Meteorology midterm
The movement of smoke in the atmosphere from one area to another by wind is an example of ____.
Advection
The vertical profile of ____ is variable in each layer of Earth's atmosphere.
Air temperature
Record breaking low temperatures are associated with which air mass?
CP
maritime polar
Cold and moist over water
Condensation is more likely to occur when air ____.
Cools and the speed of the water vapor molecules decreases
A cloud with an anvil-shaped top is most often associated with ____.
Cumulonimbus
Hail is usually associated with which cloud type?
Cumulonimbus
In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the shortest number of daylight hours occurs on ____.
December 21
middle latitudes cyclonic storm systems are also known as ___.
Extratropical cyclones
Continental Arctic (cA)
Extremely cold and dry over land
The freezing of pure water is 32° on the ____ scale.
Fahrenheit
Great Britain typically has warmer winter temperatures than other areas of similar latitude because of the ____.
Gulf Stream
La Niña
High pressure over the southeastern Pacific and lower pressure near Indonesia produce easterly trade winds along the equator promoting upwelling and cooler ocean water in the eastern Pacific.
A ridge on an upper-air isobaric chart indicates ____.
Higher than average heights
Air density is greatest in the _____.
Homosphere
moist adiabatic rate
If rising air cools to its dew-point temperature, condensation results forming a cloud. Because heat added during condensation offsets some of the cooling due to expansion, the air cools at a lower rate.
Stratosphere
In this layer air temp begins to increase with height , producing a temperature ...
Exosphere
In this layer collisions between gas molecules and atoms are so infrequent
Thermosphere
In this layer oxygen (O2) molecules absorb energetic solar rays making it the...
In a temperature inversion, air temperature ____.
Increases with increasing height
When naming clouds, the term "stratus", or "strato", means ____ clouds.
Layer
A radiosonde ______.
Measures the vertical distribution of atmospheric pressure, temp, and humidity
What type of air mass would be responsible for daily afternoon thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast of the United States?
Mt
The most abundant gases in earths present day atmosphere (by volume) are ______
Nitrogen and oxygen
What is the origin of the cP and cA air masses that enter the United States?
Northern Canada and Alaska
A sea breeze circulation will reverse direction and become a land breeze circulation ___
Once per day
Santa Ana winds are characteristically dry due to compressional heating and ____.
Origination in the desert
Which gas in the upper atmosphere shields earths surface from the suns harmful ultraviolet rays?
Ozone
A raindrop that freezes before reaching the ground is called ____.
Sleet
During the afternoon, the greatest temperature difference between the surface air and the air a meter or so above occurs on a ____ day.
Sunny,calm
Mesosphere
The air is extremely thin and the atmospheric pressure is low.
Suppose a column of air has constant air temperature. What would happen if we force more air into the column?
The air would become more dense, and the surface air pressure would increase.
mean (average) daily temperature
The average of highest and lowest given s 24 hr period
mean (average) annual temperature
The average temperature at any given location for the entire year.
The word "weather" is defined as____.
The condition of the atmosphere at any given time
daily (diurnal) range of temperature
The difference between daily maximum and minimum temp is great
annual range of temperature
The difference in average temp between warmest month and ....
advection
The horizontal transfer of any atmospheric property by wind
sensible temperature
The similarity of air temp that feels different on different occasions
Convection
The transfer of heat by mass movement of a fluid such as water and air
conduction
The transfer of heat from one molecule to molecule within a substance
The exosphere is _____.
The upper limit of our atmosphere
During atmospheric convection, rising air bubbles are called ____.
Thermals
Troposphere
This layer is well stirred and contains all of the weather that we are familiar with
Jet streams are found within the ______.
Tropopause
Hot air with a low relative humidity may actually contain more water vapor than cool air with a high relative humidity T OR F
True
The Great Lakes are large enough to affect the climate of the surrounding area. T OR F
True
The formation of ice releases heat and warms the surroundings. T OR F
True
The ground is a better emitter of infrared radiation and cools more quickly than air. T OR F
True
Two cities can have the same mean annual temperature but different mean annual ranges of temperature. T OR F
True
absorption
When a substance inhibits the passage of outgoing radiation
Reflection
When sunlight enters earth and more light is sent backward
Which condition would be equivalent to an air temperature of 45°F, a wind speed of 30 mi/hr, and a wind-chill equivalent temperature of 15°F?
a 15°F air temperature and 0 mi/hr winds
Which cloud type will only produce precipitation by the collision-coalescence process?
a thick, warm cumulus cloud
A parcel of air expands and cools, or compresses and warms, with no interchange of heat with its outside surroundings. What is this called?
adiabatic process
Radiation fog forms when
air next to the ground is cooled
In a hilly region, the best place to plant crops that are sensitive to low temperatures is ____.
along the hillsides
Radar gathers information about precipitation in clouds by measuring the ____.
amount of energy reflected back to a transmitter
Winds blow slightly inward:
around surface low pressure centers in the Northern and Southern hemisphere
Cold fronts that move into the United States from the east, or northeast, are called ____ fronts.
back door
A stationary front does not move because winds on both sides of the front ____.
blow parallel to the front and in opposite directions
Seasons on Earth are regulated by ___.
both the length of daylight hours and the angle sunlight strikes the earth's surface
Cyclonic flow means ____ in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.
circulation around a low pressure center
Which cloud is LEAST likely to produce precipitation that reaches the ground?
cirrocumulus
Cold and cloudy nights are warmer than cold and clear nights (other factors being equal) because ____.
clouds absorb outgoing infrared energy and radiate it back to the surface
Squall lines most often form ahead of a(n) ____ front.
cold
What type of weather front would be responsible for the following weather forecast? "Increasing cloudiness and warm today with the possibility of showers by this evening. Turning much colder tonight with southwesterly winds becoming gusty and shifting to the northwest."
cold front
Continental polar cp
cold, dry stable air mass that forms over land
Cyclogenesis occurs frequently on the eastern slopes of the Rockies as a result of ____.
compressional heating
The heat from a chinook wind is generated mainly by:
compressional heating
The heat energy released when water vapor changes to a liquid is called the latent heat of ____.
condensation
unstable atmosphere
condition in which air parcels rise on their own because they are warmer and less dense than the surrounding air
The transfer of heat from molecule to molecule within a substance is called ____.
conduction
Which set of conditions, working together, will make the atmosphere the most stable?
cooling the surface and warming the air aloft
In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds tend to blow ____ and ____ around an area of surface low pressure.
counterclockwise and inward
If upper-level divergence exceeds surface convergence, the air pressure at the center of the low will ____, and the isobars will become ____ tightly packed.
decrease; more
Atmospheric shortwaves tend to ____ when they approach a longwave trough and ____ when they approach a ridge.
deepen; weaken
The air pressure normally ____ before a cold front passes and ____ after a cold front passes.
drops, rises
Which condition would contribute to higher surface air temperatures?
dry sandy soil with little vegetation
The winter monsoon in eastern and southern Asia is characterized by ____ weather and winds blowing from ____.
dry; land to sea
What time of day would you most likely expect thunderstorms to occur on a mountain?
early afternoon
At Barrow, Alaska (latitude 70°N), you would expect the prevailing wind to be
easterly
During a major El Niño event
extensive ocean warming occurs over the tropical Pacific
The Coriolis force is the force that causes the wind to blow T OR F
false
Which force does not have a direct effect on horizontal wind motions?
gravitational force
For a surface low to develop into a major storm system, the upper-level divergence of air must be ____ surface convergence of air.
greater than
What pattern is most likely associated with clear skies and fair weather?
high pressure regions
On a calm, cold day, the sensible temperature is often ____ than the thermometer reading.
higher
Assuming that the night will remain clear, calm, and unsaturated, the predicted minimum temperature is 32°F. Suddenly, the wind speed increases and remains gusty throughout the night. The minimum temperature will most likely be ____.
higher than predicted due to mixing
Which condition most favors the development of dust devils?
hot, dry days
During the summer along the coast, a sea breeze is usually strongest and best developed:
in the afternoon
What is the common pressure unit used in aviation and on television and radio?
inches of mercury
When the air temperature increases, the saturation vapor pressure will:
increase
As the air temperature increases, the air's capacity for water vapor:
increases
As the temperature of an object ____, the intensity of the radiation emitted by the object ____.
increases, increases
An inversion represents an extremely stable atmosphere because ____.
inversions act as a lid on vertical air motion
Lines on a map connecting points of equal temperature are called ____.
isotherms
The moist adiabatic rate is ____ than the dry adiabatic heat because latent heat is ____ the rising air.
less; added to
The large red L's on a surface map represent centers of low pressure, also known as ____ storms
mid-latitude cyclonic
In Honolulu, Hawaii (latitude 21°N), you would most likely experience winds blowing from the ____.
northeast
Suppose that the winds aloft are geostrophic and blowing from the north. With the same orientation of isobars at the surface, the winds would blow from the:
northwest
Orographic clouds form ____.
on the windward slope of a mountain
When two air masses collide at a front, one air mass may be pushed upward by the other. This is because ____.
one air mass is denser than the other
The average summer temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere are cooler than the average summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere because ____.
over 80% of the Southern Hemisphere is covered with water
There are two primary types of weather satellites in use for viewing clouds. The first are geostationary satellites and the second are ____ satellites.
polar-orbiting
The letters H and L on a surface weather map refer to regions of high and low _____
pressure
Energy transferred by electromagnetic waves is called ____.
radiation
The percentage of water vapor present in the air compared to that required for saturation is the:
relative humidity
We can generally expect the air to be ____ above areas of surface low pressure and ____ above areas of surface high pressure.
rising, sinking
The most latent heat would be released in a ____ parcel of ____ saturated air.
rising, warm
Which structure or substance has a higher albedo than thin clouds?
snow
If an air parcel is given a small push upward and it falls back to its original position, the atmosphere is said to be:
stable
A low, lumpy cloud layer that appears in rows, patches, or rounded masses would be classified:
stratocumulus
Cloud seeding using silver iodide may enhance precipitation in ____.
supercooled clouds containing a low ratio of ice crystals to droplets
The dry adiabatic rate is the rate at which
temperature changes in a rising or descending parcel of unsaturated air
Polar air is often described as dry even though the relative humidity is high. This is because in polar regions, ____.
the dew point and air temperature are normally close together
In the three-cell model, converging surface winds and rising air motions are found at ____.
the equator and 60° latitude
A surface low pressure center is generally associated with ____ on an upper-air isobaric chart
trough
Continental Tropical (cT)
unstable, warm, dry air mass that forms over land Winter - warm and dry Summer - Hot and dry
Maritime Tropical (mT)
warm, moist air mass that is formed over water Stable if in Pacific Ocean (weather is warm and humid) Unstable in Atlantic Ocean(weather is warm and humid
Compared to an mP air mass, an mT air mass is ____.
warmer and moister
Which process results in a decrease in relative humidity?
warming the air
What set of conditions, working together, will make the atmosphere the most unstable?
warming the surface and cooling the air aloft
When a mid-latitude cyclone forms and moves along the polar front in a wave-like manner, the developing storm is referred to as a(n) ____.
wave cyclone
The polar jet stream is strongest and moves furthest south in the ____.
winter
adiabatic process
If a parcel of air expands and cools, or compresses and warms, and there is no interchange of heat with its outside surroundings.
El Niño
When atmospheric circulation patterns change over the tropical Pacific, and the trade winds weaken or reverse direction, warm tropical water is able to flow eastward toward South American where it chokes off upwelling.
stable atmosphere
A lifted parcel of air will be cooler (heavier) than air around it