The New Childrens Encyclopedia

54

Extreme

weather

These days we can watch the weather from

space and even forecast it, but the one thing

we cannot do is control it. Weather is one of

the great powers on our Earth and in its extreme

form is an awesome, deadly natural force.

 THUNDERSTORMS Huge storms form

when warm air rises and cools, causing huge

clouds to grow higher and higher. As the water

vapor cools, it falls down as heavy rain.

EARTH

HURRICANE

Also known as

cyclones and typhoons,

these enormous swirling storms

rip away buildings and wash away

roads. In 2005, the 175 mph

(280 km/h) winds of Hurricane

Katrina caused catastrophic

flooding in New Orleans,

Louisiana, killing over 1,500 people.

 LIGHTNING High up in a thunder cloud

icy raindrops collide and create an electric

charge. The bottom of the cloud is negatively

charged and the top is positive. Electricity jumps

between the two and that’s lightning.

 FLOOD Flooding causes more damage and

kills more people than any other catastrophe

caused by extreme weather. In 1997, more

than 250,000 people were driven from their

homes in Bangladesh.

(c) 2012 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.(c) 2012 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.