Transcript Severe Storms - yr10geography

Severe Storms
• Severe storms are Australia’s most common
natural hazard.
•They are localised disturbances in the
atmosphere accompanied by thunder, lightning
rain, snow or hail.
•They can occur anywhere in Australia and are
responsible for more damage (as measured by
insurance costs) than tropical cyclones,
bushfires or earthquakes.
How do storms develop?
• Storms develop when warm moist air rises rapidly in an
unstable atmosphere.
• Sometimes this upward movement is initiated by the
passage of a cold front.
• On other occasions (often in summer), the heating of the
earths surface is enough to start the rapid upward
movement of the air.
• Most of these storms do not reach the level of intensity
needed to produce widespread damage, but they all
produce lightning, which can cause death, injury and
damage.
• Sometimes they are accompanied by hail, wind gusts and
flash flooding.
Paraglider survives being sucked into storm
ABC NEWS Friday, February 16, 2007.
A German paraglider pilot survived a rapid climb to around 30,000 feet
after being sucked into a storm cell near Tamworth in northern New
South Wales earlier this week.
A Chinese paraglider pilot died at the same time in similar
circumstances.
Paragliding expert and the organiser of next week's world paragliding
championships near Tamworth, Godfrey Weness, says the event it is
similar to climbing Mount Everest in less than 15 minutes.
"She was covered in ice all over her body and her harness and
equipment - it's minus 40 to minus 50 degrees at that altitude," he
said.
"There's no oxygen - she could have potentially suffered brain damage
and other issues to do with hypoxia."
Mr Weness says the paraglider was unconscious for around an hour.
"She had ice secretion all over her body, the wing was covered in ice,
internally as well," he said.
"She's got severe frost bite over her face and coming out in blisters."
The woman was taken to hospital but discharged shortly after..
Draw diagram 4.2b on pg 89.