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weather and climate > Final exam > Flashcards

Final exam Flashcards

1
Q

Occluded front

A

Cold front overtakes warm front likely bringing rain or snow

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2
Q

Dry line

A

a boundary between wet and dry air masses, no temperature difference, often triggers the formation of thunderstorms because the dry air has a lower density than the wet air

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3
Q

Cold front

A

Cold, dense air mass pushes under a warm, lighter air mass, forcing the warm air to rise; often causes rain and thunderstorms

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4
Q

stationary front

A

when a cold air mass and a warm air mass collide but neither overtakes the other

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5
Q

warm front

A

A warm air mass replacing a cool air mass; warm air masses often accumulate moisture, bringing rain

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6
Q

Thunderstorms are most often associated with

A

Cold fronts and dry lines

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7
Q

What are the three stages of an air mass thunderstorm?

A
  1. cumulus
  2. mature
  3. dissipating
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8
Q

What is an MCC

A

A Mesoscale Convective Complex; a large, circular, long lived cluster of showers and thunderstorms typically lasting 8-10 hours

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9
Q

Squall line

A

line of thunderstorms forming along or ahead of a cold front

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10
Q

tornado

A

A violently rotating column of air touching the ground, usually attached to the base of a thunderstorm that form in contrasting air masses with wind speeds of up to 300mph

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11
Q

Hurricane

A

Counter clockwise, low pressure system that form from updrafts of rising warm air in maritime tropic air masses with wind speeds of up to 74mph

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12
Q

The eye of a hurricane has no clouds because of

A

sinking cold air

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13
Q

where are the strongest winds in a hurricane located?

A

the eye wall

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14
Q

Hurricanes dissipate when they

A

move over land

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15
Q

Hurricanes only form when the water temperature is

A

over 80 degrees

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16
Q

Hurricanes rarely form between 5 south and 5 north latitude because

A

the Coriolis effect is too weak, the coriolis effect makes the hurricane rotate

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17
Q

The main difference between tropical depressions and tropical disturbances is

A

rotation

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18
Q

The hurricane storm surge is caused by

A

pushing outward of water away from the eye by winds blowing away from the center

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19
Q

The name of the US government agency in charge of weather and climate forecasts is

A

National weather service

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20
Q

Organization responsible for the international exchange of weather data

A

World meteorological organization (WMO)

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21
Q

convergence

A

a location where airflows or ocean currents meet, characteristically marked by upwelling of air or downwelling of water

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22
Q

divergence

A

Stronger wind moves away from a weaker wind or air streams move in opposite directions, when it occurs in the upper levels of the atmosphere it leads to rising air

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23
Q

Koppen classification “A” represents

A

Humid tropical

24
Q

Koppen classification “B” represents

A

dry climates

25
Q

Koppen classification “C” represents

A

humid midlatitude, mild winters

26
Q

Koppen classification “D” represents

A

Humid midlatitude, severe winters

27
Q

Koppen classification “E” represents

A

Polar

28
Q

The greenhouse effect

A

certain gasses in the atmosphere absorb longwave radiation and heat the surrounding air

29
Q

The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is about

A

400ppm

30
Q

layers of the atmosphere

A
  1. Troposphere
  2. Stratosphere
  3. Mesosphere
  4. Thermosphere
  5. Exosphere
31
Q

What layer of the atmosphere is the ozone layer found in

A

stratosphere

32
Q

What is heat

A

Heat is a transfer of energy from areas with high temperatures to areas with low temperatures

33
Q

The primary cause of seasons is

A

The tilt of the earth’s rotation axis

34
Q

Convection

A

the movement of particles through a substance, transporting their heat energy from hotter areas to cooler areas

35
Q

Albedo

A

reflection of the sun’s radiation off of snow

36
Q

Most of earth’s radiation is emitted in the form of

A

infrared

37
Q

Isotherm

A

Map connecting all the places with the same temperature

38
Q

adiabatic cooling

A

As the altitude increases, atmospheric pressure decreases, causing the air to expand. As the air expands, the temperature decreases

39
Q

Frontal wedging

A

When a warm air mass and cold air mass collide (same process as a warm front)

40
Q

Clouds are formed by water vapor and

A

condensation nuclei

41
Q

Clouds and precipitation most form because of

A

air being cooled as it rises through adiabatic cooling

42
Q

Condensation

A

the formation of a cloud droplet by water vapor collecting around a nuclei

43
Q

Clouds are classified according to

A

their form or appearance

44
Q

clouds that appear high in the atmosphere (20,000ft or 6000m)

A

alto

45
Q

Clouds with extensive vertical dimentions

A

Cumulus

46
Q

A cloud that is best described as a sheet or layers that cover most of the sky

A

stratus

47
Q

Prefix that indicates precipitation

A

Nimbo

48
Q

The Bergeron process

A

explains how ice crystals grow at the expense of liquid cloud droplets within a mixed cloud. The air reaches a saturation and some of the resulting droplets will come in contact with freezing nuclei

49
Q

High and wispy clouds

A

cirrus

50
Q

Clouds that are full and large but contain no precipitation

A

congestus

51
Q

Clouds that indicate no rain

A

humilis

52
Q

The addition of water vapor will cause the air density to

A

decrease

53
Q

The primary force that causes all winds is

A

the pressure gradient force

54
Q

cyclone

A

low pressure system

55
Q

cyclonic airflow is characterized by

A

divergence aloft and convergence at the surface

56
Q
A
57
Q
A

weather and climate (1 decks)

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