Deck 19: Weather Patterns and Severe Weather

Question 1

A cT air mass is ________.

A)cold and dry
B)cold and humid
C)warm and dry
D)warm and humid

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A maritime Polar (mP)air mass is ________.

A)cold and dry
B)cold and humid
C)warm and dry
D)warm and humid

Answer 2

B

Question 3

You are in mid-latitudes in winter.You experience heavy snow followed by a dramatic drop in temperature as a cold front passes,but for almost 24 hours the weather is clear.Then,high clouds appear in the west,thicken to stratus clouds and you receive a light new snowfall (aka snow flurries)but the temperature remains cold.You have just seen the passage of ________.

A)a second cold front
B)a warm front
C)an occluded front
D)a stationary front

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In the Gulf Coast region of the United States cold fronts intense spring floods are often associated with a phenomenon known locally as "training" where thunderstorms form along a line and follow the same line for hours.This is a classic example of severe weather along a ________.

A)hurricane
B)cold front
C)stationary front
D)warm front

Question 5

A continental Polar (cP)air mass that originates in Siberia and is subsequently altered to ________ when crossing the north Pacific

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

Question 6

Midwestern farmers used to say "mare's tail and mackerel scales bring the storm down on you head"; Mare's tails are cirrus clouds and mackerel scales are cirrostratus.When this sequence is followed by altostratus the old farmers were talking about an approaching ________ front.

A)warm
B)cold
C)warm or cold
D)none of these

Question 7

An air mass from the Gulf of Mexico is labeled ________.

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

Question 8

When an area is experiencing several consecutive days of rather constant weather,it is probably ________.

A)warm-front weather
B)cold-front weather
C)air-mass weather
D)occluded front weather

Question 9

This air mass may produce an occasional "nor'easter" in the winter.

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

Question 10

Usually ________ fronts produce several hours to days of moderate-to-gentle precipitation over a large region.

A)warm
B)cold
C)warm and cold
D)none of these

Question 11

Cold fronts and warm fronts in the middle latitudes are often associated with a ________.

A)hurricane
B)middle-latitude cyclone
C)low pressure
D)both B and C

Question 12

Continental tropical air masses are most prominent in what part of North America?

A)the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico
B)the Pacific Northwest
C)the Midwestern United States and Canada
D)the Southeastern United States

Question 13

On a weather map,________ fronts are shown by a line with triangular points on one side.

A)warm
B)cold
C)occluded
D)stationary

Question 14

If you were 200 kilometers ahead of the surface position of a warm front,you would find the frontal surface at a height of about ________ km overhead.

A)0)5
B)1)0
C)1)5
D)2)0

Question 15

The southeastern United States lies in the heart of the "horse latitudes" where normally we would expect desert conditions.Why isn't this area a desert?

A)Continental polar air masses disturb the pattern by periodic influxes of cold air.
B)Maritime polar air masses disturb the pattern by driving pacific moisture across North America.
C)Continental tropical air masses derived from Mexico disturb the pattern when these air masses are drawn northward by cyclonic storms.
D)Maritime tropical air masses derived from the Gulf of Mexico disturb the pattern when these air masses are drawn northward by cyclonic storms.

Question 16

A wind shift from south or southwest to northwest is commonly associated with the passage of a ________ front.

A)warm
B)cold
C)neither warm nor cold
D)stationary

Question 17

The air masses that have the greatest influence on weather conditions in the central United States are ________.

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

Question 18

"Rain long foretold,long last; short notice,soon past." The first five words of this weather proverb ________.

A)refer to a cold front
B)refer to a warm front
C)refer to an anticyclone
D)have no basis in fact

Question 19

If you live in the Midwestern United States or Canada and you experience several days of winter temperatures below -20°C with clear weather,you are undoubtedly experiencing ________.

A)a Continental Polar air mass
B)a Maritime Polar air mass
C)a Continental Tropical air mass
D)a cyclonic storm

Question 20

When an active cold front overtakes a warm front,________.

A)the fronts cancel one another out
B)cloud formation ceases
C)an occluded front forms
D)a stationary front is created

Question 21

When a TV weather forecaster gives a forecast for "widely scattered afternoon thunderstorms," these storms are probably associated with ________.

A)an unstable air mass,probably maritime tropical air with thunderstorms driven by thermals in an unstable air mass
B)a cold front generating thunderstorms along it
C)a warm front generating thunderstorms along it
D)the core of a midlatitude cyclone

Question 22

Lightning is most prominent in ________.

A)stratus clouds
B)cumulus clouds
C)cumulonimbus clouds
D)altocumulus clouds

Question 23

Which of the following should have the steepest pressure gradient?

A)tornado
B)middle-latitude cyclone
C)hurricane
D)All should have equally steep pressure gradients.

Question 24

In the Northern Hemisphere,tornadoes are most frequent during the ________.

A)January-March period
B)April-June period
C)October-December period
D)month of September

Question 25

Which one of the following statements is not true of tornadoes?

A)occur most frequently in the spring of the year
B)usually occur along the warm front of a mid-latitude cyclone
C)most common in the Midwest and Great Plains
D)associated with cumulonimbus clouds

Question 26

Tropical cyclones,which are called hurricanes in the Atlantic,are called ________ in the western Pacific

A)cyclones
B)typhoons
C)tornadoes
D)willy willy's

Question 27

Midlatitude anticyclones are typically centered on ________.

A)a continental tropical air mass
B)a continental polar air mass
C)a maritime polar air mass
D)a maritime tropical air mass

Question 28

Because surface winds circulate around a midlatitude cyclone,why do they move from west to east across North America?

A)The winds aloft,particularly the jet stream,move from west to east and steer the storm system.
B)The continental polar air mass that "pushes" the cold front drive the storm east.
C)The storm is forced toward the warm arm mass,which "pulls" the storm toward it to the east.
D)The Bermuda high in the Atlantic ocean forces circulation it,which steers the storm systems in North America.

Question 29

Why has Doppler radar been very valuable in preventing loss of life by tornadoes?

A)It can detect development of thunderstorm rotation and mesocyclone formation associated with tornadoes.
B)It can detect the speed of a thunderstorm to allow accurate forecasting of arrival time of a tornado and its track.
C)It can detect hail moving through the thunderstorm,allowing hail forecasts and its association with tornadoes.
D)It can "see through" heavy rain and directly image tornadoes embedded in thunderstorms with heavy rain.

Question 30

Where is the most severe weather typically located in a midlatitude cyclone?

A)just north of the center of circulation
B)just south of the center of circulation
C)on the warm front preceding the center of circulation
D)on the trailing cold front,south or west of the center of circulation

Question 31

When the center of circulation of a midlatitude cyclone just passes to your south,you expect ________.

A)a constantly rising barometer until the cyclone passes then falling barometer
B)winds shifting from the east or northeast to northwest during rainy (or snowy)weather
C)winds shifting from the south or southeast to the west or northwest with abrupt cooling at the passage of a cold front
D)warming conditions during light to moderate rain with a falling barometer followed by a northwest wind and rising barometer

Question 32

On a weather map,________ fronts are shown by a line with semicircles extending from one side.

A)warm
B)cold
C)occluded
D)stationary

Question 33

TV meteorologists often point at things labeled L on a map and describe them as low pressure centers.What are they?

A)low pressure centers that are mini-equivalents of hurricanes
B)midlatitude cyclones
C)severe weather systems with tornadoes
D)low level pressure centers,hence the term L

Question 34

Tornadoes of F1 to F2 in strength account for ________.

A)most of the property destruction caused by tornadoes
B)most of the deaths by tornadoes
C)most of the tornadoes observed
D)most of the weird phenomena ascribed to tornadoes

Question 35

Thunderstorms form from what type of cloud?

A)cumulonimbus
B)stratus
C)altostratus
D)cirrus

Question 36

The precipitation associated with a warm front typically arrives ________ the actual frontal boundary.

A)considerably ahead of
B)considerably behind
C)at about the same time as
D)none of these

Question 37

The updrafts in thunderstorms are initiated by thermal instabilities at the surface.What process tends to increase the vertical instability that feeds the thunderstorm development?

A)low pressure aloft
B)a jet stream aloft
C)release of latent heat by condensation
D)Coriolis forces

Question 38

After the center of a mature wave cyclone passes,you should expect ________.

A)barometric pressure to rise
B)warmer temperatures
C)barometric pressure to fall
D)barometric pressure to remain steady

Question 39

Which of the following is typically not associated with the life cycle of a thunderstorm?

A)development of a cumulus cloud growing to a cumulonimbus
B)the development of stratus clouds and initiation of light rain
C)the development of strong downdrafts with heavy rain
D)strong vertical airflow with vertical motions as high as 100 km/hr

Question 40

Tornadoes most often move TOWARDS what direction?

A)west
B)southeast
C)northeast
D)northwest

Question 41

A cT air mass is dry and warm.

Question 42

tropical storm tropical depression hurricane tornado

Question 43

tornado cyclone anticyclone hurricane

Question 44

In Hurricane Katrina,the storm came ashore heading almost due north and the eye passed between the towns of Slidell,Louisiana and Waveland,Mississippi.Slidell,LA suffered heavy flooding and moderate wind damage while Waveland,MS was totally destroyed without a single building standing within 200m of the coastline.Both cities experienced the eyewall of the storm where the winds are strongest,so why was the destruction so different?

A)Slidell was just lucky and experienced a temporary lull in the storm.
B)Waveland caught the right front quadrant of the storm,with maximum storm surge and wind.
C)Slidell must be a sheltered coastline,or protected behind a levee system.
D)Waveland must have been at a lower elevation than Slidell.

Question 45

A Category 5 hurricane in the open water can obtain top wind speed comparable to ________.

A)a plane flying near supersonic speed
B)an F4 tornado
C)an F1 tornado
D)the top speed of an old style Volkswagen beetle

Question 46

Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the
relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.


-cP mT cA mP

Question 47

Precipitation associated with a cold front is usually more intense and shorter in duration than precipitation generated by a warm front.

Question 48

The eye of a hurricane is ________.

A)the portion with the highest wind speeds
B)warmer than the rest of the storm
C)along the leading edge of the storm
D)the area of most intense rainfall

Question 49

cold front stationary front warm front occluded front

Question 50

Hurricanes generally are ________.

A)larger than tornadoes
B)smaller than mid-latitude cyclones
C)areas of heavy rainfall and strong winds
D)all of these

Question 51

Air masses that form in the Gulf of Mexico are classified as mT.

Question 52

When a hurricane moves onto land,it rapidly loses its punch; that is,the storm declines in intensity.Which of the factors listed below contribute to this loss of punch?

A)disruption of outflow by strong winds aloft from the jet stream
B)lack of warm,moist air to feed latent heat driven convection
C)heating from below by the land surface
D)formations of mesocyclones within the storm disrupt the circulation

Question 53

Tornadoes have embedded secondary vortices called suction vortices.Hurricanes also have embedded secondary vortices,they are called ________.

A)storm surge vortices
B)hurricane suction vortices
C)tropical cyclone secondary vortices
D)tornadoes

Question 54

In the folk song "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm," the singer describes an event during the Galveston hurricane of 1900: "The trains they were loaded,with people leaving town,but the tracks gave way with the water,the trains they went on down." What hurricane phenomena was the author of this song describing?

A)tornadoes embedded in the eye wall
B)heavy rain and winds blowing a trestle over
C)storm surge
D)river flooding washing out train trestles

Question 55

When an occluded front passes,the temperature drops dramatically.

Question 56

Warm fronts generally have steeper slopes than cold fronts.

Question 57

An occluded front is depicted on a weather map as a line with semicircles on one side and triangular points on the other side.

Question 58

Cold fronts usually move more slowly than warm fronts.

Question 59

The greatest loss of life during a natural disaster occurred during ________.

A)Hurricane Katrina
B)a tornado in the Midwest
C)the 1900 Galveston hurricane
D)a 1959 blizzard in the Midwest

Question 60

Continental polar air masses seldom influence the weather south of the Great Lakes.

Question 61

Vortices within a tornado vortex,called suction vortices,often cause the greatest destruction within a given tornado.

Question 62

In a hurricane,the greatest wind speeds and heaviest rainfall occur in the region called the eye.

Question 63

Hurricanes form between the latitudes of 5 degrees and 20 degrees.

Question 64

Most severe thunderstorms that occur in the middle latitudes form along or ahead of cold fronts.

Question 65

Tornadoes are most often generated along the cold front of a middle-latitude cyclone.

Question 66

Hurricanes most often develop in late summer.

Question 67

A tropical depression has stronger winds than a tropical storm.

Question 68

Doppler radar aids tornado detection by detecting motion within clouds.

Question 69

Thunderstorms are usually associated with nimbostratus clouds.

Question 70

Surface cyclones are accompanied by divergence aloft.

Question 71

The greatest storm surge and highest winds occur in the right-front quadrant of Northern Hemisphere hurricanes.

Question 72

Thunder is produced by lightning.

Question 73

At any given moment on Earth,there are about 100 active thunderstorms.

Question 74

Divergence aloft helps maintain surface lows.

Question 75

Tornadoes are cyclonic,while hurricanes are anticyclonic.

Question 76

Lightning never occurs in the tropics.

Question 77

The summer months (June through August in the Northern Hemisphere)are the period of greatest tornado frequency.

Question 78

Intense tropical cyclones with winds above 109 kph are called hurricanes,typhoons,or cyclones,depending on the part of the world where they form.

Question 79

A tornado watch is issued by the National Weather Service after a tornado has been sighted in an area.

Question 80

In a mature middle-latitude cyclone,the warm front precedes the cold front.