Weather Patterns and Severe Storms Webquest

Use the links to answer the questions that follow with your webquest partner. You will write all of the answers on one sheet of paper with both of your
names on the paper. Each of you will be responsible for half of the questions written in your own handwriting, therefore you could chose to answer every
other question or to answer the first half and then the second half.

What is an air mass?

1. What is an air mass?
2. What is the difference between a tropical and polar air mass?

What Causes High Pressure?

3. What causes an air mass to have high pressure?
4. What direction do air currents travel around a high pressure system?

What Causes Low Pressure?

5. What causes an air mass to have low pressure?
6. What direction do air currents travel around a low pressure system?

What’s Happening Inside Highs and Lows?

7. What type of weather is typically associated with high and low pressure systems? Why is this
the case?

Warm Fronts
8. When a warm front moves through an area, what will happen to the temperature?
9. Look at the first diagram. There are two temperatures written in blue (28 and 31). These
numbers will change once the warm front moves through. What do you think the temperatures
will change to? Why?

Cold Fronts
10. When a cold front moves through an area, what will happen to the temperature?
11. Look at the first diagram. There are two temperatures written in red (55 and 62). These
numbers will change once the cold front moves through. What do you think the temperatures
will change to? Why?

Occluded Fronts
12. What is an occluded front?
13. What will happen to the temperature once an occluded front moves through?

Fujita Scale
14. What kind of storms are classified on the Fujita Scale?
15. Are most tornadoes weak, strong, or violent?
16. Are most tornado-related deaths from weak, strong, or violent tornadoes?

Tornado Alley
17. What 19 states make up tornado alley? (abbreviations are fine)

Tornadoes in the United States

18. Which state gets the most tornadoes per square mile?
US Tornado Climatology
19. Where in the world can tornadoes happen?
20. Where in the world are tornadoes most likely to happen?

Hurricane Watches and Warnings

21. What is the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning?

What Can't We Stop Hurricanes?

22. Why can't we stop hurricanes?

Intensity Scales
23. Which intensity scale is used for hurricanes?
24. If a hurricane has wind speeds of 103 mph, what category storm is it?

Isotherm Map (use the map of the Canada provided by your teacher)
25. What is an isotherm? (the answer is not on this website)
26. Label Truro on the map.
27. Use coloured pencils to draw in the isotherms on your map. It does not matter which colors
you use. Just make sure that they match your key (you need to have a key).

On the top of the screen, click on "System."

28. Draw any fronts that you see.
29. Draw any H's and L's that you see.