Deck 7: Atmospheric Disturbances

Question 1

________ have the most dynamic and changeable day-to-day weather on Earth.

A) Tropical latitudes
B) Latitudes affected by fronts
C) Polar latitudes
D) Latitudes affected by hurricanes
E) Air mass source regions

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT an ideal air mass source region?

A) the Rocky Mountains west of Denver
B) the flat tundra surface of northern Canada
C) the flat desert surface of the Sahara
D) the Pacific ocean near the Gulf of Alaska
E) the regions of the world which have stable air

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Fronts are located ________.

A) near air masses
B) underneath air masses
C) in the middle of air masses
D) at the edges of air masses
E) with respect to motion, to the rear of air masses

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The desert would be the obvious zone of origin of a(n) ________ air mass.

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

Question 5

It can be said that along all the fronts in a middle latitude cyclone, ________.

A) cold air sinks
B) air rises
C) precipitation is unlikely
D) the pressure is high
E) heavy rain occurs

Question 6

In which frontal type is there no "aggressor" air mass?

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

Question 7

When neither air mass displaces the adjacent one, their boundary is called a(n) ________ front.

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

Question 8

Which of the following rarely affects North America?

A) continental tropical
B) maritime tropical
C) Arctic
D) continental polar
E) equatorial

Question 9

Which of the following is CLOSEST to the WIDTH of a front at Earth's surface?

A) 10 meters
B) 100 meters
C) 10 kilometers
D) 100 kilometers
E) 1000 kilometers

Question 10

Which of the following is the least likely zone of formation for a large air mass?

A) eastern Siberia
B) northern Sahara
C) under an oceanic subtropical high
D) Caribbean Sea
E) the U.S. Midwest

Question 11

Calm, fair weather is most likely to result from a(n) ________.

A) tropical cyclone
B) midlatitude cyclone
C) midlatitude anticyclone
D) tornado
E) chinook

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT NECESSARILY a property of an air mass?

A) It must be large.
B) It must have relatively uniform properties within itself.
C) It must have a warm front at its leading edge.
D) It must travel as a recognizable entity.
E) It must modify as it leaves its source region.

Question 13

Which of the following occurs least over North America?

A) Maritime Tropical air from the North Pacific
B) Maritime Polar air from the Gulf of Alaska
C) Maritime Tropical air from the Pacific
D) Maritime Polar air from the North Atlantic
E) Arctic air from Siberia

Question 14

Which of the following air masses can be identified as being "very stable"?

A) Arctic
B) Equatorial
C) Maritime tropical
D) Maritime polar
E) Rocky Mountain

Question 15

Of the air masses below, the coldest, driest ones are termed ________.

A) maritime Tropical
B) continental Tropical
C) continental Polar
D) Equatorial
E) maritime Polar

Question 16

A midlatitude anticyclone ________.

A) is more than one air mass
B) exhibits instability
C) has a front in its center
D) is associated with fast winds
E) is associated with sunny, dry weather

Question 17

Of the list below, the coldest air is bound to be associated with a(n) ________ air mass.

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

Question 18

Which front is shown on weather maps as a line with alternating semicircles and triangles on the same side of the line?

A) warm front
B) cold front
C) stationary front
D) occluded front
E) dry front

Question 19

An average air mass is on the order of ________ kilometers in diameter.

A) 1
B) 10
C) 160
D) 1,600
E) 16,000

Question 20

The warmest air can be found in the ________ air mass.

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

Question 21

A midlatitude cyclone is also properly termed ________.

A) a wave cyclone
B) a low
C) a depression
D) a hurricane
E) an anticyclone

Question 22

Which of the following probably is least indicative of a cold frontal passage two hours ago?

A) an increase in temperature
B) a change in wind speed
C) an increase in in humidity
D) an increase in stability
E) a change in wind direction

Question 23

On the average, ________ fronts move the fastest of all fronts.

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

Question 24

Most middle latitude cyclones occur ________.

A) in the trade wind flow
B) downstream of an upper level pressure trough
C) upstream of an upper level pressure trough
D) when the upper flow is zonal
E) only at night

Question 25

In the Northern Hemisphere, a midlatitude cyclone has winds that circulate ________.

A) counterclockwise while diverging
B) counterclockwise while converging
C) clockwise while diverging
D) clockwise while converging
E) from east to west

Question 26

Stable anticyclones act as a ________ to moving cyclones.

A) cause
B) friend
C) block
D) rainy counterpart
E) catalyst

Question 27

A mature middle latitude cyclone takes on the shape of a ________.

A) wave
B) circle
C) wedge
D) loop
E) triangle

Question 28

Which of the following is a normal slope for a warm front?

A) 1:10
B) 1:200
C) 1:400
D) 1:2,000
E) 1:50,000

Question 29

An occluded front forms part of which of the following?

A) a cold front
B) a warm front
C) a stationary front
D) an extratropical cyclone
E) a dry line

Question 30

On a weather map, a symbol consisting of triangles arranged along one side of a line indicates a(n) ________ front.

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

Question 31

The global westerly wind zone most heavily impacts the ________ latitudes.

A) equatorial
B) high
C) middle
D) subtropical
E) horse

Question 32

The movement (track along the ground) of middle latitude cyclones is determined by ________.

A) katabatic winds
B) mT air
C) the jet stream
D) inversions
E) the flow of air into the cyclone

Question 33

Which type of front typically produces the fastest rise of air?

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

Question 34

Which of the following statements does NOT correctly describe the U.S. distribution of midlatitude cyclones?

A) More occur in the summer than in the winter.
B) They commonly form along the central Atlantic coast.
C) Most of them exit the country through the Northeast.
D) They commonly form downwind of the Rocky Mountains.
E) They form underneath areas of divergence.

Question 35

Which type of front causes many hours of steady rain BEFORE that front passes a location?

A) warm
B) cold
C) stationary
D) dry line
E) tropical

Question 36

In an occluded front, the warm air sector is ________.

A) on the ground
B) above the ground
C) north of the cold sector
D) south of the cold sector
E) in the center of the anticyclone

Question 37

Midlatitude cyclones and anticyclones function as migratory features in the ________.

A) westerlies
B) easterlies
C) ITC
D) stratosphere
E) ionosphere

Question 38

Upper air divergence is most closely associated with surface ________.

A) anticyclones
B) inversions
C) cyclones
D) isobars
E) air mass source regions

Question 39

Most midlatitude cyclones have ________ .

A) short (less than 1,000 km) paths
B) paths from north to south
C) paths from east to west
D) completely unpredictable paths
E) paths determined by the upper flow

Question 40

Which of the following best represents the length of the life cycle of a typical midlatitude cyclone?

A) 1 hour
B) 1 day
C) 1 week
D) 1 month
E) 1 year

Question 41

The correct designation for a hurricane is as a(n) ________.

A) enlarged tornado
B) super thunderstorm complex
C) tropical cyclone
D) tropical occlusion
E) extratropical anticyclone

Question 42

Concerning midlatitude anticyclones, which of the following is FALSE?

A) They are larger than cyclones.
B) They are areas of high pressure.
C) They contain air mass conflict.
D) They have light winds around their centers.
E) They do not contain fronts.

Question 43

A weak migratory low pressure trough which is common in the low latitudes is often called a(n) ________.

A) thunderstorm
B) easterly wave
C) extratropical cyclone
D) occlusion
E) tropical cyclone

Question 44

In order to be classified as a hurricane, sustained wind velocity must exceed ________ kilometers per hour (mph).

A) 320 (200)
B) 160 (100)
C) 119 (74)
D) 88 (55)
E) 48 (30)

Question 45

North America's greatest hurricane loss of life took place at ________.

A) Los Angeles, CA
B) Miami, FL
C) New Orleans, LA
D) Galveston, TX
E) Savannah, GA

Question 46

In a midlatitude anticyclone, where are the strongest winds usually found?

A) near the center
B) near the eastern edge
C) near the western edge
D) associated with the least pressure gradient
E) associated with the least Coriolis effect

Question 47

The beginning of a middle latitude cyclone is known as ________.

A) a westerly wave
B) the dissipating stage
C) the mature stage
D) cyclogenesis
E) an occlusion

Question 48

In the Conveyor Belt Model, the dry slot is ________.

A) bringing descending air into the cyclone
B) dry air from the Gulf of Mexico
C) the feature most closely associated with heavy precipitation
D) found out ahead of the cyclones center
E) another name for the cold front

Question 49

Tropical cyclones tend to cause the greatest loss of life on the ________.

A) Gulf Coast of the United States.
B) Bay of Bengal.
C) islands of the Caribbean.
D) islands of the Philippines.
E) coast of Brazil

Question 50

At any given time, how many extratropical cyclones might one expect to be in existence in the Northern Hemisphere?

A) 1 or 2
B) 6 to 15
C) 25 to 50
D) 50 to 100
E) 100 to 1000

Question 51

The part of the hurricane characterized by scattered high clouds and light winds is known as the ________.

A) spiral band
B) eyewall
C) eye
D) warm sector
E) warm front

Question 52

The "eye" of the hurricane is a zone characterized by ________.

A) the most severe winds in the storms
B) tremendous amounts of precipitation
C) sinking air
D) a radius of approximately 1,000 kilometers
E) many tornadoes

Question 53

Which of the following is most closely associated with midlatitude cyclones?

A) zonal flow in the upper westerlies
B) subsidence of air above the surface cyclone
C) stable air
D) cloud-free skies
E) meridional flow in the upper westerlies

Question 54

Which of the following can be said to be the "death" of a midlatitude cyclone?

A) the presence of strong temperature gradients across fronts
B) cyclogenesis
C) occlusion
D) expansion of the size of the warm sector
E) occurrence of intense precipitation

Question 55

Cyclogenesis occurs along the________.

A) polar front
B) occluded front
C) edge of a baugio
D) edge of a hurricane
E) center of the subtropical high

Question 56

As a middle latitude cyclone goes through its life cycle, the warm sector ________.

A) gets larger
B) gets smaller
C) travels from east to west
D) subsides
E) becomes warmer

Question 57

The energy source of hurricanes is ________.

A) thunderstorms
B) cold fronts
C) the jet stream
D) warm seawater
E) warm fronts

Question 58

The largest and strongest tropical cyclones are associated with the ________.

A) South Atlantic Ocean near argentine
B) Indian Ocean south of pakistani
C) North Atlantic Ocean near North Carolina
D) China Sea
E) Pacific Ocean near Hawaii

Question 59

Which is NOT true of BOTH midlatitude cyclones and midlatitude anticyclones?

A) They contain subsiding air.
B) They contain closed isobars.
C) They cover many thousands of square kilometers.
D) They have winds rotating around their centers.
E) They sometimes have a functional relationship with each other.

Question 60

Midlatitude cyclones contain several well-defined channels of air called ________.

A) fronts
B) Rossby waves
C) the eye
D) the stratus layer
E) the conveyor belt

Question 61

Which of the following occurs most frequently?

A) a hurricane
B) a tropical storm
C) a tropical depression
D) an easterly wave
E) They all occur with approximately the same frequency.

Question 62

In and near eastern Asia, the place of origin for tropical cyclones is ________.

A) Siberia
B) East of the Philippines
C) Southern Australia
D) Central China
E) Hawaii

Question 63

The damage done in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina was mainly a result of ________.

A) flooding from the failure of levees
B) heavy rainfall
C) very high winds
D) accompanying tornadoes
E) the subtropical high

Question 64

Hurricane destruction to land coastlines is made worse when this feature-not prominent in all hurricanes-is present.

A) the eye wall
B) the storm surge
C) easterly waves
D) winds of hurricane force
E) heavy rain

Question 65

As a rule, thunderstorms are unknown poleward of ________ latitude.

A) 10°
B) 20°
C) 30°
D) 40°
E) 60°

Question 66

Air near the Pacific coast of the southwestern United States is usually ________ than air over the Gulf Coast of the United States.

A) warmer
B) moister
C) more stable
D) more stormy
E) more polluted

Question 67

According to the "People and the Environment" section about lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, ________.

A) it is unclear whether New Orleans is protected from all sizes of hurricanes
B) it is unlikely a hurricane will ever strike New Orleans again
C) the topographic "bowl" in which New Orleans sits has been filled in
D) it is now more prone to huge devastation
E) there is no possible way to prevent a similar disaster in New Orleans

Question 68

An easterly wave is on the order of ________ kilometers long.

A) 5-10
B) 10-20
C) 20-50
D) a few hundred
E) a few thousand

Question 69

The 1-5 scale rating of hurricane intensity is the ________ scale.

A) Saffir-Simpson
B) Fujita
C) PH
D) Likert
E) Crawford

Question 70

The term "tropical disturbance" cannot be applied to which of the following storm types?

A) hurricane
B) typhoon
C) tropical depression
D) wave cyclone
E) tropical storm

Question 71

In the last decade or so there has been ________.

A) an increase in the number of hurricanes
B) a relative lack of hurricanes
C) lower sea surface temperatures impacting hurricanes
D) a lack of intense hurricanes
E) a lack of an Atlantic Multi-Decadal Signal

Question 72

More than 80% of hurricanes originate on the poleward side of the ________.

A) polar front
B) intertropical convergence zone
C) surface westerlies
D) Rossby waves
E) subtropical highs

Question 73

Where is a place where tropical cyclones DO NOT form?

A) North Atlantic
B) North Pacific
C) Indian Ocean
D) South Atlantic
E) South Pacific

Question 74

The month most likely for a hurricane to occur in the Northern Hemisphere is ________.

A) June
B) January
C) April
D) September
E) December

Question 75

What process seems to weaken hurricanes?

A) travel over warm ocean water
B) eyewall replacement
C) divergence of winds aloft
D) convergence of winds at the surface
E) the strengthening of updrafts

Question 76

Katrina was the ________ hurricane ever to hit the United States.

A) strongest
B) least well forecasted
C) largest diameter
D) most costly
E) most deadly

Question 77

The most intense Atlantic hurricane of record was ________.

A) Katrina
B) Daniel
C) Amanda
D) Janet
E) Wilma

Question 78

The average directional movement of hurricanes is ________.

A) east to west
B) west to east
C) north to south
D) south to north
E) southwest to northeast

Question 79

The average hurricane exists, on the average, for about ________.

A) one week
B) two weeks
C) three weeks
D) four weeks
E) five weeks

Question 80

Hurricane formation is rare within ________ degrees of the Equator.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 75
E) 180