Deck 6: The Restless Sky: Severe Weather and Storm Systems

Question 1

Hurricane names are retired for those storms that are particularly destructive.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Warm fronts often bring severe weather.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

All thunderstorms make lightning.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Tornadoes do not form in mountainous regions.

Question 5

A funnel cloud is a tornado that has not touched ground.

Question 6

Strong hurricanes always bring the heaviest rainfall totals.

Question 7

Tornadoes can travel over the ground at 113 kilometers per hour or more.

Question 8

Atmospheric rivers occur only in the tropics

Question 9

EF5 tornadoes do not cause very much damage.

Question 10

Midlatitude cyclones occur between 30 and 70 degrees latitude in both hemispheres.

Question 11

Gust fronts form from downdrafts in a thunderstorm.

Question 12

In 2017 Hurricane Irma struck Puerto Rico and caused considerable damage and fatalities there.

Question 13

Tallahassee, Florida, is the largest metropolitan region in the United States most at risk to flooding and wind damage by a major hurricane.

Question 14

The United States experiences about one EF5 tornado per year on average.

Question 15

All mesocyclones produce tornadoes.

Question 16

Tornados never hit the same place twice.

Question 17

A hurricane is also called a typhoon.

Question 18

Hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean basin use French, English, and Spanish names.

Question 19

Like tornadoes, hurricanes often go undetected and catch coastal populations by surprise.

Question 20

Dropsondes measure precipitation amounts in hurricanes.

Question 21

Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest hurricane to strike U.S.shores.

Question 22

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded about 80% of New Orleans.

Question 23

Multicell thunderstorms have a rotating updraft.

Question 24

A midlatitude cyclone rotates counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

Question 25

Lightning develops as a separation of electrical charges builds up between a cloud and another cloud or a cloud and the ground.

Question 26

A three-day weather forecast is less accurate than a four-day weather forecast.

Question 27

The "Pineapple Express" is the name for atmospheric rivers that occur in California.

Question 28

A thunderstorm is a cumulonimbus cloud that makes lightning and thunder.

Question 29

The strongest tornado ranking is EF5.

Question 30

The cold front of a midlatitude cyclone arrives before the warm front.

Question 31

Multicell thunderstorms can form under conditions of moderate wind shear.

Question 32

In 2017 Hurricane Harvey broke rainfall records in the United States for a single storm.

Question 33

Troughs provide upper-level support for midlatitude cyclones.

Question 34

A weather forecast that specifies what the temperature will be in three days is an example of a quantitative weather forecast.

Question 35

Midlatitude cyclones are the largest storm systems on the planet.

Question 36

The "EF" scale stands for "Enhanced Force."

Question 37

In the 1990s Atlantic hurricane frequency increased as part of a natural, long-term cycle.

Question 38

The ACE index indicates that hurricanes are increasing in frequency and in magnitude.

Question 39

All hurricanes have wind speeds of 119 kilometers per hour or greater.

Question 40

A weather ensemble forecast uses data only from satellites.

Question 41

The __________ is the system used to rank hurricanes.

A)enhanced Fujita scale
B)Saffir-Simpson scale
C)Beaufort wind-force scale
D)ocean wind-force scale

Question 42

Why does the equator never experience tropical cyclones (hurricanes)?

A)because there is no Coriolis force
B)because the water is too warm
C)because there is not enough ocean
D)because the water is too cool

Question 43

Which events have the greatest duration?

A)microscale events
B)mesoscale events
C)synoptic-scale events
D)global-scale events

Question 44

Which air mass will form over a warm ocean?

A)mT
B)cT
C)mP
D)cP

Question 45

Tropical cyclones rotate clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

Question 46

Microscale events are 1 kilometer in size or greater.

Question 47

Nor'easters occur in the Rocky Mountains.

Question 48

Which is the least safe place to be during a strong tornado?

A)the basement
B)near a window
C)under a mattress
D)an interior room

Question 49

Seeking shelter beneath a bridge when a tornado strikes is safe.

Question 50

Generally, which aspect of hurricanes is most dangerous?

A)sustained high winds
B)inland flooding
C)coastal flooding
D)warm seawater

Question 51

North America experiences the most and the strongest tornadoes in the world.

Question 52

A __________ is sand that has been fused by lightning.

A)derecho
B)fulgurite
C)thermocline
D)squall line

Question 53

Individual thunderstorms in a multicell system persist for about __________ hour(s).

A)1
B)2
C)3
D)6

Question 54

How much tornado lead-time is there today?

A)5 minutes
B)13 minutes
C)24 minutes
D)32 minutes

Question 55

Which region experiences the most deadly tropical cyclones (hurricanes)?

A)the western Pacific Ocean
B)the eastern Pacific Ocean
C)the western Atlantic Ocean
D)the Indian Ocean

Question 56

According to the map, which of these states has the least frequent number of hurricanes?

A)Mississippi
B)Georgia
C)Alabama
D)Texas

Question 57

Which of the following is not a source of data used in weather forecasting?

A)satellite remote sensing
B)Doppler radar
C)radiosondes
D)sonar

Question 58

A supercell thunderstorm typically

A)lasts a few hours at most and is no more than a kilometer in size.
B)lasts a few days at most and is no more than a few kilometers in size.
C)lasts a week at most and is no more than a few tens of kilometers in size.
D)lasts more than a week and is a hundred kilometers in size or more

Question 59

Which state has the most thunderstorms?

A)California
B)Florida
C)Colorado
D)Mississippi

Question 60

The most hurricane-prone state in the United States is __________.

A)Louisiana
B)Mississippi
C)North Carolina
D)Florida

Question 61

A category 1 hurricane has wind speeds over __________ kilometers per hour.

A)100
B)119
C)154
D)250

Question 62

A tornado watch is issued for a region when __________.

A)a tornado has been seen
B)conditions are favorable for supercell thunderstorms
C)conditions are favorable for single-cell thunderstorms
D)conditions are favorable for strong wind shear

Question 63

The United States experiences about __________ tornadoes per year.

A)500
B)1,200
C)1,700
D)2,000

Question 64

Tropical waves develop in the __________.

A)trade winds
B)doldrums
C)westerlies
D)subpolar low

Question 65

Which sequence is the correct order of hurricane development?

A)tropical storm-tropical disturbance-tropical depression-hurricane
B)tropical disturbance-tropical depression-tropical storm-hurricane
C)tropical depression-tropical disturbance-tropical storm-hurricane
D)tropical disturbance- tropical storm-tropical depression-hurricane

Question 66

An EF4 tornado is associated with __________ to structures and trees.

A)moderate damage
B)severe damage
C)devastating damage
D)incredible damage

Question 67

__________ is the most common form of lightning.

A)Cloud-to-cloud
B)Cloud-to-ground
C)Heat lightning
D)Nighttime lightning

Question 68

Closed rotation first begins in a __________.

A)tropical depression
B)tropical storm
C)tropical disturbance
D)hurricane

Question 69

Which sequence is the correct order of single-cell thunderstorm development?

A)mature-cumulus-dissipating
B)cumulus-mature-dissipating
C)dissipating-cumulus-mature
D)cumulus-dissipating-mature

Question 70

Most strong tornadoes in the United States occur __________.

A)west of the Rocky Mountains
B)east of the Appalachian Mountains
C)in Canada
D)between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains

Question 71

What is a mesocyclone?

A)a rotating updraft in a thunderstorm
B)another name for a hurricane
C)a midlatitude cyclone
D)a name for a tornado in Australia

Question 72

Which is unlikely to be produced by a warm front?

A)gentle frontal slope
B)precipitation is steady and prolonged
C)a progression of clouds, beginning with high-altitude cirrus and ending with low-altitude nimbostratus
D)a cold air mass after the front has passed

Question 73

Which events have the shortest duration?

A)microscale events
B)mesoscale events
C)synoptic-scale events
D)global-scale events

Question 74

For what minimum tornado categories are cars lifted off the ground?

A)EF2
B)EF3
C)EF4
D)EF5

Question 75

Hurricane strength comes from __________.

A)the absorption of latent heat through evaporation
B)the trade winds
C)the release of latent heat through condensation
D)ocean currents

Question 76

What is tornado "lead-time"?

A)the time it takes to get to shelter before a tornado strikes
B)the time it takes to forecast a severe thunderstorm that will produce a tornado
C)the amount of warning time before a tornado strikes a specific area
D)the amount of warning time before a severe thunderstorm strikes a specific area

Question 77

Warm seawater must extend to about __________ meters in depth for hurricanes to persist.

A)60
B)80
C)100
D)110

Question 78

Which region experiences the most and the strongest tropical cyclones (hurricanes)?

A)the western Pacific Ocean
B)the eastern Pacific Ocean
C)the western Atlantic Ocean
D)the Indian Ocean

Question 79

According to the map, which of these states has the greatest number of hurricanes?

A)Florida
B)Georgia
C)Alabama
D)Texas

Question 80

A tornado warning is issued for a region when __________.

A)a tornado has been seen
B)conditions are favorable for supercell thunderstorms
C)conditions are favorable for single-cell thunderstorms
D)conditions are favorable for strong wind shear