Deck 14: Weather Patterns and Severe Weather

Question 1

Examine the figure. Which of the symbols shown is used to illustrate a stationary front?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which part of a hurricane has the most intense winds?

A)divergence aloft
B)counterclockwise rain bands (clockwise in the southern hemisphere)
C)eye wall
D)eye

Answer 2

C

Question 3

At any given time, an estimated ________ thunderstorms are in progress on Earth, most of them in the tropics. This results in around ________ thunderstorms on Earth every day.

A)20; 450
B)200; 4,500
C)2,000; 45,000
D)20,000; 450,000

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Once warm, moist air, is lifted, the buoyancy necessary to maintain its upward flight is provided by ________.

A)release of latent heat
B)frontal wedging
C)adiabatic cooling
D)lightning and accompanying thunder

Question 5

Several consecutive days of rather constant weather in an area probably indicates ________.

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

Question 6

Should people be more concerned about tornado warnings or tornado watches?

A)tornado warnings
B)tornado watches
C)both mean the same thing

Question 7

A cyclone is ________.

A)another name for a tornado
B)another name for a hurricane
C)another name for the low-pressure systems that take several days to travel across North America from west to east
D)the term for circulation around any low-pressure center, no matter how large or intense it is

Question 8

Examine the figure. Based on our best understand of mid-latitude cyclones, which of the four lettered interpretations best matches the weather patterns observed in the "raw" satellite image at top?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 9

Cold fronts advance at a rate of about ________.

A)5 to 15 kilometers (3 to 10 miles)per hour
B)25 to 35 kilometers (15 to 20 miles)per hour
C)35 to 50 kilometers (20 to 35 miles)per hour
D)55 to 75 kilometers (34 to 46 miles)per hour

Question 10

A cT air mass is ________.

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

Question 11

Where warm, moist, unstable mT air seldom penetrates, such as along the west coast of the United States, ________.

A)there are many thunderstorms
B)there are very few thunderstorms
C)there is no humidity in the air
D)there is an excess of humidity in the air

Question 12

Hurricanes are characterized by ________.

A)intense convective (thunderstorm)activity and strong cyclonic circulation
B)intense convective (thunderstorm)activity and strong anticyclonic circulation
C)mild convective (thunderstorm)activity and strong cyclonic circulation
D)mild convective (thunderstorm)activity and strong anticyclonic circulation

Question 13

Examine the figure. What weather phenomenon is illustrated here?

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

Question 14

Stationary fronts are distinctive because ________.

A)they occur where a warm front merges with a cold front
B)they stay in one spot on Earth's surface
C)there is no difference in the temperature of the air masses on either side of the front
D)there is no difference in the humidity of the air masses on either side of the front

Question 15

Occluded fronts form because ________.

A)of the Coriolis effect
B)cold fronts travel at a faster rate than do warm fronts
C)warm fronts travel at a faster rate than do cold fronts
D)air movement is parallel to the front

Question 16

A mature mid-latitude cyclone with a center of low pressure is about 200 to 300 kilometers (125 to 200 miles)north of your location. If it takes 3 days to pass your location, on which day would temperatures likely be warmest? On which day would they likely be coldest?

A)Day 1 would be warmest; Day 2 would be coldest.
B)Day 2 would be warmest; Day 3 would be coldest.
C)Day 3 would be warmest; Day 2 would be coldest.
D)Day 2 would be warmest; Day 1 would be coldest.

Question 17

An mP air mass is ________.

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

Question 18

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

A)warm fronts
B)cold fronts
C)occluded fronts
D)dragon mouths

Question 19

An air mass originating in the Gulf of Mexico should be labeled ________.

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

Question 20

You are driving west in your car on a clear, warm day. Up ahead, you see a dark band of ominous clouds. Soon, you drive beneath the towering bank of clouds, and things get very dark. For twenty minutes, you are pelted with rain and even some hail. You keep driving west, even though it seems a little sketchy at times. On the radio, you hear that the next county to the north is under a tornado warning. Then the sky lightens, and there is only a little rain. You notice that the temperature outside has dropped by 15°F (8°C). What have you just driven across?

A)a warm front
B)a cold front
C)a mid-latitude cyclone
D)the jet stream

Question 21

Hurricanes most often develop in late winter.

Question 22

Examine the figure. Of the four lettered locations on the coast of North and South Carolina, which one will likely experience the worst storm surge?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 23

Doppler radar is a useful tool for detecting tornadoes.

Question 24

Generally, hurricanes are ________.

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

Question 25

On average, cold fronts are about twice as steep as warm fronts.

Question 26

Sometimes lightning is produced without any associated thunder.

Question 27

In some parts of the world hurricanes are called typhoons or cyclones.

Question 28

Examine the figure, and then evaluate the truthfulness of this statement: "The figure shows a cold front."

Question 29

Divergence aloft helps maintain surface lows.

Question 30

A tropical storm has stronger winds than a tropical depression.

Question 31

When a hurricane enters the coastal zone, the most devastating damage usually results from ________.

A)storm surge
B)flooding
C)wind damage
D)tornadoes

Question 32

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

Question 33

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 storm energy?

A)friction
B)lack of warm, moist air
C)heating from below by the land surface
D)both A and B

Question 34

A warm front is predicted to come through your area tomorrow. You should prepare for thunderstorms, hail, and tornadoes.

Question 35

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 36

When it comes to mid-latitude cyclones and anti-cyclones, airflow aloft has very little relationship (if any)with airflow at Earth's surface.

Question 37

A cT air mass is more likely to be found in Arizona than in Louisiana.

Question 38

Because instability and buoyancy are enhanced by high surface temperatures, thunderstorms are most common in the afternoon and early evening.

Question 39

Thunderstorms are associated with cumulonimbus clouds.

Question 40

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

Question 41

At the center of a hurricane is a relatively calm region called the ________.

Question 42

When continental polar air moves over a relatively warm lake, such as the Great Lakes, the air mass acquires both heat and moisture, resulting in ________ on the land leeward of the lake.

Question 43

Maritime tropical air is the source of much, if not most, of the ________ received in the eastern two-thirds of the United States.

Question 44

Generally, three stages are involved in the development of thunderstorms: the cumulus stage, mature stage, and ________ stage.

Question 45

Compare the characteristics (general weather, movement, etc.)of a cold front to a warm front. Also, briefly explain why they exhibit different characteristics.

Question 46

Hail, thunder, and tornadoes are all characteristic features of a(n)________ front.

Question 47

The boundary between air masses having different temperatures (and hence, different densities)is called a(n)________.

Question 48

Match the items in the first column with the correct descriptions in the second column.

A)a scale for ranking how powerful a tornado is
B)an alert that a tornado has been spotted in an area
C)violent windstorms that take the form of a rotating column of air called a vortex that extends downward from a cumulonimbus cloud. Maximum winds can approach 480 kilometers (300 miles)per hour.
D)an alert that conditions in an area may be favorable to the development of tornados
E)a situation where dense cold air actively advances into a region occupied by warmer air
F)tropical cyclones with wind speeds in excess of 119 kilometers (74 miles)per hour. They are fueled by the latent heat that is liberated when huge quantities of water vapor condense.
G)a situation where warmer air actively advances into a region occupied by dense cold air
H)a scale for ranking how powerful a hurricane is
1)cold front
2)warm front
3)Enhanced Fujita intensity scale
4)Saffir-Simpson scale
5)tornado watch
6)tornado warning
7)tornado
8)hurricane

Question 49

When an active cold front overtakes a warm front a(n)________ forms.

Question 50

A large body of air that is characterized by a homogeneity of temperature and moisture at any given level is a(n)________.

Question 51

Precipitation along a cold front is generally ________ intense and of ________ duration than precipitation associated with a warm front.

Question 52

Depending on the context, the word ________ may refer to a tornado, a hurricane, or a large-scale atmospheric system in the mid-latitudes. Though on different scales, all have in common a rotational pattern of winds.

Question 53

Cold fronts are about twice as ________ as warm fronts and move more rapidly, too. These two factors mean warm air is forced aloft more rapidly, and more dramatic weather is produced.

Question 54

The new generation of weather radar that is capable of detecting precipitation motion directly is called ________ radar.

Question 55

A hurricane that ranks as a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale is moving north towards an east-west-trending section of the Mississippi coast at 40 kilometers per hour. The net winds on the right side of the storm will be ________ kilometers per hour

Question 56

Identify and label each of the color-coded air masses in these two figures. Label figure A and B to state which season they depict.

Question 57

Summarize the factors that lead to the development, growth, and decay of hurricanes.

Question 58

Describe "Lake effect" snows in the Great Lakes region and how they form.

Question 59

Tornadoes are violent windstorms that take the form of a rotating column of air called a(n)________ that extends downward from a cumulonimbus cloud.

Question 60

________ refers to the situation where a warm air glides up along the edge of a cold air mass.

Question 61

A hurricane has slower wind speeds than a tornado does, but it inflicts more damage. Why?

Question 62

What does hailstone size indicate about the strength of processes inside a thunderstorm?

Question 63

Examine the map showing tornado incidence in the 48 contiguous United States. Why are there so many tornados in the central mid-west?

Question 64

Which of the two tornado tracks shown in these satellite images is typical of the path taken by most tornados in the United States? Explain the "normal" pattern, and suggest a reason for the deviation seen in the other image.