GY 101 Exam 3 MD Islam

Where are the majority of worldwide tornados?

75% of the worlds tornados occur in the United States

Evaporation Fog

A fog that forms when a significant amount of water is evaporated where the moist air mixes with the cooler dry air where the air eventually reaches dew point creating a fog

Upslope Fog

A fog that forms when air moves up a slope (typically a mountain) and cools adiabatically, allowing the air to reach dew point which creates a fog

Advection Fog

A fog that forms when warm, moist air is blown over a cool surface which causes the air to reach dew point which creates a fog

Cold Front

A front where cold air moves under warm air which is less dense and pushes air up (produces thunderstorms, heavy rain, or snow)

Stationary Front

A front where neither warm or cold air is displaced due to both fronts having a small gradient of temperature and pressure (produces light wind, light rain, and overcast conditions)

Warm Front

A front where warm air moves laterally over cold air, displacing the cold air which decreases the density and creates a slight upslope (produces light rain or light winter conditions)

Occluded Front

A front which cold air moves faster than cool air, overtaking the warm front (strong winds, large amounts of rain and snow)

Where do hurricanes not form?

A hurricane cannot form in the East South Pacific or the South Atlantic because the water is too cold

What are the ingredients required to create a hurricane?

A hurricane must form over water, this water must be hotter than 27 degrees Celsius, must have a weak vertical wind shear, and form greater than 8 degrees north and south of the equator

Meridional Flow

A jet stream pattern that develops when strong Rossby Waves exist and the polar jet stream flows parallel (north and south) to the meridians in many places; ridges push the jet stream north and troughs push the jet stream south

Orographic Lifting

A slows down due to friction and rises up the windward side of a mountain because of faster moving winds behind the slowing air mass

What are the types of humidity?

Absolute, Specific, & Relative

What influences the rate of evaporation?

Air & Water Temperature, Degree of Saturation, and Windiness/Mixing

Divergence

Air moving away form each other creating a high pressure zone

When is the peak hurricane season?

August, September, and October

Rossby Waves

Bends (waves) in the polar jet stream which influences the weather in the mid-latitudes

What is the difference between climate and weather?

Climate is the average weather pattern over a large period of time, weather is the weather currently occurring in a location

Cirroform Clouds

Clouds located at the top of the troposphere (high altitude), these clouds are thin, wispy clouds drawn out into streaks. They are composed of ice crystals and form when moisture is present at high altitudes

Stratiform Clouds

Clouds located closest to the ground (between 2,000 and 4,000 feet), these clouds do not develop vertically but instead have layers

Cumuliform Clouds

Clouds located in the middle altitudes that grow vertically on great piles due to vertical air motions, typical storm clouds

Radiation Fog

Created during night when all solar energy is gone, allowing a cold air mass force the warm air away from the ground, allowing the air to reach the dew point which creates a fog

What are the stages of a thunderstorm?

Developing which a cumulus cloud is formed, maturing where there is heavy rain & frequent lightning, dissipating where downdrafts occur and the intensity decreases

How are tornados measured?

Enhanced Fujita Scale which scales the intensity from 1-5

Major Atmospheric Disturbances

Extratropical Cyclones: 4-7 days, cold front moving faster Tropical Depression: wind speeds slower than 36 mph Tropical Storm: wind speeds between 36 mph and 74 mph Hurricane: wind speeds greater than 74 mph, eye of the storm is clear but the most intense is the eyewall

Unsaturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate

For every kilometer the altitude increases the air cools 10 degrees Celsius, eventually the air reaches dew point and releases moisture --> windward side of the mountain the air rises dry/wet, leeward side of the mountain the air falls dry

Condensation

Gas to Liquid

Deposition

Gas to Solid

Convection

Hot air rises and cold air falls

Evaporation

Liquid to Gas

Freezing

Liquid to Solid

When is tornado season?

May, June, July

What is an El Nino?

Occurs when warm ocean currents are flowing from east to west, the El Nino is the warming phase when the Walker Circulation becomes weaker stopping during a strong El Nino or reversing during a severe El Nino; the United States is wet and Malaysia is dry

What are the four types of fog?

Radiation, Advection, Upslope, Evaporation

How are hurricanes measured?

Saffir-Simpson Scale which rates the intensity on a 1-5 scale

Sublimation

Solid to Gas

Melting

Solid to Liquid

Where is tornado alley?

Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska

What is the worst natural disaster in the history of the world?

The Bhola Cyclone of 1970 in Bangladesh killing between 300,000 and 500,000 people

What is the worst natural disaster in US history?

The Great Galveston Storm of 1900 which killed between 6,000 and 8,000 people

Collision-Coalescence Process

The act of water droplets bunching together after collision to create raindrops

Convergence

The collision of air that forces the air upwards creating a low pressure zone

Radiative Forcing

The difference of sunlight being absorbed by the Earth and energy radiating back to space, positive radiative forcing means Earth receives more energy from the sun than it radiates to space = incoming radiation - outgoing radiation

How does the degree of saturation influence the rate of evaporation?

The higher the degree of saturation, the slower the rate of evaporation

What is relative humidity?

The percent of water vapor in an air mass, the higher the amount of water vapor in the air then the higher the percentage is, temperature and relative humidity are inversely proportionate; RH = water vapor content/water vapor capacity = actual vapor pressure/saturation vapor pressure x 100%

How does windiness/mixing influence the rate of evaporation?

The quicker the wind moves, the higher the rate of evaporation

Dew Point

The temperature at which the water vapor reaches saturation, the air cannot hold any more water; the colder the temperature is then the lower the dew point is because air has less volume; dew point is always lower or equal to the air temperature

How does air and water temperature influence the rate of evaporation?

The warmer the temperature, the higher the rate of evaporation

What is absolute humidity?

The weight of the water in a given volume of air; AH = mass of water vapor/volume of air

What is specific humidity?

The weight of water in a give weight of air; SH = mass of water vapor/total mass of air

Air Mass Classifications

m: Maritime c: Continental E: Equator; very warm T: Tropical; warm P: Polar; cold A: Arctic; very cold