Meteorology
Surface wind is influenced by all but which of the forces: - frictional force - Coriolis force - geostrophic force - pressure gradient force
Geostrophic force
The amount of energy needed to change 1 gram of any substance 1 degree Celsius is called:
Specific heat
This is independent of the amount of substance and can be measured directly:
Temperature
Weather is: - thermodynamics - a heat engine - an energy re-distribution system - an energy dissipation system
Thermodynamics, a heat engine, an energy re-distribution system
Which is not true of jet streams: - they are stronger in the summer - they are farther north in the summer - their strength varies with the ENSO cycle - they strengthen as temperature difference increases
They are stronger in the summer
All but which of the following are true of a dry line: - the move east to west across tornado alley in early spring and summer - they separate moist warm air from dry warm air - they represent a boundary between continental and maritime air masses - they are a trigger for thunderstorm formation
They move east to west across tornado alley in early spring and summer
Objects with this heat up faster and cool off faster than those which do not:
low specific heat
la Nada (normal conditions)
Normal conditions
Land-sea breezes are a result in difference in:
Specific heat
atmospheric rivers
(aka Pineapple express)—a narrow band of intense atmospheric moisture that travels from the tropical Pacific thousands of miles to slam into the west coast of North America. They can carry 10-15x more water than the Mississippi, and deliver intense storms (rain and snow) to California.
Lightning is a result of:
- a step leader meets a connecting leader - differential charges within a cloud - built up electric potential within a cloud
Thunderstorm development is most likely given a LI of:
-2
Velocity Data
-speed -how fast rain/weather is moving towards/away from the radar -faster usually means heavier storm
Given the following wavelengths which body emits the most energy: - 5 microns - 10 microns - 500 microns - 0.5 microns
0.5 microns
After the initial return stroke, the following 2-3 strokes are referred to as:
Dart leader
During the warming of the 21st century, what was found over the middle- and high-latitude land areas in the N. Hemisphere: - 10% increase in precipitation - 15% greater mean temperatures - 20% stronger winds - 15% less moisture in the air
10% increase in precipitation
In order to form a hailstone the size of a baseball, your UVV would have to be at least: - 100 mph - 75 mph - 50 mph - 45 mph
100 mph
dry adiabatic lapse rate
10C/1000m
Dry Line
A boundary between dry and moist air masses
The transfer of energy as work, but not heat:
A change in kinetic energy
From the top of the eye to the citrus shield, an air parcel (check all that apply): - cools adiabatically - warms adiabatically - cools diabatically - warms diabatically
1. Warms adiabatically 2. Cools diabatically
Cold fronts (action?) warm fronts and move (slower or faster?) than warm fronts.
1. Wedge beneath 2. Faster
In the northern hemisphere, which characterizes are true of wind around a high pressure?
1. Wind blows anti-cyclonically 2. Wind blows outward 3. Wind blows downward
In the northern hemisphere, which characterized are true of wind around a low pressure?
1. Wind blows upward 2. Wind blows inward 3. Wind blows cyclonically
What keeps clouds aloft: - upward vertical motion in an unstable atmosphere - latent heat release from the condensation process - the umbrella effect - tiny elephants holding them up
1. upward vertical motion in an unstable atmosphere 2. latent heat release from the condensation process
Which two are used to determine atmospheric instability: - moist adiabatic lapse rate - dew point lapse rate - adiabatic lapse rate - environmental lapse rate
1. Adiabatic lapse rate 2. Environmental lapse rate
Which two are used to determine atmospheric stability:
1. Adiabatic lapse rate 2. Environmental lapse rate
Wind shear can be the result of which if the following (check all that apply): - change in wind speed with height - change in wind direction with height - winds with cyclonic rotation - change in wind speed with distance from a low pressure center
1. Change in wind speed with height 2. Change in wind direction with height
Match each characteristics with the appropriate location: - highest pressure - lowest pressure - fastest winds - slowest winds
1. Eye aloft 2. Eye at the surface 3. Eyewall 4. Eye
Winds in a hurricane: - move cyclonically aloft - move anticyclonically aloft - move cyclonically at the surface - move anticyclonically at the surface
1. Move anticyclonically aloft 2. Move cyclonically at the surface
Warm fronts (what?) cold fronts and move (faster/slower?) than cold fronts.
1. Overrun 2. Slower
The three primary types of thunderstorms:
1. Single cell 2. Multi-cell 3. Supercell
In accordance with Norwegian Frontal Theory, place the steps of the lifecycle of a front in order from initiation to dissipation:
1. Stationary front 2. Incipient wave 3. Open wave 4. Mature initial occlusion 5. Advanced occlusion 6. Cut-off cyclone
Most tornadoes occur in (where?) and most fatalities occur in (where?):
1. Tornado Alley 2. Dixie Alley
To determine if there is a rotation on the ground forecasters use remote sensing tools to look for which of the following: - velocity couplet - hook echo - derecho - bow echo
1. Velocity couplet 2. Hook echo
You see a lightning flash, 10 seconds later you hear thunder. Lightning is:
2 miles away
Dew point adiabatic lapse rate
2C/1000m
Moist/adiabatic lapse rate:
6C/1000m
The minimum upward vertical velocity required to produce precipitation is:
6cm/second
Violent tornadoes make up only 2% of storms, and are responsible for what percentage of tornadic deaths:
70%
According the the American Meteorological Society, confidence in projections of this is the highest:
Temperature
La Nina
A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns.
mid-latitude cyclone
A cyclone that forms in the middle latitudes at the polar front.
The transfer of energy as heat, but not work is:
A diabatic process
bow echo
A line of thunderstorms on a radar screen that appears in the shape of a bow. Bow echoes are often associated with damaging straight-line winds and small tornadoes.
El Nino
A warm ocean current that flows along the coast of Peru every seven to fourteen years
Which of these is the most unstable atmosphere: - a cloudless summer day on the coast - a cold day with a warm front overrunning - a breezy October day - a warm, moist day in July with a cold pool aloft
A warm, moist day in July with a cold pool aloft
All but which of the following is true when air is saturated: - RH=100% - AVP is 100% - evaporation rate = condensation rate - for every molecule that evaporated, one molecule must condense
AVP is 100%
When the ENVLR is less than the MALR, the atmosphere is said to be:
Absolutely stable
The thunderstorm capital of the world is:
Africa
Warm fronts are identified on a weather map in all ways but which of the following: - always comma shaped - half circles point direction front is moving - cold air ahead and warm air behind - can be wavy
Always comma shaped
Geostrophic wind is all but which of the following: - blows directly parallel to isobars - always in perfect balance in nature - a result of PGF and Coriolis forces - theoretical wind
Always in perfect balance in nature
Calorie
Amount of energy needed to raise temperature 1 gram of water 1 degree C
Coriolis force is all but which of the following: - an apparent force - variable with wind speed and latitude - a result of Earth's rotation - an absolute force
An absolute force
Which is an example of an adiabatic process? - solar IR warming the earth - evaporation - condensation - an insulated cylinder in a car engine
An insulated cylinder in a car engine
The difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures in one year at a specific location is called:
Annual Range of Temperature
Winds are geostrophic: - anytime Coriolis is involved - on 500mb charts - at the equator - at the surface
Anytime Coriolis is involved
Tight isobars indicate:
Areas of fastest wind speeds
Numerical weather prediction uses which data source as its primary input data: - balloon sounding data - radar data - ground observations - surface and upper air analysis maps
Balloon sounding data
The lowest pressure of a tornado is found in the:
Center of the tornado
Which of the following is a negative feedback loop? - water vapor greenhouse effect - chemical weathering CO2 feedback - snow albedo feedback - CO2 temperature permafrost feedback
Chemical weathering CO2 feedback
The ITCZ is a result of: - convergence of the trade winds - monsoon - orographic lift - the absence of trade winds as seasons change
Convergence of the trade winds
All but which are a result of downward motion in the atmosphere, or subsidence: - warming due to adiabatic compression - cloud free areas and deserts - clouds and precipitation - TAIR is warmer than its TDEWPT
Cloud free areas and deserts
All but which are a result of upward motion in the atmosphere: - air temperature cools to its TDEWPT - clouds and precipitation - cloud free areas and deserts - cooling due to adiabatic expansion
Cloud free areas and deserts
The most widely used weather prediction tool is:
Computer models
Which is an example of a phase change from higher energy to lower energy? - sublimation - evaporation - condensation - melting
Condensation
If the ENVLR is between the MALR and the DALR, the environment is said to be:
Conditionally unstable
The leading edge of a gust front may lead to a multi-cell storm when the atmosphere is:
Conditionally unstable
All but which of the following is true of a Severe Thunderstorm Warning: - it is happening - take shelter - conditions are favorable - wind speeds > 58 mph - issued by the National Weather Service
Conditions are favorable
The doldrums are a result of all but which of the following: - Coriolis force - warm air - light winds - weak horizontal pressure gradient
Coriolis force
Weather balloon soundings measure all but which of the following: - temperature - dew point - DALR - pressure
DALR
What characteristic differentiates two air masses along a front?
Density
Environmental lapse rate:
Depends on atmospheric conditions
Diurnal temperature
Difference between day & night temperature ex: Paso Robles has the widest swing in California
All but which of the following are lifting mechanisms in the atmosphere: - orographic Lift - dynamic forces - diffluence - convection
Diffluence
According to sociologist Stanley Cohen, climate change denial isn't not knowing, or refusing to know, it is about all but which of the following: - disagreeing with scientists - choosing not to notice climate change - choosing not to talk about climate change - not wanting to rock the in boat group
Disagreeing with scientists
Thunderstorms are the most hazardous during which stage:
Dissipation stage
Law 1 of Thermodynamics
Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can change form
A spaghetti chart is an example of a: - ensemble forecast - short range forecast - surface pressure forecast - upper air forecast
Ensemble forecast
This is used to determine unstable layers in the atmosphere:
Environmental lapse rate
This lapse rate is measured by a radiosonde attached to a weather balloon:
Environmental lapse rate
A rotating column of condensed water vapor that isn't touching the ground is called:
Funnel cloud
Conduction:
Heat transfer by direct contact of solids
Radiation
Heat transferred through space
Wind blows from what to what:
High pressure to low pressure
Energy must be removed from a substance and released into the environment to change from:
Higher energy to lower energy
A unit of measure that describes a force over a given area is called a:
Joule
Which is the absolute temperature scale?
Kelvin
Sensible heat is an example of:
Kinetic energy
Why don't hurricanes form at the equator? - lack of Coriolis force - trade winds - high tropopause heights - too high sea surface temperatures
Lack of Coriolis force
Greenhouse gases are good absorbers of:
Long wave radiation
These clouds are unique in that they are the only ones that form with downward motion:
Mammatus
A heat engine is one in which heat is applied and turned into (check all that apply): - Mechanical energy - Thermal Energy - Thermal work - Cool energy
Mechanical & Thermal Energy
When does maximum environmental instability occur?
Mid-afternoon
Most tornadoes on the N. Hemisphere:
Move SW-NE with a cyclonic rotation
What causes a hook echo on radar?
No precipitation in the updraft
This dominates the increase in energy stored in our climate system between 1971-2010, accounting for more than 90%: - ocean warming - land warming - fossils - clouds
Ocean warming
Air masses may be classified as all but the following: - polar - oceanic - tropical - maritime
Oceanic
Rainshadows are always: - on the leeward side of the mountain - near the ocean - upwind - more moist
On the leeward side of the mountain
Which type of lift plays a primary role in atmospheric rivers depositing precipitation:
Orographic lift
Hurricanes gain the most strength when a strong one of these is present: - outflow jet - rear flank downdraft - wind shear - cold pool
Outflow jet
According to Dr. Mann, humans are responsible for what percentage of the climate change we're seeing, especially when other natural changes are considered?
Over 100%
Ideal Gas Law
PV=nRT
The average kinetic energy of all the molecules in a substance is:
Temperature
From Doppler radar, the next iteration of Radar is Dual-Pol radar, also referred to as:
Polarimetric Radar
Air cools as it rises because of all but which of the following: - molecules move more slowly as air dries out - kinetic energy is reduced - air pressure decreases - potential energy increases
Potential energy increases
Heat is:
Quantity of hotness
Which type of fog occurs near the ground overnight:
Radiation fog
Pacific Northwest thunderstorms occur when there is:
Reverse flow aloft
Graupel forms through which process:
Riming
All but which are the required ingredients for any thunderstorm: - fuel - a trigger - instability - rotating updraft
Rotating updraft
Frozen raindrops are: - sleet - snow - hail - graupel
Sleet
Flash flooding is caused by:
Slow moving thunderstorms
Which substance has the highest albedo: - snow - earth - water - greenhouse gases
Snow
Which is not a characteristic of a high pressure system in the northern hemisphere: - strong atmospheric rivers - winds move in a downward direction - anticyclonic rotation - subsidence
Strong atmospheric rivers
What impact does the season have on the jet stream?
Stronger in the winter
Given the following atmospheric profiles, at which location would a baseball go the farthest? - TAIR 95 Tdp 60 - TAIR 60 Tdp 30 - TAIR 77 Tdp 58 - TAIR 52 Tdp 26
TAIR 77 Tdp 58
wet bulb temperature
The lowest temperature that can be obtained by evaporating water into the air.
Seasons are a result of all but which of the following: - the moons gravitational pull - the tilt of earths axis - earths elliptical orbit - absorption of potential energy from the sun
The moon's gravitational pull
A Bow Echo and inflow notch on radar reflectivity always indicates all but which of the following: - there is a tornado on the ground - book end vortices are present - Coriolis is strengthening the northern most vortex - there is strong inflow jet
There is a tornado on the ground
hook echo
The shape of an echo on a Doppler radar screen that indicates the possible presence of a tornado.
dew point
The temperature at which condensation begins
multicell thunderstorm
Thunderstorms often in a line, each of which may be in a different stage of its life cycle.
What characteristic ensures a longer lifespan do a supercell as compared to a single cell thunderstorm?
Tilted updraft
What characteristic ensures a longer lifespan for a supercell as compared to a single cell thunderstorm?
Tilted updraft
At 150-250mb, or 12-13 miles up, you'd expect to find this atmospheric boundary:
Tropopause
Planes generally cross this atmospheric boundary when they reach maximum cruising altitude:
Tropopause
What is most useful input data to Computer Models for a medium range (5-10 day) forecast? - upper air data - satellite data - surface data - radar data
Upper air data
Turning of water with depth is called:
Upwelling
A good way to identify a tornado on the ground is by identifying this on velocity data: - velocity couplet - vorticity - debris ball - rear flank downdraft
Velocity couplet
To forecast thunderstorms, forecasters use all but which of the following: - velocity data - 500mb charts - surface maps - balloon soundings
Velocity data
To locate a shortwave, you can look for this on a 500mb chart:
Vorticity Maximum
Once a parcel reaches a mountain top, then it:
Warms at the MALR
Law 2 of Thermodynamics
When energy changes form, some energy is lost as heat
Tornadoes form and hurricanes cannot survive when this is present:
Wind shear
What is required for tornado formation but not required for thunderstorm formation? - wind shear - instability - fuel - a trigger
Wind shear
As a parcel moves from the eyewall aloft:
Work is being done on the environment by the parcel
Coriolis force decreases as:
You move toward the equator
Evaporation is all but the following: - a change in diabetic heat - a change in the kinetic energy of a substance - a cooling process - a phase change
a change in diabetic heat
Carnot cycle
a cyclical process that uses only reversible processes, the adiabatic and isothermal processes
occluded front
a front where a warm air mass is caught between two colder air masses and brings cool temperatures and large amounts of rain and snow
squall line
a row of severe thunderstorms
Lifted Index
a way to describe stability with one number -is a difference in temp at 500mb -the parcel temp is determined by raising a surface parcel to saturation at the DALR and to 500mb at the MALR -negative values are unstable.
Derechoes
a widespread and long-lived, violent windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe t-storms usually taking the form of a bow echo. Often occur in the summer (July) and associate with very warm, buoyant air
Air cools as it rises due to:
adiabatic expansion
Saturation Vapor Pressure varies with:
air temperature
When incoming solar short wave radiation is greater than outgoing long wave terrestrial radiation:
air temperature increases
Which of these is a mid-level cloud? - altocumulus - cumulonimbus - cirrocumulus - cirrostratus
altocumulus
The P/E Index is used to explain the:
amount of moisture that would be lost from soil and vegetation if all moisture was available
thermohaline circulation
an oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water
geostrophic balance
balance between pressure gradient force and coriolis force
When air temperature = dew point temperature all but the following is true: - evaporation occurs - air is saturated - evaporation rate = condensation rate - RH = 100%
evaporation occurs
latent heat
heat absorbed or radiated during a change of phase at a constant temperature and pressure
Convection:
heat transfer by the movement of a fluids
The amount of water vapor in the air is called:
humidity
supercell thunderstorm
large, rotating single-cell thunderstorm, can cause tornadoes, large hail, frequent lightning, heavy rain, strong winds
Clouds don't fall from the sky because:
latent heat release within clouds
Adiabatic
no heat exchange
In a stable atmosphere:
parcel temperature is colder than environmental temperature
A stretched rubber band is an example of:
potential energy
Greenhouse gases are poor absorbers and emitters of:
short wave radiation
All but which of the following cause deserts: - the jet stream - Hadley cell subsidence - rain shadows - the ITCZ
the jet stream
calorie (cal)
the quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 g of pure water 1°C
Parcel Theory
treat air as little bubbles or balloons and study atmosphere one little piece at a time
Downburst
violent downdrafts that are concentrated in a local area
Evaporation occurs more at:
warmer temperatures
Which of these objects has the highest specific heat: - wet mud - gold - sand - ice
wet mud
diabatic process
when a given parcel of air expands/cools or compresses/warms with interchange of heat with its outside environment
