Weather and climate Final exam study cards

A "100-year flood" is the same as a ___% annual-chance flood.

1

The dew point is when relative humidity reaches ____. Once dew point is reached, H20 begins to condense.

100%

start of exam 2: Historically, the ______ Meridian approximated the 20 in. isohyet across the U.S. Generally, west of this line there was a water deficit, while east of this line there was an equilibrium or surplus.

100th

Which latitude has the highest annual potential evapotranspiration?

10° N

____ inches of rain fell in a a 24-hour period in Alvin, Texas during TS Claudette in 1979. This is still the record 24-hour rainfall for the lower 48 states and is nearly what Huntsville averages during an entire year.

43

On an average summer day in Made Up Land, a 100° F parcel of air at 0 feet of elevation becomes unstable and begins to rise. It hits the dew point boundary at 10,000 feet and then continues to rise. Assuming a DALR of 5.5° F/1,000 feet and a WALR of 3.0° F/1,000 feet, what is the dew point temperature on this day?

45° F

The highest category a hurricane can be rated is:

5

Which of the following wind speeds is characteristic of a Category 1 hurricane?

75 mph

The return period for a hurricane passing within 50 nautical miles of the Houston/Galveston area is _____ years

9

What factors made the 1900 Galveston hurricane so deadly?

A. Warm Gulf temperatures and a direct hit from the NE quadrant B. Lack of adequate warning for citizens in part due to ignoring the Cubans' experience C. Isaac Cline of the NWS warned all citizens but he was uneducated and not trustworthy D. A and B E. A and C answer: A and B

We discussed multiple different temperature-related designations for air masses represented by the letters P, A, T, and E. Which of the following is NOT representative of one of these four letters?

Adiabatic

_________ thunderstorms are short lived (~1 hour or less) and form within mT air masses through the process of convection.

Air mass

Which of the following clouds types is NOT associated with severe thunderstorms and/or tornadoes?

Altocumulus clouds

Middle-level, layered clouds are ____________ clouds.

Altostratus

Which of these places is most likely to favor hurricane development?

Atlantic Ocean between 5 and 20˚ N latitude

Which of these local and regional wind patterns is most closely associated with orographic effects and extremely rapid changes in temperature over short time periods in places like western South Dakota and Montana?

Chinook winds

Around a high pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere, air rotates:

Clockwise

___________ uplift occurs when a warm air parcel heated through conduction becomes unstable and rises due to the air above the parcel being cooler.

Convectional

Around the tropics, where similar air comes together, and some of that air is forced up, ___________ uplift occurs.

Convergent

When air parcels are not rising (stable air), the normal/environmental lapse rate is used. Due to the NLR/ELR, higher elevations (like the North Rim of the Grand Canyon) have _________ temperatures compared to lower elevations (like the air in the inner Canyon).

Cooler

Fog can form by:

Cooling moist air to the dew point Evaporation of water into cool air Both a and b It is an unexplained phenomena None of the above answer: a and b

Mid-latitude wave cyclones over the U.S. have _________ airflow, and the entire wave moves ______________ .

Counterclockwise; west to east

The straight-line wind damage pattern with very little variation in direction is indicative of a:

Derecho

Subtropical, high pressure systems and rain shadows are associated with what areas?

Deserts and/or leeward sides of mountains

Which of these DID NOT happen following the 1900 Galveston hurricane?

Development on the island stopped, leaving the population below 8,000 today

When water vapor in the atmosphere changes back to liquid, which of the following is true?

Energy is released back to the surrounding atmosphere

___________ is the phase change of water from liquid to gas. ___________ is the outward movement of water from the stomata of leaves in plants. Together, both processes move water into the atmosphere

Evaporation; Transpiration

Air pressure can vary vertically but not horizontally.

False

As elevation increases and friction decreases, upper level wind speed decreases.

False

As elevation increases, air pressure increases.

False

Based on updated modeling, the Galveston sea wall protects the island from a Category 5 storm at high tide.

False

Considering a water budget, a water deficit occurs when precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration.

False

Hurricanes that could impact Texas are first directed across the Atlantic by the Westerly winds.

False

In deserts, like where Phoenix is located, AET and PET rates are similar.

False

In the 25 years prior to 1900, no hurricanes had hit the TX coastline within 125 miles of Galveston.

False

Sand has a lower infiltration rate than clay; therefore, sandy soils lead to more flooding than clayey soils.

False

Severe weather watches and warnings are the same thing and can be used as interchangeable terms.

False

Warm fronts move faster than cold fronts.

False

Which of the below states has the most lightning strikes and lightning-related casualties?

Florida

Which of the following forms of precipitation freezes only when it reaches the surface or objects above the surface (like trees)?

Freezing rain

When two air masses of dissimilar nature come together, we call this a _______ boundary.

Frontal

Which type of precipitation lifting mechanism can have rain, freezing rain, and sleet depending on where the boundary is located?

Frontal

______________ thunderstorms are caused by forced uplift of a warm air mass over a cold air mass, while ______________ thunderstorms are caused by convectional uplift within a single air mass.

Frontal; air mass

Large ______ form through the cyclical process of rising and descending in currents within cumulonimbus clouds. They most often form in summer.

Hailstones

A ____ echo is a signature of a mesocyclone and potential tornado on Doppler radar.

Hook

Rank these in order of wind speed and severity from highest winds/most severe to least severe/lowest wind speed.

Hurricane; tropical storm; tropical depression; tropical disturbance

If the temperature of an air parcel decreases, but the total mass of water vapor in the parcel does not change, the relative humidity ___________. Draw out your boxes if it helps.

Increases

Which of these local and regional wind patterns is most likely to impact Galveston, TX?

Land and sea breezes

__________ clouds form only above mountain peaks as air rises and cools to the dew point temperature above the peak. On the opposite side of the peak, the air then descends and begins to warm above the dew point. Sometimes, these clouds are referred to as cap clouds.

Lenticular

Which of the following are characteristic of hurricane systems in the Northern Hemisphere?

Low pressure, collar clouds, eye, spiral rain bands, counterclockwise rotation

Record-breaking ___________ pressure systems are associated with warm, wet air, while record-breaking ________ pressure systems are associated with colder, dryer air.

Low; high

Since the percentage of oxygen in the air does not change between a city at sea level and the peak of Mt. Everest, what causes breathing difficulties at higher elevations?

Lower pressure leading to a lower density of air and total 02 molecules

Water molecules have a ________ weight compared to N2. Therefore, increasing the water vapor content in air by displacing N2 with H20 results in ________ the air pressure.

Lower; decreasin

Given that a Made Up City has an average summer dew point of 50° F, how does a summer day in Made Up City compare to an average summer day in Houston?

Made Up City feels less humid

Which of these local and regional wind patterns is most closely associated with major differences in seasonal precipitation patterns in southern Asia?

Monsoon winds

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of lightning?

Most strike-related casualties occur before sunrise

The strongest quadrant of a hurricane that could impact Texas or Florida is the ____ quadrant.

NE

On average, which of the following cities is mostly likely to have a water surplus annually?

Nashville, TN

________ means rain producing and is associated with clouds that produce precipitation.

Nimbus

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of derechos?

Occur most often during the winter

Which of the following is NOT a condition that favors hurricane formation/development?

Overlying jet stream/strong upper level winds

end of exam 3: Which of the following sets of conditions makes it more likely that there will be severe thunderstorms and potential tornado development across the central U.S.?

Overlying jet stream; low pressure; cold front; temperature inversion

start of exam 3: Which of the following impact flooding?

Precipitation rate and intensity Precipitation duration Infiltration rate/soil saturation Land use/land cover answer: All of the above

The three main forces that govern wind are:

Pressure gradient; friction; Coriolis force

Approximately 75% of tornadoes in the U.S. track from ___ to ___.

SW to NE

Which of the following forms of precipitation starts as rain and freezes while in the air on the way to the ground?

Sleet

A _____ line, which is an intense line of thunderstorms, can develop along and ahead of frontal boundaries.

Squall

What do Nor'easters and hurricanes have in common that may have severe impacts on coastlines?

Storm surges

________ clouds are layered with low bases. __________ clouds are high elevation clouds made of ice crystals.

Stratus; Cirrus

In class, we discussed a diagram with water's changing phases that related to the amount of energy required to move from one phase to another or to heat water up while in each of these phases. Which portion of the diagram required the most energy?

The phase change from liquid to gas

Thinking about conservation of angular momentum (AM=mvr), why is the jet stream velocity high?

The radius of curvature is getting smaller along the jet stream boundary.

Considering frontal boundaries, which of these is NOT associated with their presence?

The same wind conditions and direction on each side of the boundary

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of tornadoes?

They never have a specific radar signature

How many air masses meet along an occluded front?

Three

Which of the following typically has the shortest average duration?

Tornado

The winds that European explorers used to reach the "New World" that also directs hurricanes across the Atlantic are the:

Trade winds

A hurricane's strongest winds are at the surface, while a mid-latitude wave cyclone's strongest winds are aloft.

True

Absolute humidity is the mass of water vapor held per unit volume of air, while relative humidity is the percent ratio of water vapor in the air relative to the maximum it can hold at a given temperature and pressure.

True

Advection fog forms when warm, humid air moves over cooler water and land, while evaporation fog forms when cool air sits over warmer water.

True

Along the dry line, cT and mT air meet. This boundary occurs in the south-central U.S. and can result in severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across North and Central Texas.

True

An mT air mass originates over the ocean and is made up of warm, humid air.

True

An overlying jet stream results in more rapid uplift and increases the likelihood of severe thunderstorm and tornado development along frontal boundaries.

True

As a result of the Coriolis force, low pressure systems in the Northern Hemisphere have counterclockwise flow, while cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere have clockwise flow

True

At the exact points that water changes states from solid to liquid and from liquid to gas, there is no actual temperature change because the energy is being used to break molecular bonds.

True

Expansion of dry, unstable air causes the air to cool at a faster rate than the normal lapse rate. This is why the dry adiabatic lapse rate is higher than the normal lapse rate.

True

Extreme wind chills can cause frostbite in five minutes or less.

True

The flat bottoms of clouds indicate the elevation where relative humidity reaches 100%. The bottoms of these clouds essentially show where the dew point temperature boundary occurs in the troposphere.

True

The further an air mass moves from its source region, the more the air mass changes.

True

The wet adiabatic lapse rate is lower than the dry adiabatic rate. This is because some energy is released to the surrounding atmosphre during the process of condensation, resulting in less heating of the air parcel itself.

True

There is an inverse relationship between tornado strength (e.g., EF0-EF5) and total annual occurrences.

True

Tilted clouds result in more severe thunderstorms since rainfall does not directly counteract the updraft.

True

When measuring humidity using a sling psychrometer, the higher the amount of wet bulb depression, the lower the relative humidity.

True

While tornadoes have a much higher likelihood of spring and summer occurrence in certain parts of the U.S., Southeast Texas can experience them during any season.

True

Which country has the most tornadoes?

United States

Put the following tornado stages in order from first to occur to last:

Wall cloud; funnel cloud, mature stage; decay stage

The dominant wind belt in the lower 48 states of the U.S. is the ___________, whereas Houston and Huntsville are within the ____________.

Westerlies; horse latitudes

Which of the following DOES NOT occur soon after the passage of strong cold fronts in Texas?

Winds blow from the south/southeast

Which of the following make up a lightning strike?

a. Stepped leader b. Return stroke c. Electrical grid d. All of the above e. Just a and b answer: just a and b

Which of these air masses are likely to generate the most severe thunderstorms when they meet?

mT and cP

The change in pressure across a distance is called the ______________ force. As it increases, wind velocity ___________.

pressure gradient; increases