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Meteorology > Exam 2 (Ch 5-8) > Flashcards

Exam 2 (Ch 5-8) Flashcards

1
Q

The amount of pressure change that occurs over a given horizontal distance

A

Pressure gradient

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2
Q

Low ________ on a constant height chart corresponds to low ________ on a constant pressure chart.

A

Pressures, heights

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3
Q

A station at an altitude of 300 m (about 1000 feet) above sea level measures an air pressure of 920 mb. Under normal conditions, what value below do you think would be the most realistic sea level pressure for this station?

A

950 mb

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4
Q

To correctly monitor horizontal changes in air pressure, the most important correction for a mercury barometer measurement is the correction for

A

Altitude

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5
Q

Cyclonic flow means circulation around a _____ pressure center in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.

A

Low

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6
Q

Which statement below is NOT correct concerning the Coriolis force?

A

It is strongest at the equator.

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7
Q

The scale on an altimeter indicates altitude, but an altimeter actually measures

A

Pressure

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8
Q

On an upper-level chart, the wind tends to blow:

A

Parallel to the isobars or contours

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9
Q

The pressure gradient force is directed from higher pressure toward lower pressure

A

At all places on earth

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10
Q

The force that would cause a stationary parcel of air to begin to move horizontally

A

Pressure gradient force

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11
Q

Which of the statements below is not correct concerning the pressure gradient force?

A

Pressure gradient

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12
Q

A surface low pressure center is generally associated with ________ on an upper level isobaric chart.

A

A trough

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13
Q

We can generally expect the air to be ________ above areas of surface low pressure and ________ above areas of surface high pressure.

A

Rising; sinking

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14
Q

When the upward-directed pressure gradient force is in balance with the downward pull of gravity, the atmosphere is in

A

Hydrostatic equilibrium

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15
Q

Which of the following combinations produces the strongest Coriolis force?

A

Fast winds, high latitude

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16
Q

The surface pressures at the bases of warm and cold columns of air are equal. Air pressure in the warm column of air will ________ with increasing height more ________ than in the cold column.

A

Decrease, slowly

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17
Q

Two air columns extend from sea level up to an altitude of 10 km. If one column is cold and the other is warm, the air pressure in the cold column will ________ ________ with increasing height than the air pressure in the warm column.

A

Decrease more rapidly

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18
Q

Which of the following forces does not have a direct effect on horizontal wind motions?

A

Gravitational force

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19
Q

The net force on air moving in a circle at constant speed is

A

Inward toward the center of rotation

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20
Q

The contour lines drawn on a 500 mb chart are lines of constant

A

Altitude

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21
Q

Lines connecting points of equal pressure

A

Isobars

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22
Q

If the earth’s gravitational force were to increase, atmospheric pressure at the ground would

A

Increase

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23
Q

Pressure changes more ________ in the horizontal direction than in the vertical.

A

Rapidly

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24
Q

A wind blowing at a constant speed parallel to straight line isobars with the pressure gradient force (PGF) and the Coriolis force in balance

A

Geostrophic wind

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25
Q

On an upper-level chart, normally we find warm air associated with _____ pressure, and cold air associated with _____ pressure.

A

High, low

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26
Q

Which of the following instruments measures pressure?

A

Barometer

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27
Q

The net force acting on air which is blowing parallel to straight contours at constant speed is

A

Zero

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28
Q

The surface pressures at the bases of warm and cold columns of air are equal. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

A

Pressure will decrease with increasing height at the same rate in both columns.

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29
Q

The wind around a surface high pressure center in the Northern Hemisphere blows

A

Clockwise and outward from the center

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30
Q

A wind that blows at a constant speed parallel to curved isobars or contour lines

A

Gradient wind

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31
Q

Surface low pressure becomes best developed over the Asian continent in the

A

Summer

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32
Q

Which below does not describe the polar front jet stream?

A

Is normally found at a higher elevation than the subtropical jet.

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33
Q

Which of the following associations is most accurate?

A

Mesoscale - land scale

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34
Q

Which of the following conditions favor the development of dust devils?

A

Hot, dry days

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35
Q

The majority of the United States lies within a ________ wind belt.

A

Westerly

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36
Q

The summer monsoon in eastern and southern Asia is characterized by

A

Wet weather and winds blowing from sea to land.

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37
Q

The jet stream blows

A

In a wavy pattern from west to east.

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38
Q

An example of mesoscale motion is

A

Winds blowing through a city.

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39
Q

The heat from a chinook wind is generated mainly by

A

Compressional heating

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40
Q

A sea breeze circulation is caused by ________ differences.

A

Temperature

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41
Q

A katabatic wind is a ________, ________ wind.

A

Cold, downslope

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42
Q

Upwelling occurs along the northern California coast because

A

Winds cause surface waters to move away from the coast.

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43
Q

The name given to a wind system that seasonally changes direction is

A

Monsoon

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44
Q

In the three-cell model of the general circulation, areas of surface low pressure should be found at

A

The equator and 60o latitude

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45
Q

Warm southwesterly and cold northeasterly surface winds meet at the

A

Subpolar low

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46
Q

According to the three-cell general circulation model, at the equator we would NOT expect to find

A

A ridge of high pressure

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47
Q

A chinook wall cloud is a

A

Bank of clouds that form over the mountains and signal the possible onset of a chinook.

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48
Q

Which below is usually NOT true concerning a sea breeze circulation?

A

They mainly occur at night.

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49
Q

The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is a region where

A

Northeast trades meet the southeast trades

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50
Q

In the 3-cell model, converging surface winds and rising air motions are found at

A

The equator and 60o latitude

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51
Q

During the summer along the coast, a sea breeze is usually strongest and best developed

A

In the afternoon.

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52
Q

While fly fishing in a mountain stream, you notice that the wind is blowing upstream. From this you might deduce that the wind is a

A

Valley breeze

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53
Q

Which of the following would NOT be associated with a major El Niño event?

A

Record fish catch in the ocean off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador.

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54
Q

The Santa Ana wind is a _____, _____ wind that blows into southern California.

A

Warm, dry

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55
Q

A dust- or sandstorm that forms along the leading edge of a thunderstorm is a

A

Haboob

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56
Q

Which is NOT a characteristic of a thermal low?

A

Becomes stronger with increasing height

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57
Q

Cumulus clouds that appear above isolated mountain peaks are often the result of

A

Valley breezes

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58
Q

Strong Santa Ana winds develop in Los Angeles during the fall when
a ________ pressure center forms to the ________ of Los Angeles over the Great Basin.

A

High, northeast

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59
Q

Clouds and precipitation are frequently found on the downwind side of a large lake. This would indicate that the air on the downwind side is

A

Converging and rising

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60
Q

On the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, chinook winds are driest when

A

Clouds form and precipitation falls on the upwind side of the mountains.

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61
Q

Most thunderstorms do not extend very far into the stratosphere because the air in the stratosphere is:

A

Stable

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62
Q

Which set of conditions, working together, will make the atmosphere the most stable?

A

Cool the surface and warm the air aloft

63
Q

If you observe the large raindrops hitting the ground, you could probably say that the cloud overhead was _____ and had _____ updrafts.

A

Thick, strong

64
Q

The most common ice crystal shape is

A

A dendrite

65
Q

Two air columns extend from the sea level up to an altitude of 10 km. if one column is cold and the other is warm, the air pressure in the cold column will ________ ________ ________ than the air pressure in the warm column.

A

Decrease more rapidly (with increasing height)

66
Q

The surface pressures at the bases of warm and cold columns of air are equal. Which of the following statements is not correct?

A

Pressure will decrease with increasing height at the same rate in both columns

67
Q

The surface pressures at the bases of warm and cold columns of air are equal. Air pressure in the warm column of air will _____ with increasing height than in the cold column.

A

Decrease more slowly

68
Q

A station at an altitude of 900 m (about 3000 feet) about sea level measures an air pressure of 950 mb. Under normal conditions, which of the values below do you think would be the most realistic sea level pressure for this station?

A

1020 mb

Note: Remember 1 mb/10 m.

69
Q

To correctly monitor horizontal changes in air pressure, the most important correction for a mercury barometer measurement is the correction for

A

Altitude

70
Q

Low pressure on a constant height chart corresponds to _____ _____ on a constant pressure chart.

A

(????)

71
Q

The contour lines drawn on a 500 mb chart are lines of constant:

A

Pressure

72
Q

Cumulus clouds that appear above isolated mountain peaks are often the result of

A

Valley breezes

73
Q

Which of the following associations is most accurate?

A

Mesoscale: land breeze

74
Q

Clouds and precipitation are frequently found on the downwind side of a large lake. This would indicate that the air on the downwind side is

A

Converging and rising

75
Q

Which below does not describe the polar front jet stream?

A

Is normally found at a higher elevation than the subtropical jet.

76
Q

Strong Santa Ana winds develop in Los Angeles during the fall with a ________ pressure center forms to the ________ of Los Angeles over the Great Basin.

A

High, northeast

77
Q

Which of the following would NOT be associated with a major El Niño event?

A

Record fish catch in the ocean off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador.

78
Q

A dust- or sandstorm that forms along the leading edge of a thunderstorm is a

A

Haboob

79
Q

The name given to a wind system that seasonally changes direction is

A

Monsoon

80
Q

According to the 3-cell general circulation model, at the equator we would NOT expect to find

A

A ridge of high pressure

81
Q

A chinook wall cloud

A

Bank of clouds that form over the mountains and signal the possible onset of a chinook.

82
Q

Which is NOT a characteristic of a thermal low?

A

Becomes stronger with increasing height.

83
Q

Surface low pressure becomes best developed over the Asian continent in the:

A

Summer

84
Q

Warm southwesterly and cold northeasterly surface winds meet at the

A

Subpolar low

85
Q

A sea breeze circulation is caused by ________ differences.

A

Temperature

86
Q

The heat from a chinook wind is generated mainly by:

A

Compressional heating

87
Q

During the summer along the coast, a sea breeze is usually strongest and best developed

A

In the afternoon

88
Q

A katabatic wind is a _____, _____ wind.

A

Cold, downslope

89
Q

In the 3-cell model, converging surface winds and rising air motions are found at:

A

The equator and 60o latitude

90
Q

The summer monsoon in eastern and Southern Asia is characterized by:

A

Wet weather and winds blowing from sea to land.

91
Q

The Santa Ana wind is a _____, _____ wind that blows into Southern California.

A

Warm, dry

92
Q

In the 3-cell model of the general circulation, areas of surface low pressure should be found at

A

The equator and 60o latitude

93
Q

The majority of the U.S. lies within a ________ wind belt.

A

Westerly

94
Q

An example of mesoscale motion is

A

Winds blowing through a city

95
Q

Which of the following conditions favor the development of dust devils?

A

Hot, dry days

96
Q

The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is a region where:

A

Northeast trades meet the southeast trades.

97
Q

On the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, chinook winds are driest when:

A

Clouds form and precipitation falls on the upwind side of the mountains.

98
Q

The jet stream blows:

A

In a wavy pattern from west to east.

99
Q

Which below is usually NOT true concerning a sea breeze circulation?

A

They mainly occur at night.

100
Q

Upwelling occurs along the Northern California coast because:

A

Winds cause surface waters to move away from the coast.

101
Q

While fish flying in a mountain stream, you notice that the wind is blowing upstream. From this you might deduce that the wind is a

A

Valley breeze

102
Q

A ________ parcel of air expands and cools, while a ________ parcel is compressed and warms.

A

Rising; sinking

103
Q

When a parcel of air expands and cools, or compresses and warms, with no interchange of heat with its outside surroundings.

A

Adiabatic process

104
Q

The rate of cooling or warming that only applies to unsaturated air.

A

Dry adiabatic rate

105
Q

The rate of cooling or warming that applies to saturated air.

A

Moist adiabatic rate

106
Q

The rate at which the air temperature surrounding us would be changing if we were to climb upward into the atmosphere.

A

Environmental lapse rate

107
Q

When the lifted parcel of air is colder and heavier than the air surrounding it

A

Absolutely stable

108
Q

Since stable air strongly resists upward vertical motion, it will, if forced to rise, tend to spread out ________.

A

Horizontally

109
Q

The cooling of the surface air may be due to:

A
  1. Nighttime radiational cooling of the surface.
  2. An influx of cold surface air brought in by the wind.
  3. Air moving over a cold surface.
110
Q

An inversion that forms by slow, sinking air

A

Subsidence inversion

111
Q

An atmospheric conditions that exists when the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic rate. This results in a lifted parcel of air being warmer than the air around it.

A

Absolutely unstable atmosphere

112
Q

An atmospheric conditions that exists when the environmental lapse rate is less than the dry adiabatic rate. This results in a lifted parcel of air being colder than the air around it.

A

Absolutely stable atmosphere

113
Q

The elevation above the surface where the cloud first forms

A

Condensation level

114
Q

An atmospheric condition that exists when the environmental lapse rate is less than the dry adiabatic rate but greater than the moist adiabatic rate. (Also called conditional instability)

A

Conditionally unstable atmosphere

115
Q

The atmosphere is ordinarily in a state of ________ ________.

A

Conditional instability

116
Q

A hot “bubble” of air

A

Thermal

117
Q

Forced lifting along a topographic barrier

A

Orographic uplift

118
Q

Clouds formed by orographic uplift

A

Orographic clouds

119
Q

The region on the leeward side of a mountain where precipitation is noticeably low, and the air is often drier

A

Rain shadow

120
Q

Wave clouds that often have a characteristic lens shape

A

Lenticular clouds

121
Q

The process of producing precipitation by liquid particles (cloud droplets and raindrops) colliding and joining (coalescing)

A

Collision-coalescence process

122
Q

The constant speed at which a raindrop falls

A

Terminal velocity

123
Q

Larger drops fall ________ than smaller drops.

A

Faster

124
Q

Merging of cloud droplets by collision

A

Coalescence

125
Q

The forces that hold a tiny droplet together

A

Surface tension

126
Q

Sticking together

A

Coalesce

127
Q

The process that ice crystals and liquid cloud droplets must co-exist in clouds at temperatures below freezing

A

Ice crystal (or Bergeron) process

128
Q

When water droplets exist at temperatures below freezing

A

Supercooled

129
Q

Ice-forming particles

A

Ice nuclei

130
Q

Process of ice crystals growing larger as they collide with supercooled cloud droplets

A

Accretion

131
Q

Snow pellets

A

Graupel

132
Q

An aggregate of ice crystals

A

Snowflake

133
Q

Injecting a cloud with small particles that will act as nuclei, so the cloud particles will grow large enough to fall to the surface as precipitation

A

Cloud seeding

134
Q

Any falling drop of liquid water

A

Rain

135
Q

Fine uniform drops of water whose diameters are smaller than 0.5 mm

A

Drizzle

136
Q

Evaporating streaks of precipitation

A

Virga

137
Q

Suspended drops that fall to the ground

A

Shower

138
Q

When the shower is excessively heavy

A

Cloudburst

139
Q

When ice crystals and snowflakes fall from high cirrus clouds

A

Fallstreaks

140
Q

Snow falling from developing cumulus clouds

A

Flurries

141
Q

A more intense snow shower

A

Snow squall

142
Q

Low temperatures and strong winds bearing large amounts of fine, dry, powdery particles of snow

A

Blizzard

143
Q

Tiny transparent ice pellet

A

Sleet

144
Q

Glaze, or drops that spread and almost immediately freeze into a thin veneer of ice

A

Freezing rain

145
Q

An accumulation of white or milky granular ice

A

Rime

146
Q

Small, opaque grains of ice; the solid equivalent of drizzle

A

Snow grains

147
Q

White, opaque grains of ice about the size of an average raindrop

A

Snow pellets

148
Q

Pieces of ice either transparent of partially opaque

A

Hailstones

149
Q

A funnel-shaped collector attached to a long measuring tube

A

Standard rain gauge

150
Q

An amount of rainfall less than one-hundredth of an inch

A

Trace

151
Q

Radio detection and ranging

A

Radar

152
Q

Similar to conventional radar units that were put into service shortly after WWII

A

Doppler radar

153
Q

Principle of having the capacity to measure the speed at which falling rain is moving horizontally toward or away from the radar antenna

A

Doppler shift

Meteorology (4 decks)

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