Global Geography 12
Reading Guide Atmospheric Hazards pages 81 – 85
1. What are atmospheric hazards?
2. What causes front storms?
3. When two air masses are very different, what is the result?
4. What unusual condition caused the Great Ice Storm of 1998?
5. How long did the freezing rain last?
6. What kinds of damage were caused by the ice?
7. Describe how people were affected by the storm.
8. What conditions are needed for tropical cyclones to develop?
9. What are two other names for tropical cyclones?
10. How many deaths are caused by tropical cyclones in an average year?
11. Where do tropical cyclones form?
12. What are the two reasons that theses storms cause damage?
13. What problems occur even after the storm has stopped?
14. What is a tornado?
15. Where do tornadoes form?
16. What two conditions are needed for a tornado to form?
17. Why do hurricanes cause more deaths, even though tornadoes have
higher wind speeds?
18. What causes most floods?
19. What kind of river is most likely to flood?
20. What causes seasonal flooding?
21. Define storm surge.
22. What are droughts?
23. What is the almost inevitable effect of drought?
24. What makes drought one of the most important types of natural disaster?
25. What are three long term effects of drought?
Global Geography 12
Reading Guide Atmospheric Hazards pages 81 – 85
ANSWER KEY
1. What are atmospheric hazards?
They are extreme developments of normal weather patterns.
2. What causes front storms?
They are caused by the collision of different air masses.
3. When two air masses are very different, what is the result?
When the air masses are very different, the storms have more intense winds and
precipitation.
4. What unusual condition caused the Great Ice Storm of 1998?
The jet stream split into two separate streams.
5. How long did the freezing rain last?
It was about 6 days.
6. What kinds of damage were caused by the ice?
1300 transmission towers and 35 000 power poles were damaged. Thousands of
trees were damaged. $500 million in damages to property. Billions of lost income
in farms and businesses
7. Describe how people were affected by the storm.
The Red Cross assisted 130 000 people in one week
People were forced to live in shelters or were isolated in cold homes
1.6 million people lost electricity
25 people died from fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia or falling
ice
8. What conditions are needed for tropical cyclones to develop?
They require high temperatures and large quantities of water vapour
9. What are two other names for tropical cyclones?
In the Atlantic Ocean: hurricanes, in the Pacific Ocean: typhoons (In the Indian
Ocean: cyclones)
10. How many deaths are caused by tropical cyclones in an average year?
15 000 people each year
11. Where do tropical cyclones form?
Develop over oceans (near the equator, although this isn’t mentioned in the text)
12. What are the two reasons that theses storms cause damage?
High winds destroy property and heavy rains cause flooding, contaminate food
and water, spread disease and cause landslides.
13. What problems occur even after the storm has stopped?
Diseases, food and water supply interruptions, landslides…
14. What is a tornado?
It’s a small, but very intense low pressure (rising air) systems.
15. Where do tornadoes form?
Over land in middle latitudes
16. What two conditions are needed for a tornado to form?
Warm humid, air rising over cooler air and winds blowing from opposite
directions
17. Why do hurricanes cause more deaths, even though tornadoes have
higher wind speeds?
Tornadoes occur in small random areas (smaller extent)
Hurricanes have longer duration (affects afterward as well)
Hurricane deaths are not just due to winds, but also flooding
18. What causes most floods?
Seasonal rains (spring when snow melts plus rain), coastal flooding due to storm
surge
19. What kind of rivers is most likely to flood?
Old meandering (curving) rivers with broad flood plains
20. What causes seasonal flooding?
Monsoon climates
21. Define storm surge.
A rise in sea level due to low pressure (Think of a vacuum over the ocean)
22. What are droughts?
Extended periods of little or no precipitation
23. What is the almost inevitable effect of drought?
Famine due to crop failure
24. What makes drought one of the most important types of natural disaster?
Prolonged death causes more death and long term suffering than other disasters
25. What are three long term effects of drought?
Disruption of families, loss of agricultural land and degradation of the
environment