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Commercial Pilot Ground Course (or Private Pilot Ground Course) > Meteorology Pt. 2 > Flashcards

Meteorology Pt. 2 Flashcards

Clouds

1
Q

They form when ‘‘moist’’ air is lifted. The moist air is then cooled, and the dew point is reached. At this time, the air is not saturated then changes into a visible state

A

Clouds

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2
Q

How can the cooling of air be done?

A
  • Lifting
  • Moving over a cooler surface
  • Cooling from the underlying surface
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3
Q

What does stratus mean?

A

Layer, sheet like clouds

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4
Q

What are the four basic group of families in clouds

A
  • Low
  • Middle
  • High
  • Clouds with vertical development
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5
Q

What does Cumulus mean?

A

Heap, puffy clouds

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6
Q

What does Cirrus mean?

A

Ringlet, wispy clouds

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7
Q

What does Nimbus mean?

A

Violent Rain, rain clouds

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8
Q

These are layered clouds that form in stable air near the surface due to cooling from below

A

Stratus

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9
Q

White and puffy that form when stable air is lifted

A

Stratuscumulus

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10
Q

Gray or black that can be more than several thousands of feet thick, and contain a large amount of moisture

A

Nimbostratus

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11
Q

Flat, dense clouds that cover a wide area, uniform gray or gray-white in color

A

Altostratus

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12
Q

Gray or white, patchy clouds of uniform appearance that often form when altostratus starts to break up

A

Altocumulus

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13
Q

Thin, white, often form in long bands or sheets. The moisture content is low, poses, no icing hazard

A

Cirrostratus

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14
Q

White, patchy clouds that look like cotton, form as a result of shallow convective currents at high altitude. It may produce light turbulence

A

Cirrocumulus

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15
Q

Thin and wispy, white or light gray, form in stable air at high altitudes, often in patches or narrow bands in the sky. This can be an advanced warning of approaching bad weather

A

Cirrus

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16
Q

Form in convective currents from the heating of the earth’s surface, they have flat bottoms and domed shape tops

A

Cumulus

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17
Q

Looks like large mounds of cotton, white to gray from top to bottom, indicate a deep area of unstable air

A

Towering cumulus

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18
Q

Commonly called thunderstorms, large, form in very unstable air, gray white to black in color, contain large amounts of moisture

A

Cumulonimbus

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19
Q

This is technically a low cloud which has its base within so feet of the ground

A

Fog

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20
Q

What is the term if the fog is less than 20 feet deep?

A

Ground fog

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21
Q

This forms over low-lying, flat surface on clear, calm, humid nights

A

Radiation fog

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22
Q

This is a low layer of warm, moist air that moves calm, humid nights

A

Advection fog

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23
Q

This occurs as cold, dry air moves over comparatively warmer water

A

Steam fog

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24
Q

This can be defined as any form of particles, whether liquid or solid, that fall from the atmosphere

A

Precipitation

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25
Q

This is distinguished by very small droplets and is less than 0.02 inches in diameter

A

Drizzle

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26
Q

This is when the droplets are greater in size by 0.02 inches or greater

A

Rain

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27
Q

As rain falls, it may freeze as it passes through colder air under the clouds, it then strikes the ground as?

A

Ice pellets

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28
Q

Water droplets that freeze in the clouds with strong upward currents may grass in size and may fall as?

A

Hail

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29
Q

This is precipitation composed of ice crystals

A

Snow

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30
Q

This is a large body of air with fairly uniform temperature and moisture content

A

Air masses

31
Q

The area where an air mass acquires the properties of temperature and moisture that determine its stability

A

Source Region

32
Q

What is an ideal source region?

A

A large area with fairly uniform geography and temperature

33
Q

What are the best areas for air mass development?

A

Semi-permanent areas of high pressure

34
Q

What are the temperature characteristics

A

Polar and tropical

35
Q

What are the moisture content?

A

Continental and maritime

36
Q

This air mass originates over water and contains warm, moist and unstable air. This results in the formation of cumuliform clouds with sharers, turbulence, and good surface visibility

A

Maritime tropical

37
Q

This air mass originates near polar areas and contents cold, dry and stable air. This exhibits widespread stratiform clouds, restricted visibility, smooth air , steady rain or drizzle

A

Continental polar

38
Q

What happens when an air mass moves over a warm surface?

A

-the lower surface are heated
-vertical development takes place
-depending on temperature and moisture,this can result in extreme instability

39
Q

What happens when an air mass flows over cooler surfaces?

A

-the lower layers are cooled
- vertical development is inhibited
- the stability of the air is then increased
- if the air is cooled to its dew point, it can develop la clouds or fog

40
Q

This is the boundary between two air masses

41
Q

This is where cold air is moving to displace warmer air

A

Cold front

42
Q

When warm air is replacing cold air

A

Warm front

43
Q

When a cold front overtakes a warm fronts

A

Occluded front

44
Q

When two air masses merge and don’t advance

A

Stationary front

45
Q

Pushed along by intense high-pressure systems. Surface friction slows the movement of the front, causing the leading edge of the front to bulge out and steepen the front’s slope

A

Fast-moving cold front

46
Q

The leading edge is much shallower compared to a fast-moving front. Produces clouds which extend for beyond the surface front

A

Slow-moving cold front

47
Q

When fast moving cold front is colder than the air ahead of the slow - moving front. The cold air replaces the cool air at the surface which forces the warm front aloft (above)

A

Cold front occlusion

48
Q

Occurs when the air ahead of the slow-moving warm front is colder than the air within the fast - moving cold front. The cold front rides up over the warm front

A

Warm front occlusion

49
Q

They contain strong wind gusts, icing, hail, driving rain, lightning and sometimes tornadoes

A

Thunderstorms

50
Q

Violent with wind gusts of 50 or more, hail 3/4 inches in diameter or larger tornado and/or tornadoes

A

Severe thunderstorm

51
Q

Usually lasts less than an hour

A

Single - cell thunderstorm

52
Q

Severe thunderstorm, may last two hours

A

Super-cell thunderstorm

53
Q

A compact cluster of thunderstorms, composed of at mass thunderstorms in different stages of development

A

Multicell thunderstorm

54
Q

Scattered thunderstorms which are common during summer afternoons, or in coastal areas at night

A

Air mass thunderstorm

55
Q

This often forms 50 - 300 miles ahead of a fast- moving cold front, the most extreme weather conditions, such as destructive winds, heavy hail, and tornadoes

A

Squall line

56
Q

Storms which are associated with frontal activity

A

Frontal thunderstorm

57
Q

This refers to a lifting action initiates the vertical movement of air. As the air rises and cools to its dew point, water vapor condenses into small water droplets or ice crystals. If sufficient moisture is present, heat released by the condensing vapor provides energy for continued vertical growth of the cloud

A

Cumulus Stage

58
Q

The circulation of the thunderstorm cell is organized in this stage. This is the storm’s most violent stage

A

Mature Stage

59
Q

The final stage in the cycle wherein updrafts are replaced by downdrafts. The entire thunderstorm starts to weaken

A

Dissipating Stage

60
Q

This develops when air currents change direction or velocity rapidly over a short distance. The magnitude of the turbulence depends on the difference between the two air currents

A

Thunderstorm Turbulence

61
Q

This is always associated with thunderstorms and can occur in several forms including in-cloud, cloud-to;-cloud, cloud-to-ground and occasionally, between cloud and clear air

62
Q

How large can hail be?

A

3/4 inches in diameter

63
Q

These are funnel clouds that reaches the earth’s surface, whether land or sea. Tornadoes exhibit wind speeds exceeding 200 knots.

64
Q

A sudden, often violent shift in airflow

A

Turbulence

65
Q

State the categories of turbulence

A
  • Low-level turbulence
  • Mechanical turbulence
  • Frontal turbulence
  • Wake turbulence
  • Clear air turbulence
66
Q

This is when obstacles such as buildings or rough terrain interfere with normal wind flow

A

Mechanical Turbulence

67
Q

This occurs in the narrow zone just ahead of a fast-moving cold front where updrafts can reach 1,000 feet/min

A

Frontal Turbulence

68
Q

When combined with convection and strong winds across the front, these updrafts can produce significant turbulence

A

Frontal Turbulence

69
Q

When an airplane generates lift, air spills over the wingtips from the high-pressure areas below the wings to the low-pressure areas above them

A

Wake Turbulence

70
Q

This can form when a layer of air slides over the top of another slow-moving air. This is common thought of as high-altitude phenomenon

A

Clear Air Turbulence

71
Q

This is a sudden, drastic shift in wind speed and/or direction that may occur at any altitude in a vertical or horizontal plane

A

Wind Shear

72
Q

It can subject your aircraft to sudden updrafts, downdrafts, or extreme horizontal wind components, causing a loss of lift or violent changes in vertical speeds or altitude

A

Wind Shear

73
Q

This is one of the most dangerous sources of wind shear

A

Microburst

Commercial Pilot Ground Course (or Private Pilot Ground Course) (21 decks)

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