Hazardous Weather Flashcards
What is considered IFR condtitions at an airport?
Ceiling less than 1000 feet and/or
visibility less than 3 miles
What causes most low visibilities?
Fog
What non-water hazards can cause low visibility?
Haze, Smoke, Blowing Dust, Blowing Sand, Volcanic Ash
Name 3 types of weather advisories.
AIRMET, SIGMET, CWA (center weather advisory)
What is turbulence?
Irregular or disturbed flow of air. Causes abrupt jolts and bumps.
Name types of turbulence.
Convective, Mechanical, Clear Air, Wind Shear, Downburst
Name the 4 intensities of turbulence.
Light, Moderate, Severe, Extreme
What causes mechanical turbulence?
Wind going over or around an obstruction (mountain, building)
What is clear air turbulence?
Patchy turbulence near the jet stream
What is convective turbulence?
Air movement produced by uneven heating
What is wind shear?
Change in wind speed and/or direction in a short distance
What is a downburst?
Strong downdraft less than 5 NM wide. Microburst if less than 2.5 NM.
Macroburst if over 2.5 NM.
What are the three types of icing?
Clear, rime, mixed
What is clear icing, what does it do to the aircraft?
Clear smooth glassy ice. Accumulates rapidly, difficult to remove, heavy.
What is rime icing, what does it do to the aircraft?
Coarse, milky, irregular shaped ice. Easy to remove, distorts airfoil shape.
What is mixed icing, what does it do to the aircraft?
Mixture of clear and rime ice. Accumulates very rapidly, worst features of clear and rime.
Beyond wings what other problems does icing cause?
Clog flow of air to engine, clog flow of fuel to engine, clog flow of air to instruments
What are the 4 intensity levels of icing?
Trace, Light, Moderate, Severe
What hazards are common in thunderstorms?
Heavy rain, Hail, Strong gusty winds, turbulence, downbursts, low visibility, tornado
What are the 3 types of thunderstorms?
Singlecell, multicell, supercell
What are common hazards of hurricanes?
Deep low pressure, thunderstorms, tornadoes, strong winds
