Intro to Meteorology

The movement of smoke in the atmosphere from one area to another by wind is an example of ____.

Advection

Orchard heaters and wind machines are most useful in preventing damaging low temperatures from occurring next to the ground on ____.

Clear, calm night

One would expect near-ground temperatures to be coldest when the night is ___.

Clear, dry, and calm

Which of the following would you expect to have smaller diurnal temperature ranges (assuming all other factors are equal)?

Coastal cities

Hypothermia is most common in ____.

Cold, wet weather

In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the shortest number of daylight hours occurs on ____.

December 21

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

The wavelength of radiation is ____ proportional to the energy carried per wave.

Inversely

The heat energy released when water vapor changes to a liquid is called ____.

Latent Heat of Condensation

The Viking colony in Greenland perished during the ____.

Little Ice Age

Mercury is used in barometers primarily because of which one of the following properties?

Mercury has a high density.

Radiation is made of discrete packets of energy called ____.

Photons

Suppose the eye of a hurricane passed directly over you, and you survived the experience. If winds were from the northeast as the eyewall first approached you, from what direction did the winds blow when the eyewall reached you the second time?

SW

The auroras are caused by charged particles originating from ____.

Solar Wind

During a period when the earth's orbital tilt is at a minimum, what would most likely to occur?

There would less of a likelihood of glaciers at high latitudes.

Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.7 micrometers is called ____.

Visible light

Oceans

____ occupy or cover approximately 70% of the earth's surface.

A wind profiler obtains wind information using ____.

a Doppler radar

A weather forecast that predicts that future weather will be the same as present weather is called ____.

a persistence forecast

In calm air, the air temperature is -10°F. If the wind speed should increase to 30 mi/hr (with no change in air temperature), the thermometer will indicate ____.

a temperature of -10°F

Which cloud type below will only produce precipitation by the collision-coalescence process?

a thick, warm cumulus cloud

A surface low pressure center is generally associated with ____ on an upper-air isobaric chart.

a trough

Presently, ice sheets and glaciers cover ____ of the earth's surface.

about 10 percent

Suppose the rising air parcel is warmer and less dense than the air around it. In this case, the atmosphere is ____.

absolutely unstable

Low-pressure areas tend to ____ before occluding and ____ after occluding.

accelerate; decelerate

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

The vertical profile of ____ is variable in each layer of the earth's atmosphere.

air tempreature

Plate tectonics "explains" certain climatic changes by showing that these changes may be related to ____.

all of these

The Milankovitch theory suggests that climates changes on the earth could be caused by changes in ____.

all of these

In a hilly region, the best place to plant crops that are sensitive to low temperatures is ___.

along the hillsides

To correctly monitor horizontal changes in air pressure, the most important correction for a mercury barometer measurement is the correction for ____.

altitude

A dim, watery sun visible through a gray sheet-like cloud layer is often a good indication of ____ clouds.

altostratus

Everything else being equal, a gradual increase in global CO2 would most likely bring about ____.

an increase in surface air temperature

Winds blow slightly inward ____.

around surface low pressure centers in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

The pressure gradient force is directed from higher pressure toward lower pressure ____.

at all places on the earth

The thermosphere is where charged particles from the sun interact with air molecules to produce ____.

auroras

In the vertical, the pressure gradient force points ____ and gravity points ____.

away from the earth; toward the earth

An object that radiates more energy than it absorbs will ____.

become colder

A high pressure system that tends to persist in the same geographic location for many days is referred to as a ____.

blocking high

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 Earth's surface

Which air mass forms over North America only in summer?

cT

Although water vapor accounts for about 60% of the atmospheric greenhouse effect, it is the increase of ____ in the atmosphere that appears to be the main cause of global warming.

carbon dioxide

Cyclonic flow means ____ in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.

circulation around a low pressure center

When viewed from the surface, high clouds that are small, rounded, white puffs occurring individually or in long rows are called ____.

cirrocumulus

Nighttime radiation inversions occur on most ____.

clear, calm nights

Orchard heaters and wind machines are most useful in preventing damaging low temperatures from occurring next to the ground on ____.

clear, calm nights

The wind around a surface low pressure center in the Southern Hemisphere blows ____.

clockwise and inward toward the center

Which of the following is an example of condensation?

cloud droplet formation

On the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, chinook winds are enhanced when ____.

clouds form and precipitation falls on the windward side of the mountains

What is an example of orographic clouds?

clouds forming on the windward slope of a mountain

Most rain at middle latitudes is produced by the ice crystal process. This is because ____.

clouds in these regions can extend into regions where air temperatures are below freezing

Jet streams play a major role in the global transfer of heat by directing ____.

cold air equatorward

Summertime weather in Northern California often consists of low clouds and fog due to ____.

cold coastal water

Squall lines most often form ahead of a(n) ____.

cold front

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

The higher the ratio of oxygen 18 to oxygen 16 in the shells of organisms that lived in the sea during the geologic past, the ____ the climate at that time.

colder

Cyclogenesis occurs frequently on the eastern slopes of the Rockies as a result of ____.

compressional heating

The elevation above the surface where a cloud first forms is called the ____.

condensation level

Particles that serve as surfaces on which water vapor may condense are called ____.

condensation nuclei

The transfer of heat from molecule to molecule within a substance is called ____.

conduction

We are likely to feel colder on a cold, rainy day than on a cold, dry day because water ____ heat away from the body better than air does.

conducts

During the Pleistocene epoch, ____.

continental glaciers alternately advanced and retreated over large portions of North America and Europe

A heat transfer process in the atmosphere that depends upon the movement of air is ____.

convection

The surface air around a strengthening low pressure area normally ____, while, above the system, the air normally ____.

converges; diverges

Developing low pressure areas generally have ____ air near the surface and ____ air aloft.

converging; diverging

Which set of conditions, working together, will make the atmosphere the most stable?

cooling the surface and warming the air aloft

Additional clouds in a warmer world ____.

could enhance or reduce warming

An anvil-shaped top is most often associated with ____.

cumulonimbus

Which cloud type below would most likely form in an unstable atmosphere?

cumulonimbus

Suppose rain falls on one side of a street and not on the other side. This rain most likely fell from a ____.

cumulonimbus cloud

The name given to a towering cloud that produces precipitation that is showery with frequent changes in intensity is ____.

cumulus congestus

Two air columns extend from sea level up to an altitude of 10 km. If one column is cold and the other is warm, the air pressure in the cold column will ____ the air pressure in the warm column.

decrease more rapidly with increasing height than

Large volcanic eruptions with an ash veil that enters the stratosphere, tend to ____ at the surface.

decrease temperatures

The surface pressures at the bases of warm and cold columns of air are equal. Air pressure in the warm column of air will ____ with increasing height ____ than in the cold column.

decrease;, more slowly

Lines of latitude on a map represent the ____.

distance north or south from the equator

If, at your home in the Northern Hemisphere, the surface wind is blowing from the northwest, then the region of lowest pressure will be to the ____ of your home.

east

At Barrow, Alaska (latitude 70°N), you would expect the prevailing wind to be ____.

easterly

Generally, the greatest lake-effect snowfall in the Great Lakes region occurs on the ____ shores.

eastern

"Howling" winds can be caused by ____.

eddies

The greenhouse effect is directly enhanced by ____.

energy absorption by atmospheric water vapor particles

The forecasting technique that produces several versions of a forecast model, each beginning with slightly different weather information to reflect errors in the measurements, is called ____.

ensemble forecasting

Exhaled breath from your mouth in cold weather produces ____.

evaporation (mixing) fog

During a major El Niño event, ____.

extensive ocean warming occurs in the eastern tropical Pacific

The skies in the center of a hurricane are often cloud free and surface air pressure is very low. This area is referred to as the ____.

eye

Which of the following combinations produces the strongest Coriolis force?

fast winds and high latitude

In the winter you read in the newspaper that a large section of the Midwest is without power due to downed power lines. Which form of precipitation would most likely produce this situation?

freezing rain

Continental polar air associated with a wintertime high pressure area will likely bring ____.

freezing temperatures

A wind blowing at a constant speed parallel to straight line isobars with the pressure gradient force (PGF) and the Coriolis force in balance is called a ____.

geostrophic wind

A hurricane warning ____.

gives the percent chance of a hurricane's center passing within 65 miles of a community

A wind that blows at a constant speed parallel to curved isobars or contour lines is called a ____.

gradient winds

Which of the following forces does not have a direct effect on horizontal wind motions?

gravitational force

Air molecules are held near the earth's surface by ____.

gravity

The combination of drifting and blowing snow, after falling snow has ended, is called a _____.

ground blizzard

What is responsible for the cold feeling that you experience after leaving a swimming pool on a hot, dry summer day?

heat transport by latent heat

What pattern is most likely associated with clear skies and fair weather?

high pressure regions

On an upper-air chart, normally we find warm air associated with ____ pressure, and cold air associated with ____ pressure.

high; low

Strong Santa Ana winds develop in Los Angeles during the fall when a ____ pressure center forms to the ____ of Los Angeles over the Great Basin.

high; northeast

The climate of a city situated high in the mountains of the middle latitudes would, according to Köppen, be classified as ____.

highland

A baseball will travel slightly farther on a ____ day.

hot, humid

When the upward-directed pressure gradient force is in balance with the downward pull of gravity, the atmosphere is in ____.

hydrostatic equilibrium

The most practical location for building a wind turbine would be ____.

in a region of moderate, steady winds

On a cold, winter morning the most likely place for radiation fog to form is ____.

in a valley

Aircraft icing would be heaviest and most severe ____.

in the cloud at just below freezing temperatures

Surface pressure systems tend to move ____ the wind at the 500-mb level.

in the same direction as

A downslope wind coming off a mountain will ____ in a nearby city affected by a strong polar high-pressure system.

increase the temperature

Average atmospheric CO2 concentrations have ____ over the past 100 years.

increased

Over the past 100 years or so, it appears that average global temperatures have ____.

increased slightly

Between Christmas and January, at middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the length of the day ____.

increases

It appears that, as the number of sunspots increases, the sun's total energy output ____.

increases slightly

In a temperature inversion, air temperature ____.

increases with increasing height

The most recent warming trend experienced over the Northern Hemisphere could be the result of ____.

increasing levels of greenhouse gases

If the earth were in a cooling trend, which process below would most likely act as a positive feedback mechanism?

increasing the snow cover around the earth

A supercell storm is a(n) ____.

intense long-lasting thunderstorm with a single violently rotating updraft

An inversion represents an extremely stable atmosphere because ____.

inversions act as a lid on vertical air motion

he nighttime counterpart of the sea breeze circulation is called a ____.

land breeze

Lake-effect snows are best developed around the Great Lakes during ____.

late fall and early winter when cold, dry polar air moves over the relatively warm water

The difference between the "moist" and "dry" adiabatic rates is due to the fact that ____.

latent heat is released by a rising parcel of saturated ai

When naming clouds, the term "stratus", or "strato", means ____.

layer clouds

Which process accounts for the sky's blue color?

light scattering

An astronaut walking in space at an altitude of 300 km and properly shielded from the sun would feel cold when the temperature is 500°C as a result of ____.

low air destiny

What type of air mass would be responsible for daily afternoon thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast of the United States?

mT

What type of air mass would be responsible for hot, muggy summer weather in the eastern half of the United States?

mT

According to the model of the life cycle of a wave cyclone, the storm system is normally most intense as a(n) ____.

mature cyclone

A radiosonde ____.

measures the vertical distribution of atmospheric temperature, pressure, and humidity

Which of the following associations is most accurate?

mesoscale - land breeze

What weather system can grow to be as much as 1000 times larger in area than an ordinary cell thunderstorm, even large enough to cover an entire state?

mesoscale convective complex

A chart that plots how air temperature has changed over the past five days at a given station would be a(n) ____.

meteogram

A relatively narrow downburst, less than four kilometers wide, is called a ____.

microburst

The thermometer that has a small dumbbell-shaped index marker in the bore is called a(n) ____.

minimum thermometer

Which of the following is usually a liquid-in-glass thermometer?

minimum thermometer

A city on the west coast of the United States with mild winters and a long cool summer would have a ____ climate.

moist subtropical (Cfb)

Atmospheric pressure changes ____.

more rapidly in the vertical direction than in the horizontal

Mid-latitude cyclonic storms are better developed in the United States during the coldest months because the polar jet stream ____.

moves farther south in the winter

A group of thunderstorms that develop next to one another, each in a different stage of development, is called a(n) ____.

multicell thunderstorm

Light or moderate continuous precipitation is most often associated with ____ clouds.

nimbostratus

Near the earth's surface, ____ occupies about 78% and ____ about 21% of the total volume of dry air.

nitrogen; oxygen

The strongest winds in a hurricane heading westward toward Florida would most likely be found on the ____ side.

northern

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

Many of the world's deserts are found near 30° latitude because ____.

of the sinking air of the subtropical highs

Over the earth as a whole, one would expect to observe the smallest variation in temperature from day to day and from month to month ____.

on a small island near the equator

The vertical structure of the hurricane shows an upper-level ____ of air, and a surface ____ of air.

outflow; inflow

The primary source of water vapor and carbon dioxide to the earth's early atmosphere was most likely ____.

outgassing

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

Which gas is responsible for the temperature inversion in the stratosphere?

ozone

Which gases in the upper atmosphere shields the earth's surface from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays?

ozone

The least accurate forecast method of predicting the weather two days into the future during changeable weather conditions is usually the ____.

persistence forecast

Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere through the process of ____.

photosynthesis

The wind belt observed on the poleward side of the polar front is called the ____.

polar easterlies

When the average temperature of the warmest month averages 32°F or below, Köppen classified this as a(n) ____ climate.

polar ice cap

The largest annual range of temperatures are found at ____.

polar latitudes over land

Thawing of an upper layer of permafrost would most likely be observed in which climatic type?

polar tundra

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 top of a thunderstorm is normally ____ charged, and the middle and lower parts are ____ charged.

positively; negatively

In a dry climate, ____.

potential evaporation and transpiration exceed precipitation

Forecast models have a hard time predicting ____.

precipitation

The scale on an altimeter indicates altitude, but an altimeter actually measures ____.

pressure

The force that causes the wind to blow is the ____.

pressure gradient force

Wintertime Atlantic mP air masses are less likely to move into the United States than those along the Pacific coast primarily because the ____.

prevailing winds aloft are westerly

Typhoons and hurricanes ____.

re the same type of tropical storm

The wind-chill index ____.

relates body heat loss with wind to an equivalent temperature with no wind

The Heat Index (HI) is based on the apparent temperature, which is a combination of air temperature and ____.

relative humidity

The percentage of water vapor present in the air compared to that required for saturation is the ____.

relative humidity

As the air temperature increases, with no addition of water vapor to the air, the dew point will ____.

remain the same

Clouds often form in the ____.

rising air in the center of a low pressure area

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

An ordinary cell thunderstorm is a ____.

scattered or isolated storm that is not severe

When a sea breeze moving west meets a sea breeze moving east, they form a ____.

sea breeze convergence zone

Scientists have tried to modify hurricanes by ____.

seeding the hurricanes with silver iodide

One would most likely experience steppe vegetation in a ____.

semi-arid climate

Subsidence inversions are best developed with high pressure areas because the ____ air motions associated with them causes the air to ____.

sinking; warm

For a forecast to show ____, it should be better than one based solely on the current or the "normal" weather.

skill

On a weather map of the Northern Hemisphere, the northeast trade winds would be observed ____.

south of the subtropical highs

Drylines typically occur in the ____ United States.

southern Great Plains of the

Tornadic thunderstorms that form ahead of an advancing cold front most often travel from ____.

southwest to northeast

A ____ usually indicates clearing weather or fair weather.

steadily rising pressure

A low, lumpy cloud layer that appears in rows, patches or rounded masses would be classified ____.

stratocumulus

Which cloud type would most likely form in absolutely stable air?

stratus

The highest temperatures on the earth occur in ____.

subtropical deserts of the Northern Hemisphere

During the afternoon, the greatest temperature difference between the surface air and the air a meter or so above occurs on a ____.

sunny, calm day

Low pressure systems tend to move toward the region of greatest ____.

surface pressure drop

Which of the following provides a measure of the average speed of the atoms and molecules in air?

temperature

To obtain the station pressure you must normally make corrections for ____.

temperature and gravity

The Milankovitch cycles in association with other natural factors explain how glaciers may advance and retreat over periods of ____.

ten thousand to one hundred thousand years

During the climatic optimum, ____.

the climate favored the development of certain plants

The word "weather" is defined as____.

the condition of the atmosphere at any particular time and place

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

Frost forms when:

the dew point is at or below freezing. (32 F)

In the three-cell model of the earth's general air circulation, areas of surface low pressure should be found at ____.

the equator and 60° latitude

You are generally safe inside an automobile during a lighting storm because ____.

the metal car body will carry the lightning current around the passengers inside

Average monthly temperatures that exceed 32°F but remain below 50°F is characteristic of ____.

the polar tundra (ET) climate zone

A hook-shaped echo on a radar screen often indicates ____.

the possible presence of a tornado-producing thunderstorm

If lows and highs aloft are directly above lows and high at the surface, ____.

the surface system would dissipate

An instrument that measures temperature and records it on a piece of record paper is called a ____.

thermograph

Hurricanes dissipate when ____.

they move over colder water

Storms that form in the tropics are given names when

they reach tropical storm strength

A towering cloud, or cluster of clouds, accompanied by thunder, lightning, strong gusty winds, and heavy rain is called a(n)____.

thunderstorm

Which area of the human body would be most likely suffer from frostbite first before the others?

toes

By international agreement, what is the general term for all hurricane-type storms that originate over tropical waters?

tropical cyclones

Savanna grass would most likely be associated with which climate type?

tropical wet-and-dry (Aw)

All of the weather we are familiar with on the earth occurs in the ____.

troposphere

During the high sun season, air density is greatest in the ____.

troposphere

When the average temperature of the warmest month of a region averages above freezing, but below 50°F, you might expect to observe what type of vegetation there?

tundra

If an air parcel is given a small push upward and it continues to move upward on its own accord, the atmosphere is said to be ____.

unstable

The cold water observed along the northern California coast in summer is due primarily to ____.

upwelling

A nowcast is a weather forecast that extends for ____.

usually not more than 6 hours

While fly fishing in a mountain stream, you notice that the wind is blowing uphill. From this you might deduce that the wind is a ____.

valley breeze

The region of air between the cold and warm fronts of an open wave is known as the ____.

warm sector

Compared to an mP air mass, mT air is ____.

warmer and moister

Which of the following would cause relative humidity to decrease?

warming the air

Atmospheric concentrations of ____ can vary significantly depending on time and location.

water vapor

The total mass of water vapor stored in the atmosphere represents about one ____ supply of the world's precipitation.

week's

Studies reveal that during colder glacial periods, CO2 levels ____ during warmer interglacial periods.

were lower than

Chicago, Illinois (latitude 42°N) is located in the ____.

westerlies

The majority of the United States lies within a(n) ____ wind belt.

westerly

The summer monsoon in eastern and southern Asia is characterized by ____.

wet weather and winds blowing from sea to land

What is a measure of how cool skin can become, i.e., the lowest temperature that can be reached by evaporating water into the air?

wet-bulb temperatue

What is the weather element that involves the horizontal movement of air?

wind

Billow clouds are known to primarily form in areas of ____.

wind shear

The Enhanced Fujita scale pertains to the ____.

wind speed of a tornado

A persistence forecast could be quite accurate when ____.

you are positioned in the middle of a large, stationary air mass

An object is falling at constant speed. The net force is ____.

zero

The net force acting on air which is blowing parallel to straight contours at constant speed is ____.

zero

Homework 1

---

Homework 2

---

Homework 3

---

Homework 4

---

Homework 5

---

Homework 6

---

Homework 9

---

Quiz 1: Chapters 1-3

---

The latitude of the equator is ____.

0

Consider the accompanying figure. At which of the four positions would you expect to hear the following 12-hour forecast?"Cloudy and cold this morning with snow this afternoon and tonight?"

1

Which of the following environmental lapse rates would represent the most unstable conditions in a layer of unsaturated air?

11°C per 1000 m

How many cooling degree-days would there be for a day with a maximum temperature of 95°F and a minimum temperature of 65°F? (Assume a base temperature of 65°F)

15

Consider the accompanying figure. At which of the four positions would you expect to hear the following 12-hour forecast?"Partly cloudy and continued warm through this afternoon and evening?"

2

Which decade was the warmest on record?

2000-2009

The "normal" high temperature for a given day is determined from the ____.

30 year average high temperature for that day

How many heating degree-days would there be for a day with a maximum temperature of 30°F and a minimum temperature of 20°F? (Assume a base temperature of 65°F.)

40

Suppose peas are planted in Indiana on May 1. If the peas need 1200 growing degree-days before they can be picked, and if the mean temperature for each day during May and June is 70°F, in about how many days will the peas be ready to pick? (Assume a base temperature of 40°F.)

40

On average, the water equivalent of a fresh snowpack is ____.

5:1

During the summer months at the North Pole, the sun does not set for ____.

6 months

Beyond about ____, due to the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, computer prog forecast accuracy falls off rapidly.

7 days