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Weather and Climate > Weather and Climate: Ch. 16 > Flashcards

Weather and Climate: Ch. 16 Flashcards

1
Q

A whitish ring of light surrounding the sun or moon

A

Halo

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2
Q

Ice crystals in cirrostratus clouds refract the sun’s rays

A

Halo

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3
Q

Light is concentrated on either side of the sun as two brilliant spots

A

Sundogs

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4
Q

Vertical streaks of light that appear above and below a low sun as it shines through ice-crystal clouds

A

Sun Pillars

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5
Q

An arch-shaped array of colored bands

A

Rainbows

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6
Q

To see a rainbow, you must be facing the ____ with ____ at your back

A

rain; sun

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7
Q

Order of Rainbow colors from outer to inner most band:

A

red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet

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8
Q

Appears as a bright whitish disk centered on the moon

A

Corona

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9
Q

Bright area produced by diffraction

A

Iridescence

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10
Q

Adequate for outdoor activities without the need for artificial lighting

A

Civil twilight

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11
Q

Sufficient to distinguish outlines of objects on the ground

A

Nautical Twilight

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12
Q

Occurs when sun’s disc is between 12° and 18° below horizon

A

Astronomical Twilight

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13
Q

For clouds to precipitate:

A

Cloud particles must grow large enough to overcome updrafts

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14
Q

____ has the greatest ability to overcome an updraft

A

Hail

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15
Q

water droplets that remain liquid when temps below freezing

A

Supercooled drops

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16
Q

Warm clouds =

A

above freezing temps at all levels

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17
Q

Characteristics of warm clouds

A
  • Boundaries sharply defined
  • Common in tropics
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18
Q

Cold clouds =

A

made of ice crystals and/or supercooled drops in temps below freezing

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19
Q

Characteristics of cold clouds

A
  • Wispy
  • Important rain producers in midlatitudes
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20
Q

What are the two precipitation processess

A
  1. Collision-Coalescence Process
  2. Bergeron-Findeisen Process
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21
Q

Characteristics of Collision-Coalescence Process

A
  • Warm cloud
  • Droplets of different sizes collide and coalesce into larger droplets
  • Important in tropics
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22
Q

Characteristics of Bergeron-Findeisen Process

A
  • Ice-crystal process
  • Cold cloud
  • Ice crystals grow at expense of supercooled water droplets
  • May grow large enough to fall as snowflakes
  • If snowflakes melt before reaching ground, they fall as raindrops
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23
Q

Much of rain falling in midlatitudes in summer begins as _____

A

snow

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24
Q

Drops of liquid water

A

Rain

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25
Q

___ __________ causes raindrops to fall as slightly flattened spheres, diameters at least ____ mm

A

Air resistance; 0.5

26
Q

Fine, uniform drops of water

27
Q

What is the diameter of drops of water in a drizzle?

A

0.02’’

28
Q

Drizzle drift very _____ to surface

29
Q

Where does a drizzle originate?

A

stratus or nimbostratus clouds

30
Q

Smallest droplets able to reach ground

31
Q

What does mist closely resemble?

32
Q

Streaks of precipitation falling from a cloud

33
Q

In virga, water ________ before reaching surface

A

evaporates

34
Q

Ice crystals that sublimate when they enter dry air, wisps

A

Fallstreaks

35
Q

Intermittent precipitation from cumuliform cloud

36
Q

Aggregates of ice crystals in form of flakes

36
Q

Showers are usually _______, but _______ in duration (cloudburst)

A

short; heavy

37
Q

Snow ____ in shape and size

38
Q

The shape and size of a snowflake depends on …

A

water vapor concentration and temp

39
Q

When are snowflakes small?

A

At very low temps and water vapor is low

40
Q

When do snowflakes stick together?

A

At air temps near or slightly above freezing (diameters 2 to 4’’)

41
Q

Light showers that fall for short durations and produce light accumulations

42
Q

Soft, oblong ice pellet

A

Graupel (“soft hail”)

43
Q

Falling or blowing snow that reduces visibility to 0.25 mile or less for at least 3 hours

A

Blizzard Warning

44
Q

What are wind speeds at for at least 3 hours during a blizzard Warning?

45
Q

Where are blizzards most common?

A

eastern CO north into SD, ND, MN

46
Q

Clear to translucent ice pellets

47
Q

What season does sleet occur?

48
Q

Sleet refreezes into ice particles _____ to striking ground

49
Q

Sleet ______ when it hits the ground

50
Q

Rain (or drizzle) that freezes on contact with cold surface

A

Freezing Rain (glaze)

51
Q

Freezing rain forms a coating of ice (glaze) on _______ surfaces

52
Q

Hard, round pellets or irregular lumps of ice

53
Q

What is the diameter of hail?

A

0.20’’ or more

54
Q

Hail is characterized by alternating layers of _______ and ______ ice

A

opaque and clear

55
Q

How does hail develop?

A

Within intense updrafts of cumulonimbus clouds

56
Q

Hail is usually a _______ or ________ event

A

spring or summer

57
Q

What is the size of hail?

A

pea size to size of orange or larger

58
Q

Hailstones that cover landscape in long, narrow strip

A

Hailstreak (hail swath)

59
Q

Where is hail most likely in North America?

A

Western Great Plains

60
Q

Ice accumulations of at least 0.25’’

A

Ice Storm Warning

61
Q

Ice Storm can be highly ________ and ________

A

localized and persistent

Weather and Climate (11 decks)

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