Deck 11: Hurricanes

Question 1

As surface air rushes in toward the eye of a hurricane, the air expands and should cool. The main reason the surface air is not cooler around the eye is because ____.

A) the sinking air near the eye warms the air
B) friction with the water adds heat to the air
C) the warm water heats the air
D) sunlight heats the air

Answer 1

C

Question 2

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 ____.

A) eye
B) eyewall
C) rainfree area
D) streamline

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The skies in the center of a hurricane are often cloud free. This is because the air in the eye is ____.

A) sinking
B) very cold
C) dry
D) expanding

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The strongest winds in a hurricane are found ____.

A) at the center of the storm
B) in the eye wall
C) at upper levels, above the center of the hurricane
D) near the periphery of the hurricane

Question 5

Hurricane winds rotate in a clockwise direction in ____.

A) the Northern Hemisphere only
B) the Southern Hemisphere only
C) both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
D) neither hemisphere

Question 6

Which region of the United States will most likely experience thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornadoes during the course of one year?

A) Pacific Coast states
B) New England states
C) Gulf Coast states
D) Great Plains states

Question 7

At the periphery of a hurricane, the air is ____.

A) sinking and warming
B) sinking and cooling
C) rising and warming
D) rising and cooling

Question 8

Pressure at the center of a hurricane is ____ than the surroundings at the surface and ____ than the surroundings aloft.

A) higher; lower
B) lower; higher
C) lower; lower
D) higher; higher

Question 9

During a hurricane in the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds increase in speed as they blow ____ and ____ the center.

A) clockwise; inward toward
B) clockwise; outward from
C) counterclockwise; inward toward
D) counterclockwise; outward from

Question 10

Typhoons and hurricanes ____.

A) cannot occur at the same time
B) are different types of storms
C) never appear in the same hemisphere
D) are the same type of tropical storm

Question 11

Which environmental conditions are most favorable for hurricane formation?

A) Winds are light, humidity high, and surface water temperature is warm.
B) Winds are light, humidity low, and surface water temperature is cool.
C) Winds are high, humidity high, and surface water temperature is cool.
D) Winds are high, humidity low, and surface water temperature is warm.

Question 12

A weak trough of low pressure found in the tropics and along which hurricanes occasionally form is called a(n) ____.

A) tropical wave (or easterly wave)
B) oceanic wave (or easterly wave)
C) isobar
D) streamline

Question 13

The main reason hurricanes don't develop over the south Atlantic Ocean adjacent to South America is because the ____.

A) Coriolis force is too small there
B) pressure gradient force is too weak in that area
C) surface water temperatures are too cold
D) air at the surface is always diverging

Question 14

As a northward-moving hurricane passes to the east of an area, surface winds should change from ____.

A) NW to N to NE
B) W to SW to S
C) NE to N to NW
D) S to SW to W

Question 15

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

A) outflow; inflow
B) outflow; outflow
C) inflow; outflow
D) inflow; inflow

Question 16

Storms that form in the tropics are given names when ____.

A) they reach tropical storm strength
B) they become fully developed hurricanes
C) they approach to within 250 miles of land
D) rotation becomes visible on a satellite photograph

Question 17

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?

A) NW
B) NE
C) SE
D) SW

Question 18

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

A) typhoons
B) hurricanes
C) tropical storms
D) tropical cyclones

Question 19

Hurricane energy comes from the latent heat of ____.

A) evaporation
B) condensation
C) fusion
D) melt

Question 20

During a hurricane, the heaviest rainfall occurs in the ____.

A) eye
B) eyewall
C) spiral rain band
D) storm's periphery

Question 21

The three stages of a developing hurricane (from the first stage to the third) are ____.

A) tropical disturbance, tropical storm, and typhoon
B) tropical depression, tropical disturbance, and tropical storm
C) tropical disturbance, tropical depression, and tropical storm
D) cyclone, typhoon, and tropical storm

Question 22

On the Saffir-Simpson scale, a category 5 storm would indicate ____.

A) a weak hurricane
B) a moderately strong hurricane
C) a very strong hurricane
D) nothing in particular, as the Saffir-Simpson scale applies to tornadoes

Question 23

A tropical storm is classified as a hurricane when ____.

A) a clear eye becomes visible on a satellite photograph
B) the central pressure drops below 950 mb
C) the winds exceed 64 knots (74 MPH)
D) it reaches Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale

Question 24

Which statement accurately describes hurricane naming conventions?

A) Hurricanes are given only male names.
B) Hurricanes are given only female names.
C) Hurricanes are alternately assigned male and female names.
D) Atlantic hurricanes are given male names and Pacific hurricanes are given female names.

Question 25

The term storm surge refers to ____.

A) the leading edge of a hurricane
B) a higher-than-average incidence of tropical storm occurrence
C) a rise in ocean level of several meters or more
D) the increasing speed of a hurricane as it moves in the middle latitudes

Question 26

Along a coastline, most hurricane damage is caused by ____.

A) the pressure gradient force
B) the storm surge
C) wind shear
D) release of latent heat

Question 27

Hurricane Katrina was classified as a Category 5, but as it moved towards the coast its rainbands near the center of the storm converged towards the eye, the storm weakened, and Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane. This weakening was primarily due to the phenomenon called ____.

A) trade-wind inversion
B) rainband disintegration
C) eye replacement
D) eyewall replacement

Question 28

Hurricanes do not form ____.

A) along the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
B) along the equator
C) with an easterly wave
D) when the trade wind inversion is weak

Question 29

Just before a storm is classified as a fully developed hurricane, it is in the ____ stage.

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

Question 30

Scientists have tried to modify hurricanes by ____.

A) placing an oil slick over the ocean water and igniting it
B) seeding the hurricanes with silver iodide
C) igniting large smoke bombs in the eye of the storm
D) seeding the hurricanes with hair-thin pieces of aluminum called chaff

Question 31

Hurricanes cannot form along the equator because ____.

A) there isn't much water along the equator, it's mostly land
B) the Coriolis force is too small along the equator
C) there are no feedback mechanisms along the equator
D) it's too humid for the ocean water to evaporate

Question 32

On the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, a hurricane with winds in excess of 155 mi/hr (135 knots) would be classified as a category ____ hurricane.

A) 1
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5

Question 33

The main feature distinguishing a hurricane from an ordinary tropical storm is that ____.

A) hurricanes are larger
B) tropical storms are more than 500 miles from the U.S. mainland
C) winds speeds are greater in a hurricane
D) hurricanes have a clearly defined eye on satellite photographs

Question 34

Most of the overall destruction caused by a hurricane is due to ____.

A) high winds
B) flooding
C) lightning
D) tornadoes

Question 35

The main source of energy for a hurricane is the ____.

A) upper-level jet stream
B) rising of warm air and sinking of cold air in the vicinity of weather fronts
C) warm ocean water and release of latent heat energy by condensation
D) ocean currents and tides

Question 36

A hurricane warning ____.

A) gives the exact location where a hurricane will make landfall
B) is usually issued several days ahead of a hurricane's arrival
C) gives the percent chance of a hurricane's center passing within 65 miles of a community
D) is issued when a hurricane approaches to within 500 miles of the U.S. mainland

Question 37

Hurricanes dissipate when ____.

A) they move over colder water
B) they move over warmer water
C) surface inflow of air is less than upper-level outflow of air
D) water temperatures below the eyewall increase

Question 38

Climate models predict that, as the world continues to warm, sea-surface temperatures in the tropics will rise. This may in turn ____.

A) increase global circulation
B) increase the amount of time between hurricane formations
C) increase the strength of hurricanes
D) decrease the strength of hurricanes

Question 39

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

A) northern
B) southern
C) eastern
D) western

Question 40

Which event indicates that a hurricane will likely strike your area within 24 hours?

A) A hurricane watch issued by the National Hurricane Center
B) A hurricane warning issued by the National Hurricane Center
C) Easterly or northeasterly winds with speeds in excess of 30 knots
D) A rapid drop in pressure and heavy rains

Question 41

Describe what a trade wind inversion is.

Question 42

The terms typhoon and cyclone refer to the initial weaker stages in the development of a hurricane.

Question 43

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Hurricane development is more likely when preexisting upper-level winds are STRONG | WEAK.

Question 44

What do forecasters use in place of isobars on ocean weather maps and why?

Question 45

Despite there being many differences in structure, if a weakening hurricane links up with an upper-level trough, it may actually become a mid-latitude cyclone.

Question 46

In the vertical, where are winds the strongest in a hurricane versus in mid-latitude cyclones?

Question 47

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. In most tropical regions the seasons are marked by differences in TEMPERATURE | PRECIPITATION.

Question 48

Compare a hurricane's eye to its eyewall.

Question 49

Hurricane development is more likely when the trade wind inversion is well developed.

Question 50

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. A hurricane's intensity will INCREASE | DECREASE when the storm moves from the ocean onto land.

Question 51

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. In a hurricane are the fastest winds and strongest thunderstorms found closer to the CENTER or the outer EDGE of the storm?

Question 52

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. As westward-moving Atlantic hurricanes approach the east coast of the United States, they turn toward the NORTH | SOUTH

Question 53

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Hurricanes are WARM | COLD core lows.

Question 54

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Does the temperature difference between the ocean and cloud top determine the maximum strength of a storm in the HEAT ENGINE or the ORGANIZED CONVECTION representation of a hurricane?

Question 55

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Cloud seeding has been used in attempts to INCREASE | DECREASE the diameter of the eye wall and thereby weaken hurricanes.

Question 56

About one-fourth of the hurricanes that strike the United States produce tornadoes. Where do these tornadoes most often form in relation to the hurricane?

Question 57

Most hurricanes develop in warm tropical waters at the Equator even though the Coriolis force is zero there.

Question 58

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Tropical cyclone development is most likely in a region where surface winds CONVERGE | DIVERGE.

Question 59

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. In a hurricane moving northward along the Atlantic coast of the United States, the strongest winds will be on the EAST | WEST side.

Question 60

There is a reduction in the number of Atlantic hurricanes during a major El Niño event.

Question 61

Compare and contrast hurricanes and mid-latitude cyclones.

Question 62

Has the frequency and intensity of hurricanes have increased in recent years? Why or why not? Why might these patterns continue?

Question 63

Hurricane Sandy lost its hurricane status about three hours before making landfall. Why, then, is it so historically significant?

Question 64

Why may the ancient sailors of the sea knew what they were doing when they would dump oil into the sea during stormy weather?

Question 65

Explain the various aspects of hurricanes that can allow them to be so devastating.