Extreme Weather Explained
Discover what drives storms, floods, and extreme heat—and how weather conditions affect everyday life.
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Questions with solutions-
1. 正しい答えを選んでください。
Why do you see the lightning before hearing the thunder?
During a storm, you see a flash of lightning. A few seconds later, you hear thunder.
- Thunder begins only after the lightning has ended.
- Light travels much faster than sound.
- The lightning occurs much closer to you than the thunder does.
Think about how the two signals reach you.
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- Light travels much faster than sound.
Lightning heats the surrounding air so suddenly that it expands, producing the sound we call thunder.
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2. 空欄を埋めてください。
Inside a thundercloud, layers of ice build up around small frozen drops. The resulting large balls of ice fall as ___.
- sleet
- snow
- hail
These ice balls grow inside the storm cloud before falling.
Show solution
Inside a thundercloud, layers of ice build up around small frozen drops. The resulting large balls of ice fall as hail.
Strong upward air currents can hold hailstones inside a cloud while more water freezes onto them.
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3. 正しい答えを選んでください。
What is this period of weather called?
For several days, temperatures remain far above what is usual for this area.
- A heat wave
- A heat index
- A drought
The term names a lasting hot period, rather than a measurement or a water shortage.
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- A heat wave
What counts as a heat wave depends on the location: a temperature that is ordinary in one region may be unusually hot in another.
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4. 空欄を埋めてください。
Intense rain sends water rushing through a dry inland valley within minutes. This rapid flooding is called a ___.
- tidal flood
- flash flood
- storm surge
Notice both the speed of the flooding and its inland location.
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Intense rain sends water rushing through a dry inland valley within minutes. This rapid flooding is called a flash flood.
Rain falling upstream can cause a flash flood farther down a valley, even where the sky is clear.
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5. 正しい答えを選んでください。
How does the ocean help power a hurricane?
Hurricanes usually develop over warm ocean water and often weaken after moving over land.
- Cold water forces the surrounding air to rise and supplies the storm's energy.
- Ocean currents directly transfer their circular motion to the air.
- Warm water supplies heat and moisture to the air.
Consider what passes from the ocean surface into the atmosphere.
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- Warm water supplies heat and moisture to the air.
When water vapor turns into cloud droplets, it releases heat that can help the storm grow.
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6. 正しい答えを選んでください。
Which process helps explain why the city stays warmer?
After a sunny day, a city remains warmer than the nearby countryside long after sunset.
- Buildings and pavement release heat stored during the day.
- Trees release stored daytime heat more slowly than concrete does.
- Pavement continues reflecting sunlight into the air after sunset.
A surface can stay warm after its energy source disappears.
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- Buildings and pavement release heat stored during the day.
This urban heat island effect is often noticeable at night, when nearby rural areas cool more quickly.
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7. 正しい答えを選んでください。
What could make these conditions a blizzard?
No new snow is falling, but wind blows loose snow across an open road.
- A large amount of snow on the ground, even with calm winds.
- An unusually low temperature, even with clear air.
- Strong winds and severely reduced visibility lasting several hours.
Consider what blowing snow does to a driver's view.
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- Strong winds and severely reduced visibility lasting several hours.
A ground blizzard involves snow already on the ground; new snowfall is not required.
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8. 正しい答えを選んでください。
Why can high humidity make it harder to stay cool?
On a hot, humid day, sweat stays on your skin instead of drying quickly.
- Sweat cools the body mainly by remaining on the skin as liquid.
- Humid air slows the evaporation that removes heat from the skin.
- Sweat releases heat into the skin as it changes from liquid to vapor.
Changing liquid water into vapor requires energy.
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- Humid air slows the evaporation that removes heat from the skin.
Evaporation uses heat from your skin. Simply having wet skin does not guarantee effective cooling.
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9. 正しい答えを選んでください。
What is the main cause of this rise in sea level?
A hurricane approaches the coast. Seawater rises above its normal level near the shore, even before heavy rain arrives.
- Strong winds push seawater toward the shore.
- Rain from the hurricane rapidly fills the nearby ocean.
- The storm makes the regular high tide arrive several hours early.
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- Strong winds push seawater toward the shore.
This rise is called storm surge. Low air pressure also contributes, but wind usually drives most of the rise.
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10. 空欄を埋めてください。
Liquid raindrops pass through a shallow layer of freezing air. They remain liquid until they hit a cold road and freeze into a smooth coating. This is ___.
- sleet
- hail
- freezing rain
The important detail is where the drops become ice.
Show solution
Liquid raindrops pass through a shallow layer of freezing air. They remain liquid until they hit a cold road and freeze into a smooth coating. This is freezing rain.
Sleet freezes into pellets before landing. Freezing rain can leave a clear, hard-to-see layer of ice on roads.
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11. 正しい答えを選んでください。
How can this wind pattern help a tornado develop?
A thunderstorm forms where wind speed and direction change with height.
- It creates an empty space that pulls air downward from the cloud.
- It can create rotation that a strong upward air current tilts upright.
- It makes warm air sink rapidly through colder air.
Think about how changing winds interact with rising air.
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- It can create rotation that a strong upward air current tilts upright.
Changes in wind with height are called wind shear. They can support rotating storms, but not every rotating storm produces a tornado.
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12. 正しい答えを選んでください。
What can this extra moisture help explain?
Warmer air can contain more water vapor before becoming saturated. A storm may therefore have more moisture available.
- Some storms can produce heavier rainfall when other conditions allow.
- Every storm must produce more rain whenever air temperature rises.
- Rain must continue until all water vapor has left the atmosphere.
Show solution
- Some storms can produce heavier rainfall when other conditions allow.
Rising and cooling air helps form rain clouds, so storm conditions matter as well as the amount of available moisture.