Severe Storms By: Olivia McRitchie & Kyle Walker

Severe Thunderstorms ● Thunderstorms produce lightning, which kills more people each year than tornadoes. ● Heavy rain from thunderstorms can lead to flash flooding. ● Thunderstorms may cause tornadoes.

Tornadoes ● Houses, when hit by a tornado, will be demolished. Nearby houses may be left untouched (or maybe not). ● Cars can be lifted and thrown. Smaller items have been carried tens of miles by tornado winds. ● Debris may be weak and may collapse after the tornado has passed, presenting a different hazard.

Hurricanes ● Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. ● Flooding causes major damage to lower floors of all structures near the shoreline. ● "The greatest potential for loss of life related to a hurricane is from the storm surge." - Brian Jarvinen, National Hurricane Center

Monsoon ● lightning strikes, high winds, wildfires, tornadoes, flash flooding and extreme heat have caused an average of 10 deaths and 60 injuries along with tens of millions of dollars of damage each year. ● Monsoon season brings much awaited relief to the Indian economy which depends 80% on monsoon for their crops export. Pakistan is dependent on monsoon rainfall for its water and electricity production.

Blizzard ● Visibility is limited to short distances due to the snow, ice and other particles in the air, causing whiteouts which are potentially dangerous to motorists as visibility might even be reduced to zero. This occurrence tend to be less serious in developed areas where buildings break the wind. Blizzards would usually have strong cold winds blowing, that would rapidly reduce the temperature of anything it contacts, when people and animals do not usually live long in blizzard conditions mostly due to the freezing cold wind.

Sandstorm ● In the Middle East, sandstorms can crop up and stay there for up to three months. ● They frequently cause auto accidents as a result of the blinding effect of the sand. ● High winds lift dirt particles or, in the case of sandstorms, sand, into the air, unleashing a turbulent, suffocating cloud of particulates and reducing visibility to almost nothing in a matter of seconds.