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'Frankenstorm':
Worse Than Sum of Its Parts
WASHINGTON- The storm that is threatening 60 million Americans in the eastern third of the nation with high winds, drenching rains, extreme tides, flooding and probably snow is much more than just an ordinary weather system. It's a freakish and unprecedented monster.
How did it get that way?
Start with Sandy, an ordinary late summer hurricane from the tropics, moving north up the East Coast. Bring in a high pressure ridge of air that blocks the hurricane's normal out-to-sea path and steers it west toward land.
Add a wintry cold front moving in from the west that helps pull Sandy inland and mix in a blast of Arctic air from the north for one big collision.
Do all that and you get a stitched-together weather monster expected to unleash its power over 800 miles, with predictions in some areas of 12 inches of rain, 2 feet of snow and sustained 40- to 50 mph winds.
On Thursday, NOAA forecaster Jim Cisco called it "Frankenstorm", an allusion to Mary Shelley's gothic creature of synthesized elements.
Cisco and others have called this storm unprecedented.
Reading and vocabulary questions, (register in Voxy, it's free and safe) and click the link to know the meaning of these highlighted vocabulary words, to listen to their pronunciation, and for some online comprehenion questions. Memory game: practise matching these words to their meanings using memory cards.
PHRASE
To be 'in the eye of the storm'. If someone is 'in the eye of the storm' it means that they are in the centre of a disagreement.For example:
-Greece is in the eye of the storm which has gathered over the world economy and is threatening to tear the eurozone apart.
-Our teacher is making us sit our exams again. Johnny was caught in the eye of the storm after he boasted about cheating.
Don't confuse it with
Another phrase based on meteorology is 'lull before the storm'. That means a quiet time before one of intense activity.
The shop assistants took advantage of the lull before the storm and tidied up the hat display. They knew the moment the doors opened they would be flooded with bargain-hunters.
Interesting fact
Although this phrase is used to describe being at the centre of a problem or dispute, the real 'eye' of a storm is very calm. The eye - a circular area in the middle of a hurricane, which can be up to 65km in diameter - is characterized by light winds and clear skies, which last for a short period before the strong winds, rain and thunder return.
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