TERRIFYING NATURAL PHENOMENAS

WATERSPOUT

Generally, experts agree that a waterspout is a tornado occurring

over water. Specifically, it normally refers to a small, relatively

weak rotating column of air over water. Waterspouts are most

common over tropical or subtropical waters.

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

Some have described it as earth’s vomit but this intimidating

yet equally impressive natural phenomenon has been responsible

for one of the biggest natural disasters of all time. Of course

we’re referring to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, during which

Pompeii (and its 35,000 citizens) disappeared forever.

TSUNAMI

Tsunamis are giant tidal waves caused by earthquakes or

volcanic eruptions under the sea and have become

particularly famous worldwide after the 2004 Indian Ocean

earthquake and tsunami. This disastrous calamity cost the

lives of about 280,000 people in one of the deadliest

natural disasters in modern history.

TROPICAL CYCLONE

A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists

to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and

thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical

waters and has closed, low-level circulation. They can reach

a sustained wind capacity of at least 74 miles per hour. The

most intense wind speed capacity ever recorded is 200

miles per hour (320 km/h) in Hurricane Patricia in 2015.

TORNADO

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in

contact with both the earth’s surface and a

cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a

cumulus cloud. Tornadoes have frequently been the cause

of multiple disasters, including the loss of human life and

they are often called twisters or cyclones, even though the

word cyclone is used more widely in meteorology to identify

any closed, low-pressure circulation system.

SUPERCELL

A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence

of a mesocyclone, which is a deep, constantly rotating updraft.

Because of this, these storms are sometimes referred to as

rotating thunderstorms, and trust us when we say you

don’t want to take a “ride” on one of them.

SQUALL LINE

A squall line is a line of thunderstorms that can form along or

ahead of a cold front. In the early twentieth century, the term

was used as a synonym for a cold front. It contains heavy

precipitation, hail, frequent lightning, strong straight-line

winds, and possibly tornadoes and waterspouts.

POLAR VORTEX

A polar vortex is a large pocket of very cold air, which sits

over a polar region during the winter. There are two polar

vortices on planet Earth, one around the North Pole and one

around the South Pole. Bonus fact, Saturn’s south pole is the

only place in our solar system to host a hot polar vortex.

LIGHTNING

Lightning is a sudden electrostatic discharge during an

electrical storm between electrically charged regions of a

cloud, between one cloud and another cloud, or between a

cloud and the ground (the so-called CG lightning that has

killed many people). They might look fascinating but

lightning strikes have been responsible for killing numerous

people including a whole African soccer team.