Severe weather

A ________________ is an intense storm with strong winds, heavy rain, lightning, and thunder.

• tornado

• hurricane

• thunderstorm

Electricity may flow within the cloud also flow between the cloud and the ground. These electrical currents are _________________.

• thunder

• particles

• lightning

When lightning moves through the air, the air gets very hot. The hot air expands rapidly. As it expands, it makes the air vibrate. These vibrations release energy in the form of sound waves called ______________.

• thunder

• particles

• lightning

A _________ can from when a rapidly spinning column of low pressure air, called a funnel cloud touches the ground.

• thunderstorm

• hurricane

• tornado

A tornado begins as a ___________ cloud that pokes through the bottom of a cumulonimbus cloud.

• cirrus

• cumulus

• funnel

• stratus

A _____________ is a large, rotating low-pressure system that forms over the warm waters of oceans near the equator.

• tornado

• hurricane

• thunderstorm

• flooding

Lightning heats the air so much that the air expands. The sound created by the sudden expansion and contraction is called _______________________.

• expansion

• thunder

• radar

• lightning

Most hurricanes

• cannot be seen from space

• cross exposed land

• become dangerous category 5 storms

• lose their power when they move into cooler waters or moves over land

Winds are generated when air flows from a high pressure area into a ____.

• region of intense moisture

• cold front

• low pressure area

• storm that is already in progress

Thunderstorms form along a cold front

• True

• False