Table
of Contents

The Weather Book by Michael Oard

Lesson 9

Chapter 8 (pp. 60–63)

Textbook

The Weather Book, by Michael Oard.

Text

Wild Weather (pp. 60–63)

Vocabulary Words

chinook
winds
Santa Ana
winds
St. Elmo’s Fire
ball lightning

Discussion Questions

1. Locate the vocabulary words in the glossary and write the definition for each.
2. When does ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ normally occur?
3. What causes the continuous rainfall at Mt. Waialeale?
4. Which American State has both a rain forest and a desert?
5. What is a foehn (föhn) wind?
6. What cloud type makes up the foehn wall?
7. What are foehn winds called in the United States?
8. What damages can chinooks cause?
9. Describe the effect an Arctic cold front has on the Great Lakes area.
10. Describe a ‘lake effect snowstorm’.
11. Describe ‘ball lightning’.

Answer Key

1. See glossary.
2. It occurs during the last phases of a violent thunderstorm.
3. Trade winds pick up great amounts of water vapor as they blow across the Pacific Ocean. The water vapor condenses as the winds move up the mountainside, forming clouds that quickly develop into thunderstorms.
4. Washington.
5. A relatively warm and dry wind that is descending down a mountain front.
6. Cumulus.
7. Chinooks (a native American word meaning ‘snow eater’).
8. They can fan grass fires out of control. They can blow vehicles off the road or damage homes. They can cause rapid condensation of water vapor, leading to lowered driver visibility as car windows turn white.
9. Arctic cold fronts cause high evaporation rates, triggering heavy snowstorms once they hit land.
10. Winds blowing from the west pick up moisture as they cross the Great Lakes, and cause snowstorms in places up to 100 miles (160 km) downwind from the Lakes.
11. It is a glowing ball of electricity that occasionally forms during thunderstorms.