because the pollutants that are emitted out
of smoke stacks are blown by the wind. The areas that receive acid rain may not
be those where the air pollution is created.
15. New vehicles sold in the United States are required to have catalytic
converters that reduce the pollution from exhaust fumes. Alternative energy
sources are also being explored. Sulfur may be washed out of coal before it is
burned. Sulfur may be washed out of the smoke before it is released from the
16. Two ways to reduce the effects of acid rain are to Conserve energy and car
Fall 98 - La Nina
1. There is typically less precipitation during La Nina years.
2. The month of April has the least amount of precipitation.
3. The normal amount of precipitation for the month of December is just over
two inches, for January and Febuary the precipitation is almost 3.5 inches.
4. The La Nina years of 1903 and 1904 had the least precipitaion.
5. April has the lowest normal precipitation.
6. Slightly Warmer temperatures are indicated in the chart.
8. 1949 - 1950.
10. Student's Answer
11. Student's Answer
12. Yes, this map portrays the drier than normal conditions characteristic
during La Nina events in the Southeast United States.
Winter 98 - Lightning
1. About 26 People
4. Because they have more thunderstorms than the other states
6. In Open Fields
7. They could have crouched on the ground with their head down and only their
feet touching the ground
8. About 15 People (Must add "Under Trees" column and
"Golfing/Under Trees" columns together)
9. About 3 people
10. About 54 People (Add all columns together)
11. Stepped Leaders (From Diagram)
12. Conductivity refers to the ability of a substance to carry electricity.
13. Cloud-to-ground lightning is the most dangerous to people because it has
the power to damage people and the things they value.
14. Updrafts are upward-moving air currents found inside thunderstorms.
Downdrafts are downward-moving air currents found inside thunderstorms.
15. Thunder occurs because of the rapid heating of the air around a lightning
flash. The heating is so intense and sudden, that the air molecules near a
lightning flash explode and create the sound waves we hear as thunder.
16. Five miles. To compute this, just take the number of seconds between the
time you spot the lightning flash and the time you hear the thunder (25), and
divide by five.
17. It is dangerous because water is a very good conductor of electricity.
18. This is especially dangerous because not only are you standing in an open
field, but you are also holding a metal club which conducts electricity.
19. Light waves travel more quickly than sound waves. This is why we see
lightning faster than we hear thunder.
20. About 100
Spring 1999, The Hydrologic Cycle
- The hydrologic cycle is the circulation and recycling of the earth's
- It has the ability to exist in three forms: solid (ice), liquid, and gas
- As molecules get warmer, they move faster.
- Seventy percent of the earth's surface is covered in water.
- Evaporation is the physical process that occurs when water is transformed
from a liquid into a gas.
- As altitude increases, temperature decreases.
- Evaporation from the stems and leaves of plants is called transpiration.
- Winds move water vapor around the earth.
- When the air becomes saturated precipitation occurs.
- Four types of precipitation are: rain, snow, sleet, and hail.
- The water that is stored under ground moves slowly, eventually surfacing.
- Click here for a
Summer 1999 - Hurricane Tracking
Click here for the plotted track
of hurricane Floyd.
Fall 1999 - The Greenhouse Effect
1. Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), water vapor.
2. Greenhouse gases are transparent to incoming shortwave
radiation from the sun, but block outgoing longwave radiation from the earth
back into space.
3. 33 degrees Celsius or 59 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Increasing population (as well as cars, cattle, rice
paddies, etc.) deforestation, and the combustion of fossil fuels.
5. Laws have been created to limit their availability.
6. Methane is produced in places where oxygen is scarce
such as swamps, bogs and rice paddies. Methane is also produced in the
intestinal tracts of cattle and sheep.
8. Carbon dioxide is released when organic material is
burned or decays. In addition, Carbon Dioxide is absorbed by forests.
9. The industrial revolution is the point in time when the
combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and petroleum) became
characteristic of industrial societies. This has raised the amount of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at a great rate.
10. From the mid-nineteenth century to 1994, there was an increase of
more than 25% of the carbon dioxide in the air.
Winter 1999 - The Earth's Atmosphere
1. The atmosphere provides oxygen for living things to
breath, and protection from solar radiation.
2. Nitrogen and Oxygen
3. Permanent gases comprise a set percentage of the
atmosphere. The composition of variable gases vary.
4. Temperature, gases present, and electric properties.
6. The rate at which temperature decreases with
7. troposphere, tropopause, stratosphere, stratopause,
mesosphere, mesopause, thermosphere, exosphere.
8. A temperature inversion is when temperature increases
with height rather than decreases.
9. A temperature inversion exists in the stratosphere
because of the large quantity of ozone present there.
Spring 2000 - Mapping the Weather
Answers to isotherm and isobar maps
1. Weather maps aid in the visualization of the changes in
weather over space, as well as how fast storm systems are moving
2. Interpolation is the technique used to estimate various
weather variables at locations where observations are not available by using
the closest available observations.
3. Interpolation is necessary because weather variables
are continuous. The number of weather variables are limited, however, due
to the fact that there are a limited number of stations that record weather
4. Isobars are lines on a map that connect points of equal
5. Isotherms are lines on a map that connect points of
6. A) Isotherms generally run east to west because
latitude plays a large part in controlling temperature variations. B)
There are exceptions to this rule, of course, since other factors that control
temperatures include land and water, ocean currents, and elevation.
Temperatures vary between coastal locations and inland locations. Temperatures
may also vary due to warm or cold ocean currents. Since temperature decreases
with height, mountainous areas often have a lower temperature than areas with
relatively flat terrain.
Summer 2000 - Understanding Weather Maps
3. A Front
5. A. 75
D. 21-25 mph
E. Northwesterly (from the northwest)
6. Answer will vary depending on station used.
Fall 2000 - Introduction to Drought
Winter 2000 - No Business like Snow Business
Spring 2001 - Earth Sun Geometry
1. The earth is farthest from the sun at aphelion, which currently falls on
July 5. On this day, earth is 152 million kilometers from the sun.
2. The earth is closest to the sun at perihelion, which falls on January 5
currently. Because the seasons are opposite from the Northern hemisphere
in the Southern hemisphere due to the tilt of the earth, January 5 is
during the Southern hemisphere’s summer.
3. Havana, Cuba is located at 23.1300 degrees North. December 21 is the
December solstice, when 23.5 degrees North receives its minimum
number of hours of sunlight. According to the diagram on daylength, 23.5
degrees North receives about 10.8 hours of sunlight on December 21.
Because Havana is very near that latitude, it receives about 10.8 hours
of sunlight on that date.
4. Boulder, Colorado is located at about 40 degrees North latitude. June 21
is the date of the June solstice. Looking at the diagram for daylength
and latitude, we see that at 40 degrees North during the June solstice,
latitudes of 40 degrees North receive about 14.9 hours of daylight. We
can also find this by using the table.
5. March 21 is the date of the vernal equinox, when all latitudes on earth
receive 12 hours of daylight regardless of latitude. Thus Sydney receives
12 hours of daylight even though it is in the Southern hemisphere (33.9
6. Toronto is located in the Northern hemisphere. Santiago is in the Southern
hemisphere. The Northern hemisphere receives more intense sunlight in June
due to the tilt of the planet towards the sun at this time. Thus, Toronto
receives more intense sunlight.
7. At 66.5 degrees South extending to the South Pole (90 degrees), there will
be 24 hours of sunlight on December 21, the December solstice.
8. Even though there is 24 hours of daylight on December 21 at 66.5 S, this
light is shining at an angle that spreads the beam out, making it less intense.
Think back to the flashlight analogy: as the angle increases, the area covered
by the sunlight increases, but the intensity of the light decreases. Thus,
even though there is 24 hours of daylight, this latitude is not receiving
direct sunlight, and will still be cold. With sunlight, quality is as
important as quantity.
9. If the earth were tilted 40 degrees, the effect of the seasons would be
greater. Winters would be colder, summers would be warmer. The polar regions
would heat up more during the summer, and their icecaps could melt more. In
the winter, more of the earth would be in 24 hour darkness. The Arctic circle
would be located at 50 degrees North and above, instead of 66.5 degrees North
10. Our seasons would be reversed. Summer in the Northern hemisphere would occur
during the months of December, January, and February; winter would occur in
June, July, and August. This same switch would occur in the Southern hemisphere.