Dramatic
weather events are natural Earth processes and occur around the world
every day. Since their impact on humans and the environment can be
quite extreme, it is important to know what causes these events and
how people can remain safe when faced with them. However, we do not
have all the answers about how and why dramatic weather events unfold
as they do. Thus, researchers study these varied phenomena with a variety
of techniques ranging from computer modeling to storm chasing.
Follow the links below to learn more about different types of wild
weather.
Hurricanes and typhoons
The only type of severe weather event that we name individually,
these are among Earth’s largest and fiercest storms. Each
storm is able to, for a week or more, travel thousands of miles
stirring seas, toppling
trees, and leveling buildings.
Tornadoes and waterspouts
Called tornadoes over land and waterspouts over ocean, these wild weather
events churn air at the fastest speeds ever recorded on Earth. While
they are often short-lived, often only existing for a few minutes,
the intense winds and flying debris from tornadoes can destroy everything
in their path.
Thunderstorms
These storms are common in the spring and summer when there is warm
air near the ground and cool air above. Small thunderstorms may only
exist
for an hour while large Supercell storms can last for several hours
spawning tornadoes, hail, intense lightning, and flash flooding.
Blizzards
Waking up in the morning to find a fresh white blanket of snow coating
the ground may be commonplace in many areas, occurring several times
each winter, yet it remains an exciting surprise since predicting winter
storms is not easy.
