Harrison WorldLAB Symposium

Topic:Thunderstorms
 
Group Members:Mary, Josh, Lindsey
 
Question guiding the project: What are thunderstorms and how do they effect?
 
Overview of the three required learning activities:
1.Visit WXIA T.V station
2.Visit HHS'S weather room( talk to Dr. Stickle)
3.Go visit KSU( talk to a professor)
 
Findings (list):
1. In general, a local storm invariably produced by a cumulonimbus cloud and is always accompanied by lightning and thunder.
2. Thunderstorms are formed when warm air rises into cold air, resulting in cumulus and cumulonimbus cloud forms.
3. They effect us in many ways, and can cause severe damage.
4. They can be as basic as a thundershower which has light rain and is accompanied by light thunder and lightning, however they can progress to a thunderstorm which contains winds up to 30-40 mph. and hail - this can also lead to a severe thunderstorm with wind gusts up to 50 mph., heavy rain, lightning, and typically hail.
5. Everywhere except the Arctic.
6. Spring and summer- In Georgia spring in March, April, and May. But they can occur at any time of the year.
7. The Plain States (Central Plains).
8. Though it varies considerably a thunderstorm can average from a single clap to an all-day affair.
9. Yes. Wind, hail, floods, lightning, and tornadoes.
10. Doppler Radar detects wind velocity and rain- not for thunderstorms but they have a F1-5 scale for tornadoes (1 being the smallest and 5 being the worst).
Conclusion: How was question answered?:
Even the smallest thunderstorm is dangerous because it produces lightning, which is the second leading cause of weather deaths in the United states behind floods, and many of the flash floods that cause most flood deaths come from thunderstorms. Nearly 2,000 thunderstorms are estimated to be present over the planent at any given time. Moreover it is estimated that globally there are 16 million thunderstorms each year. The National Weather Service estimates taht 100,000 occur in the United States each year. Of these 10,000 are classified as severe with hail of at least 3/4 inches in diameter, winds faster than 58 mph or tornadoes. Futhermore what thunderstorms lack in size, they can make up in violence
 
Questions raised for further study:
1. How does meteorology relate to thunderstorms?
2. Are tornadoes the worst natural disaster that occur from thunderstorms?
3. What other names or types of clouds are there that relate to a thunderstorm( besides cumulus or cumulonimbus)?
4. How much electricity is packed into an average thunderstorm?
5. Is hail always a part of a severe thunderstorm?
6. What is the difference in severe thunderstorms and just regular thunder storms?
7. What is the most common thunderstorm?