Weather

Question 1

Warm Front

Answer 1

A warm air mass moving over cold air mass, move slower than cold fronts.

Brings less severe weather, but can cause low clouds, ceilings, poor visibility, and rain

Question 2

Cold Front

Answer 2

A cold air mass moving over a warm air mass, move quicker than warm fronts.

Associated with violent weather, such as sudden storms, gusty winds, turbulence, and occasionally hail or tornadoes

Question 3

Stationary Front

Answer 3

A cold air mass and warm air mass have met, but neither is taken over by the other

Question 4

Occluded Front

Answer 4

A cold front catches up to a warm front, where there is warm air above from the warm front and cooler air in front of the warm front

Question 5

Atmospheric Stability

Answer 5

The airs tendency to either rise and create storms or turbulence(unstable), or to resist vertical movement and motion(stable)

Question 6

Unstable atmosphere

Answer 6

Air rises easily, more bouyant and turbulent with updrafts and downdrafts, causes the production of clouds, when interacting with a trigger (such as a cold front), more violent weather conditions

Question 7

Stable Atmosphere

Answer 7

Air resists vertical movement, more prone to fog development at night

Question 8

Rising Air

Answer 8

When air rises, it expands due to the decrease in pressure, the expansion causes the temp to decrease

Question 9

Descending Air

Answer 9

Air compresses as it falls, causing an increase in temp

Question 10

Lapse Rate

Answer 10

The change in temp as altitude increases or decreases

(avg is a 2 degree Celsius drop in temp per 1000ft increase in altitude)

Question 11

Stable Air Conditions

Answer 11

Cool, dry, and smooth air, poor visibility, and continuous steady precipitation in the presence of larger, low pressure systems.

Favorable conditions in the day in the absence of low pressure systems.

Question 12

Unstable Air Conditions

Answer 12

Warm, moist air, turbulence, and good visibility, showery precipitation and thunderstorms

Question 13

Temperature Inversion

Answer 13

Smooth stable air, little to no turbulence.

Occur at low altitudes, not great camera weather, but good flying weather. Continuous steady precipitation

Question 14

Service Based Temp Inversion

Answer 14

Occurs on a cool clear night when air close to the ground is cooled by the lowering temp of the ground. The air within a few hundred feet of the surface becomes cooler than the air above it

Question 15

Frontal Temp Inversion

Answer 15

A front of warm air spreads over a layer of cooler air, or a front of cool air is forced under a layer of warm air

Question 16

Relative Humidity

Answer 16

Amount of water vapor in the air compared to the amount the air can hold at the current temp

The colder the air is, the less it can hold.

Question 17

Dew Point

Answer 17

The temp at which air is totally saturated and it cannot hold any more water for a certain amount of water vapor

Question 18

Saturation Point

Answer 18

When the temp drops and meets the dew point, moisture condenses out of the air and fog, dew, clouds, and precipitation can occur

Question 19

Radiation Fog

Answer 19

forms when the ground cools quickly because of terrestrial radiation. The surrounding air must also reach the dew point.

Forms near the surface on low lying areas, typically on a clear night with no wind present.

Can be dissipated by sunlight from the sun rising and strong winds

Question 20

Advection Fog

Answer 20

Forms when wind blows across the warmer ocean water, causing warm air to move over the cooler terrain

Common in costal regions, must have wind around 15 knots for advection fog to form (if wind is stronger, it will cause fog to rise and turn into low lying stratus clouds)

Question 21

Upslope Fog

Answer 21

Moist stable air must be pushed up sloping lands such as large hills, mountains, etc.

A continued presence of strong wind must remain to form the fog and strengthen it, can remain for days.