Unit 10: Earth's Weather and Climate

Does air move from high to low pressure or low to high pressure?

From high to low pressure

_____ occur when two _____ meet.

Fronts, air masses

What can a Doppler radar tell you about the weather?

Wind direction, wind speed, intensity of precipitation, and location of precipitation

Can droughts occur in any climate?

You betcha

If thermohaline circulation were blocked, what would happen?

Global climate would significantly change

The meteorologist says there's a cold front moving in. How will you prepare?

Go inside because a storm is coming

What does a psychrometer measure?

Humidity

Why should you always flee to higher ground?

In case of a flood

What is a cyclone?

a severe storm

Antarctica and Greenland provide examples of _____ climates.

Polar

Liquid water that falls to the ground is _____.

Rain

Predictable, yearly cycles of changing weather are known as _____.

Seasons

If you're in a car during a thunderstorm what should you do?

Stay in your car

What are the following clouds in order from lowest to highest: alto, status, cirrus

Stratus, alto, cirrus

Most of the U.S. has a _____ climate.

Temperate

What scale can you refer to estimate wind speed?

The Beaufort scale

What is eccentricity?

The shape of earths orbit around the sun (can change from circular to elliptical)

What is desertification?

The spread of desert environments

What is maritime?

The type of temperate climate near an ocean or sea

What is continental?

The type of temperate climate over land

What is tropical?

The warm, moist climate zone near the equator

How much of the Suns energy is currently reflected by Earths atmosphere?

30%

What instrument can detect an upcoming tornado?

A Doppler radar

In Hawaii, you can almost always expect 80°F temperatures and daily showers. This is an example of _____.

Climate

Why are tornadoes common in summer?

Continental polar air masses can reach further south

Do climates become cooler or warmer at higher latitude?

Cooler

If you live in an urban town and go to a rural town, would the temperature get warmer or cooler?

Cooler

If you're on a boat at night and go towards the coast, would it get warmer or cooler?

Cooler, because the water would keep the heat it had stored up during the day for a while

What is a source region?

area over which an air mass forms

What is weather?

day-to-day changes in atmospheric conditions, including temperature, air pressure, humidity, wind, cloud coverage, or precipitation

What is adiabatic?

heating or cooling of gas by contraction or expansion

Snow forms when water vapor turns directly into ice crystals, while sleet forms when _____.

water vapor turns to water which then freezes into ice

What is a front?

where two different air masses meet

What is wind shear?

When winds change direction and speed up into the atmosphere

What is the Doppler effect?

A change in the frequency in sound or light waves that can be used to determine the direction of movement of a wave source

What is lake effect snow?

A downpour of snow due to an arctic air mass flowing over a warm lake

What is a jet stream?

A fast moving stream of wind where cold, polar meets warm air from the equator

What are seasons a result of?

Earths tilt on its axis

What should you do if you're in a tornado?

Find a ditch to lay in or find the nearest building and stay on the lowest level

What happens to water vapor as it rises in the atmosphere?

It cools and condenses

What is water vapor, where does it come from, and what two things does it do?

It is moisture in the air that comes from the evaporation of water and it traps hear and condenses to make clouds

What is a hygrometer?

It measures humidity

What is a psychrometer?

It measures relative humidity using a pair of dry bulb and wet bulb thermometers

What is an anemometer?

It measures wind speed

What is a Doppler radar?

It mediates the location and strength of precipitation

What are four main climate zones designated by?

Latitude

If you love near the ocean and then move inland summers and winters be more or less mild?

Less mild

What would the forecast be if there is very high humidity and a cold front moving in?

Lots of rain

A mid-latitude cyclone occurs when two different air masses begin to spin around a _____-pressure center.

Low

The source region of this air mass is over the southern Atlantic Ocean

Maritime tropical

In the U.S., weather in Arizona can move and affect the weather in _____ (and why)

New Mexico, it usually goes west to east

Should you look for shorter under a tree during s thunderstorm?

Ni

Why is the atmosphere and ocean always moving?

The Suns energy

What is polar?

The dry, cold climate zone above 60 degree latitude

What are wind vanes?

They indicate wind direction and point which was the wind is blowing from

How do meteorologists forecast weather?

They track air masses and fronts, input data into a computer, and use personal knowledge of the area

Where is more severe weather generated?

Warm and moist areas

What is an air mass?

A large body of air with uniform temperature and humidity

What is drought?

A long period of unusually dry wearher

What is a radiosonde?

A transmitter sent up in a weather balloon to send of weather measurements

What does a barometer measure?

Air pressure

Clouds form from _____ temperature change, which occurs when an expanding gas cools.

An adiabatic

When a cold front overruns a warm front, trapping it against another cold air mass, it produces _____.

An occluded front

Any winds, like her streams occur because of ____

Differences in temperature

Are seasons more or less extreme by the ocean than inland areas?

Less extreme

Warm fronts and stationary fronts can bring _____.

Light precipitation

Can meteorologists forecast weather accurately for any length of time?

Nope

A temperate climate zone includes maritime climates, near _____, and continental climates, over _____.

Oceans, land

Nimbostratus or cumulonimbus clouds will most likely bring _____.

Rain

Deserts are very hot during the day and very cold at night. The cloud coverage above these areas is most likely _____.

Rare

What kind of energy powers the water cycle?

Solar power

A continental tropical air mass formed over the Southwest U.S. This area is called its _____.

Source region

_____ clouds indicate possible precipitation.

Stratus

A _____ climate zone, near a high-pressure band, encompasses hot, desert climates.

Subtropical

What is climate?

Th long-term average of weather in an area

What is subtropical?

The hot, often dry, climate zone between 25 and 30 degrees latitude, north or south of the equator

What is temperate?

The seasonably variable climate zone between 40 and 60 degrees latitude, north or south of the equator

Why are tropical and polar climate zones very distinct?

The suns rays are more concentrated near the equator

If a city is urban with flat terrain and near a lake, what two effects might it experience?

Urban heat island effect and lake effect snow

What three things do scientists think may have caused last changes in climate?

Volcanic activity, Milankovitch cycled, and plate tectonics

What kind of air is in a low-pressure belt?

Warm and rising

Why are tornados common in areas of flat plains?

Winds are able to flow without obstruction

Can hair be used to measure humidity?

Yeppers

In tropical regions known for warm, daily showers, the cloud coverage is most likely to be _____.

Cloudy most of the time

The small particles around which water collects to form droplets are called _____.

Condensation nuclei

What things can you do to help during a drought?

Conserve water, like fixing leaky faucet and using a broom to sweep your driveway instead of a hose

Ocean currents that upwell Southern California make the climate what?

Drier cooler

What is obliquity?

Earths tilt

What are thunderstorms and hurricanes powered by?

Heat

What kind of climate is in the leeward side of a mountain?

Hot and dry

Which of the following characteristics must an air mass have?

It must be 1,000 miles or more in size, flow as one unit, and have uniform temperature and humidity

What is rain shadow effect?

It's when wind flows over a mountain that produces moist conditions on the windward side of the mountain and dry on the leeward side

Where would you find rain for an average of 200 days each year?

The intertropical convergence zone

Why would Lake Ontario have a weaker lake effect snow if the lake were as cold as the continental arctic air mass that flowed over it?

The lake effect snow is powered by the arctic air mass being a lot colder than a usually warm lake

What is precession

The movement of earths imaginary, polar axis

What transports and distributes heat on earth and helps to regulate temperatures?

The ocean

What is the urban heat island effect?

The tendency of streets and buildings to absorb and retain the Suns heat

What is the main transporter of heat in the ocean?

The thermohaline circulation belt

What are common feature of thunderstorms?

Thunder, lightning, rain or hail

if you'd like to live in a place that has more moderate summers and winters, it'd be best to pack your suitcase and head where?

To a coastal place

Is the Northern Hemisphere tilted towards or away from the Sun during the summer?

Towards the Sun

During summer, is the northern hemisphere tilted away or towards the sun?

Towards the sun

What are some things that naturally cool and area?

Trees, plants, grass

True or False: Tiny droplets of water and ice all bunched together are clouds.

True

What kind of climates are thunderstorms common in?

Warm, moist climates

What is thermohaline circulation?

Water that moves because of its temperature and salt content

When describing a maritime polar air mass, you might say it formed over _____ and is _____.

Water, cold and moist

It rained yesterday and is supposed to be sunny today. This is an example of _____.

Weather

What is upwelling?

When wind allows cold dense water to rise from the bottom of the ocean to the surface

When does a tropical storm then into a hurricane?

When wind speed goes over 74 mph

Can blocking atmospheric or oceanic circulation drastically change climate?

Yes

Why should you take cover from a hurricane even when you think it might be over?

You may just be in the "eye" of the hurricane

What are condensation nuclei?

tiny particles in the atmosphere upon which water vapor can condense