Summer Meteorology Knowledge

Question 0

Why is it warmer at night with clouds rather than clear skies?

Answer 0

Clouds absorb long wave(terrestrial) energy and re-emit it to earth. Also moisture in the air absorbs radiation.

Question 1

Why does peak heating not end at 12?

Answer 1

Incoming radiation continues to exceed outgoing heat energy. This yields an energy surplus for two to four hours after noon depending on cloud cover. Incoming equals outgoing at max and min temps.

Question 2

What models are better for predicting wind?

Answer 2

Canadian and NAM

Question 3

What factors are looked at in order to determine severe weather?

Answer 3

High CAPE, helicity, shear, hodographs, lapse rate and lifted index

Question 4

What model is bad for forecasting minimum temps?

Answer 4

MOS Guidance

Question 5

What kind of sounding is evident of heavy rain? Hail?

Answer 5

1. ) Tall, skinny profile for heavy rain

2. ) Large CAPE and lapse rates in the mid-levels

Question 6

What’s a radiation inversion? Why is it weaker when there’s wind?

Answer 6

Radiation inversion is when the cold air is below warm air. This happens because the ground is a better absorber of energy than air. Winds mix the air causing the inversion to be weaker.

Question 7

What are the lapse rates?

Answer 7

Dry ~10C/km

Moist ~ 6C/km

Question 8

What weighs more moist or dry air?

Answer 8

Dry because weight of dry is 29

Weight of moist is 18

Question 9

How high is the planetary boundary layer?

Answer 9

About 1 km

Question 10

What instrument measures wind speed and direction?

Answer 10

Aerovane

Question 11

Why does wind change speed and direction over water bodies like lakes?

Answer 11

Less friction over lake causes winds to increase and Coriolis force moves wind to the right

Question 12

What is a chinook?

Answer 12

Warm, dry wind that occur when strong westerlies winds aloft flow over the Rockies. Downsloping winds dry adiabatically and warm the temp on the downwind side

Question 13

What is a good example of where the subtropical highs and equatorial/subpolar lows are?

Answer 13

Continent of Africa. Wet where the lows are located and dry were highs are located

Question 14

What airmass aids rainfall on the east coast during the summer?

Answer 14

Bermuda high’s southerly winds bring tropical air northward, which produces rainfall

Question 15

What is the polar front?

Answer 15

A zone if low pressure where storms often form. It separates the warm westerlies from the cold easterlies.

Question 16

What are signs to recognize a front on a surface map?

Answer 16

1. ) Wind direction
2. ) Change in dew points
3. ) Temperature changes
4. ) Pressure changes
5. ) Cloud and precip patterns

Question 17

Where are the regions of convergence and divergence in jet streaks? Strong and weak parts?

Answer 17

Strong convergence - left entrance
Strong divergence - left exit
Weak convergence - right exit
Weak divergence - right entrance
Most storms form in left exit region

Question 18

What imagery helps show vorticity in the atmosphere well?

Answer 18

Water Vapor imagery

Question 19

What aspects do models handle best?

Answer 19

Predicting temperature and jet stream patterns. Not precip

Question 20

On a 700 mb chart, what %RH encloses areas of clouds?

Answer 20

70% and above

Question 21

What aspects show chances of precip in models?

Answer 21

Where the 700 mb RH is above 90% and where there is high omega values.

Question 22

How do we tell if surface lows will intensify?

Answer 22

Look for vort maxes and remember to the east of PVA we find upper level divergence, upward motion and development

Question 23

How can you determine the movement of weather systems?

Answer 23

1) They usually move with the 500mb winds

2) Lows move toward pressure drops and highs move towards pressure rises

Question 24

Veering winds can tell us?

Answer 24

There is warm air advection WAA moving in. Temps will increase

Question 25

What does backing tell us?

Answer 25

Cold air advection is moving in CAA. Temps will decrease over next 24-48 hours

Question 26

What do you look for in each level to forecast where severe weather will form?

Answer 26

300 mb- strong upper level winds downstream of trough
500mb- vort max tilted so not over surface low
700- dry conditions
850/925- low level jet that is different wind direction of above levels
Surface- classic frontal boundary with cold/warm front

Question 27

What type of jet stream moves faster? Jet with meridional or zonal flow?

Answer 27

Meridional flow moves slower, zonal flow moves systems faster