Meteorology Flashcards
High pressure areas are areas where the air is ____ (sinking/rising)
Is the temp higher or lower?
What is the general air movement?
Another name for high pressure system?
Type of weather associated with a high?
Does it move fast or slow
Sinking
Lower
Clockwise, outwards (diverging, descending)
Anticyclone
Fair weather, fewer clouds, good visibility, light winds, can remain for days and produce early morning fog
Typically slower moving systems
Low pressure areas the air is ____ (rising/sinking)
Temp high or low?
General air movement?
Another name for low pressure system?
Type of weather expected with low?
Does it move fast or slow
Rising
High
Counterclockwise and inward (converging and ascending)
Cyclone
Cloudy weather, precipitation. Expect thunderstorms, rain, hail, snow, if there is a steep pressure gradient expect strong winds
Typically fast moving, summer 500 miles a day, winter 700 miles
What is a trough?
What does it bring with it?
An elongated area of low pressure
Usually brings clouds, showers and wind shift
What is a ridge?
What does it bring?
Area of elongated high pressure with low pressure on each side.
Usually brings fair weather
What is a col?
What usually occurs within the area for weather?
Neutral region between two highs and two lows.
Usually unsettled weather, fog in winter and showers/thunderstorms in summer
The best indication of relative humidity is
the temperature and dew point spread
What are the 4 types of lapse rates?
- Steep Lapse Rate
- Shallow Lapse Rate
- Inversion
- Isothermal Layer
What is an inversion?
Stable or unstable?
- The temperature increases with altitude.
- In this case the air is stable.
The ____ the dew point, the greater the amount of moisture the air contains.
(Higher/lower)
Higher
Identify the following as well as okta coverage.
What is SKC?
FEW
SCT
BKN
OVC
SKC- clear sky
FEW- 1-2/8 sky coverage
SCT - 3-4/8 sky coverage
BKN- 5/8 to less than 8/8 coverage
OVC- overcast, 8/8 coverage
VFR pilots are NOT permitted to fly above a _____ or _____ layer unless they have a _____ _____ rating
BKN or OVC
VFR OTT
What is an occluded front?
Why does it happen?
When cold front overtakes a warm front
Cold fronts move faster than warm fronts
What does trowal stand for?
Trough of Warm Air Aloft
position of a warm front that’s been cut off from the ground by a cold front
The most severe mountain wave conditions are created in strong airflows blowing at ____ angles to the range and in ____ (stable/unstable) air.
90 degrees
Stable air
What is virga? How does it factor in with low level wind shear?
Precipitation that evaporates before reaching ground (looks like wispy streaks coming from clouds)
Indicates downdraft
Where is a squall line usually found?
The most severe up/downdrafts can be found at the leading or trailing edge of the storms?
Along or just ahead of cold front
Leading edge
The probability of lightning strikes occurring to aircraft is greatest when operating at altitudes where temperatures are between _____ and _____ C.
-5 and 5 C
If avoiding storms visually, stay at least _____ miles on the downwind side and _____ miles on the upwind side.
* Using radar, increase the avoidance distance up to _____ miles due to radar error
5 miles upwind
10 miles downwind
20 miles radar
When a vertical visibility (VV) is reported in a METAR, is it considered to be a VFR ceiling?
No
