Meteorology Final

by international agreement, a hurricane has sustained wind speeds of at least ______ km/hr and a rotary circulation

119

Identify each of the indicated principal North American air masses by selecting the correct response: 17.1 cA 17.2 mP (North-Western Atlantic) 17.3 mT (Pacific) 17.4 cP 17.5 mT (Gulf-Carribean-Atlantic) 17.6 mP (North Pacific) 17.7 cT

17.1 E- Continental Arctic 17.2 A- Maritime Polar 17.3 B- Maritime Tropical 17.4 G- Continental Polar 17.5 F- Maritime Tropical 17.6 D- Maritime Polar 17.7 C- Continental Tropical

Where do most hurricanes form?

5-20 degrees

Match the code with the proper description: 9.1 cP 9.2 mT 9.3 cA 9.4 mP 9.5 cT

9.1 Continental Polar 9.2 Maritime Tropical 9.3 Continental Arctic 9.4 Maritime Polar 9.5 Continental Tropical

If an air mass is colder than the surface over which it is moving, the _____.

??

About what percent of thunderstorms in the United States become severe? A) 10% B) 20% C) 25% D) 50%

A) 10%

Why are thunderstorms most likely to occur in the afternoon and early evening? A) Atmosphere is most unstable at that time. B) Upper-level winds are too fast at night and in morning. C) Water-vapor contents are too low at night. D) It takes all day for them to mature. E) Lower atmosphere is too unstable in the morning.

A) Atmosphere is most unstable at that time.

Which of the following U.S. states experiences the most thunderstorms each year? A) Florida B) Texas C) Colorado D) Oklahoma

A) Florida

Where would you expect to find precipitation occurring in this thunderstorm? A) Letter A B) Letter B C) Letter D D) Letter E

A) Letter A

Tornadoes and midlatitude cyclones are similar in that: A) both are areas of low pressure. B) both are most common and well-developed in the winter season. C) both have conspicuous surface fronts. D) both form in the trade-wind belt.

A) both are areas of low pressure.

Updrafts dominance relate to the ________ in the development of a thunderstorm. A) cumulus stage B) dissipating stage C) mature stage

A) cumulus stage

Generally there are three stages involved in the development of thunderstorms. They are: A) cumulus stage, mature stage, and dissipating stage. B) cumulus stage, mature stage, and deconstructing stage. C) cumulus stage, adolescent stage, and dissipating stage. D) cumulus stage, dissipating stage, and deconstructing stage.

A) cumulus stage, mature stage, and dissipating stage.

Downdrafts totally dominate the ________ in the development of a thunderstorm. A) dissipating stage B) mature stage C) cumulus stage

A) dissipating stage

Which of the following is likely during the mature stage of a thunderstorm? A) lightning B) light winds C) light precipitation D) no precipitation

A) lightning

At what time of day is an air-mass thunderstorm more likely to develop? A) midafternoon B) midnight C) midmorning D) pre-dawn

A) midafternoon

An air mass thunderstorm rarely lives long enough to create very severe weather because: A) the downdrafts quickly become strong enough to stop the updraft and influx of moisture to the storm. B) the atmosphere is generally fairly stable when these storms develop. C) there is rarely enough moisture available to keep the storm alive for longer than 30 minutes. D) wind shear causes the storm's updraft to become tilted.

A) the downdrafts quickly become strong enough to stop the updraft and influx of moisture to the storm

The feature identified by Letter D is: A) the gust front B) a cold front C) the storm's anvil D) experiencing very calm conditions

A) the gust

What is entrainment? A) the process of cool, dry air being pulled into a thunderstorm by the downdraft B) warm, moist air fed into a thunderstorm by the updraft C) rotation from the parent cloud transferring into a tornado D) a line of thunderstorms, one feeding into the next

A) the process of cool, dry air being pulled into a thunderstorm by the downdraft

An air mass source region must be associated with a generally stagnant area such that ___________________________.

Air will stay over it long enough to come to some measure of equilibrium.

In which of the following places are thunderstorms most common? A) central Nevada B) central Florida C) northern Wisconsin D) west of Hudson Bay (Canada) E) The occurrence of thunderstorms at all of these places should be about the same

B) central Florida

Downdrafts and updrafts found side by side relate to the ________ in the development of a thunderstorm. A) dissipating stage B) mature stage C) cumulus stage

B) mature stage

An overshooting top means that: A) a thunderstorm will definitely produce a tornado B) the thunderstorm has very strong updrafts causing the cloud to grow into the stratosphere C) the thunderstorm is dissipating. D) lightning strikes will be especially intense.

B) the thunderstorm has very strong updrafts causing the cloud to grow into the stratosphere

The circulation in the immediate vicinity of a thunderstorm is: A) anticyclonic. B) variable and gusty. C) cyclonic. D) calm.

B) variable and gusty.

The classification of an air mass depends upon _____.

Both latitude and surface of origin

Which feature of the thunderstorm is created by the gust front? A) Letter A B) Letter D C) Letter C D) Letter F

C) Letter C

Where in the thunderstorm would you be most likely to find mammatus clouds? A) Letter C B) Letter D C) Letter E D) Letter F

C) Letter E

The feature identified by Letter F is: A) a mammatus cloud B) a feature marking the downdraft C) an overshooting top D) a roll cloud

C) an overshooting top

The term cyclone is BEST defined as: A) a hurricane. B) a violent tornado. C) any circulation around a low-pressure center. D) a storm that develops over an ocean.

C) any circulation around a low-pressure center.

In the development of a thunderstorm, sharp and cool gusts beginning at the surface are characteristic in the ________. A) cumulus stage B) dissipating stage C) mature stage

C) mature stage

Thunderstorms form when ________, humid air rises in a(n) ________ environment. A) warm; stable B) cold; unstable C) warm; unstable D) cold; stable

C) warm; unstable

About how many thunderstorms take place on Earth every day? A) 300 B) 1300 C) 5000 D) 45,000

D) 45,000

Thunderstorms can be associated with these weather activities: A) cyclones. B) hurricanes. C) tornadoes. D) cyclones, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

D) cyclones, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

The feature identified by Letter F is most likely: A) the beginning of a new thunderstorm cell B) the sign of an intense downdraft C) in the mesosphere D) in the stratosphere

D) in the stratosphere

An air mass thunderstorm is most intense during the ________ stage. A) multicell B) cumulus C) dissipating D) mature

D) mature

Thunderstorm tops most likely occur: A) in the lower troposphere. B) in the middle stratosphere. C) in the mesosphere. D) near the tropopause.

D) near the tropopause.

Thunderstorms and large cumulus clouds are characteristic of: A) all polar air masses. B) isothermal lapse rates. C) all warm fronts. D) unstable air. E) stable air

D) unstable air

Why is very humid air near the surface a necessary ingredient for severe thunderstorms? A) High humidity strengthens the cold front. B) High humidity makes the air more dense. C) High humidity makes the rising air cool more rapidly. D) Lapse rates are larger in humid air. E) More latent heat is then available as energy for the storm.

E) More latent heat is then available as energy for the storm.

This type of cloud brings thunderstorms. A) cumulus B) altostratus C) nimbostratus D) stratocumulus E) cumulonimbus

E) cumulonimbus

A tornado is a small, very intense example of the: A) Coriolis effect. B) anticyclone. C) jet stream. D) geostrophic wind. E) cyclone

E) cyclone

Why is strong heating of the ground by the Sun associated with thunderstorms? A) reduces the relative humidity B) reduces the dew point C) increases the wind speed D) increases the pressure gradient E) leads to greater instability

E) leads to greater instability

What causes the dissipating stage of a thunderstorm? A) converging surface winds B) loss of radiant energy from cloud top C) release of latent heat within the cloud D) converging winds aloft E) spreading downdraft cuts off air inflow

E) spreading downdraft cuts off air inflow

The greatest proportion of thunderstorms occurs in the: A) middle latitudes. B) subtropics. C) polar regions. D) subarctic regions. E) tropics

E) tropics

T/F North Atlantic hurricanes develop in the trade winds which generally move these storms from west to east

F- east to west

T/F areas called which air masses originate are called development regions

False

An air mass source region must be characterized by a ___________________________ of atmospheric circulation

General stagnation

the _____ scale is used to establish categories of hurricane intensity

Saffir-simpson

Changes to an air mass can result from vertical movements induced by ______.

Topographic differences, cyclones, and anticyclones.

T/F Most hurricanes form within the global wind belt referred to as the trade winds

True

T/F downdrafts are aided by the influx of cool, dry air surrounding the cloud during a process called entrainment

True

T/F fronts are boundary surfaces that separate air masses of diff densities

True

Air masses are identified by _________.

Two-letter codes: first is lowercase and second is uppercase.

The lifetime of a midlatitude cyclone is generally __________.

a few days to over a week

The (2) most important factors in the hurricane watch and warning decision process include ______ & ________

adequate lead time and over-warnings

An immense body of air characterized by homogeneous physical properties at any given altitude is known as a(n) ____.

air mass

most tornadoes in the US occur during the spring months when

air masses have greatly contrasting conditions

large high pressure anticyclone that form and permit over the mid lats for 2 weeks or longer deflect the zonal west to east flow poleward and are sometimes referred to as _____

blocking highs

This air mass is most associated with lake-effect snow

cP

anticyclones generally produce _____ conditions

clear sky

In the US, air mass thunderstorms frequently occur in _____ air that moves northward from the gulf of mexico

continental polar

The _____ model of the midlat cyclone provides a 3D picture of the major circulation....

conveyor belt

The doughnut-shaped area of intensive cumulonimbus development and very strong winds that surrounds the eye of a hurricane.

eye wall

an approaching midlat cyclone would be indicated by a _____ barometric reading

falling

T/F Continental arctic (cA) air is distinguished from cP air by its generally warmer temperatures.

false

T/F Lifting over a mountain barrier will probably not produce any appreciable modification to an air mass

false

T/F on avg, cold fronts are about 2x as steep as warm fronts and travel slower than warm fronts

false

T/F the greatest # of weather related deaths occur from tornadoes

false

T/F on a weather map, occluded fronts are shown with blue triangular points on the side of a line and red semicircles on the other side

false -same side

on the saffir simpson hurricane scale, a category 1 hurricane causes catastrophic damage

false- 4/5

T/F the North Pacific Ocean has the greatest number of tropical storms, averaging more than the Atlantic events

false- western pacific

At the very center of a tropical storm, the air gradually ascends and is most intense with strong winds and large amounts of precipitation

false-eye wall

what contributes to the decline in the intensity of a hurricane as it moves onto land

lack of warm moist air

An __________ air mass may produce an occasional nor'easter during the winter, but summertime incursions of this air often bring pleasant weather.

mP

The air mass most likely to produce a thunderstorm would be a ____ air mass

mT

following the passage of a spring warm front, a region in the SE US would most likely be under the influence of a ___ air mass

maritime tropical (mT)

a vertical cylinder of rotating air, typically about 3-10 km across, linked to tornado formationin severe thunderstorms is called a

mesocyclone

The primary weather produces in the region btwn southern florida and alaska westerlies is the

mid-lat cyclone

middle-latitude cyclones develop in conjunction with the

polar front

because tropical and subtropical regions that spawn hurricanes over vast amounts of open ocean, meteorological date consists primarily of ______

satellite data

although damages caused by a hurricane depend on several factors, the most significant factor is ____

size and pop. density of area affected?

type of from to develop over great pains when dry, continental tropical air (cT) meets moist maritime tropical air (mT)

stationary

As a hurricane moves ashore, the most devastating damage in the coastal zone is caused by the

storm surge

what is associated with a cold front

temp drop, violent weather, heavy rain, hail thunder, cloud coverage, fast moving

thunderstorms can produce

tornadoes, flash floods, high winds, damaging hail

In the middle latitudes, most atmospheric disturbances occur along the boundaries separating air masses.

true

T/F A steep pressure gradient generates rapid, outward spiraling winds of a hurricane

true

T/F hurricanes develop most often in late summer when ocean waters have reached temps of 27 deg C of higher

true

T/F in the US, the # of deaths caused by hurricanes has decreased while the amount of property damage has increased

true

T/F in the classic polar-front model, cyclogenesis occurs when continental polar air crashed with maritime tropical air along the front

true

T/F in the middle latitudes, relatively few weather events are associated with the movements of air masses

true

T/F most tropical disturbances that occur each year develop into full-fledged hurricanes

true

T/F one circumstance that may inhibit a tropical disturbance from becoming a hurricane is the formation of a trade wind inversion

true

T/F the first sign of an approaching front is often the appearance of nimbostratus clouds

true

T/F the moisture content of an air mass is directly related to its air pressure

true

T/F the primary source of energy for a hurricane is the latent heat that is liberated when huge quantities of water vapor condense

true

T/F the storm surge is the most intense on the right side of the hurricane eye where winds are blowing towards the shoreline

true

T/F when a rapidly moving cold front overtakes a warm front, an occluded front is most likely to form

true

T/F the highest pressures ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere are associated with hurricanes

true??

in the western pacific intense tropical storms are called

typhoon

atmospheric circulation in the immediate vicinity of a thunderstorm is ____

variable and gusty

a hurricane _____ is an announcement aimed at specific coastal areas that a hurricane poses a possible threat, generally within 36 hours

watch