Weather Information

Question 1

What is the composition of the atmosphere?

Answer 1

• 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% trace gases

Question 2

What are the 4 distinct layers of the atmosphere?

Answer 2

• troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere

Question 3

What is in the troposphere?

Answer 3

• contains the majority of weather, and goes up to around 20,000 feet

Question 4

What is atmospheric stability?

Answer 4

• the resistance of the atmosphere to vertical movement

Question 5

How can you determine the stability of the atmosphere?

Answer 5

• measuring the difference between the actual temperature lapse rate and the adiabatic rate (3C per 1,000 ft)

Question 6

What are the conditions of an unstable atmosphere?

Answer 6

• cumuliform clouds, showery precipitation, turbulence, good visibility

Question 7

What are the conditions of a stable atmosphere?

Answer 7

• stratiform clouds, continuous precipitation, smooth air, poor visibility in haze

Question 8

How does wind form?

Answer 8

• air moving from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure

Question 9

In the Northern hemisphere, how does air flow around high-pressure areas?

Answer 9

• deflected to the right in a clockwise rotation

Question 10

In the Northern hemisphere, how does air flow around low-pressure areas?

Answer 10

• deflected toward low pressure area in a counterclockwise rotation

Question 11

What is wind shear?

Answer 11

• a sudden change in wind speed and/or direction

Question 12

What is the most severe type of wind shear?

Answer 12

• micro burst

Question 13

What are some indications that a microburst might be forming?

Answer 13

• intense rain shaft at the surface and a ring of blowing dust

Question 14

How long do microbursts typically last?

Answer 14

• 5 to 15 minutes

Question 15

What are isobars?

Answer 15

• lines of constant pressure

Question 16

What are the 4 different types of front?

Answer 16

• warm, cold, stationary, and occluded

Question 17

What type of weather can you expect from a warm front?

Answer 17

• widespread precipitation, low visibility, and rain

Question 18

How does a warm front form?

Answer 18

• when a faster-moving body of warm air overtakes a slower-moving body of cold air, gradually pushing it out of the area

Question 19

What type of weather can you expect from a cold front?

Answer 19

• cumulus clouds, squall lines, thunderstorms, and turbulence

Question 20

How does a cold front form?

Answer 20

• when a mass of cold, dense, and stable advances and replaces a body of warmer, lighter air (snow plow)

Question 21

What type of weather can you expect from a stationary front?

Answer 21

• a combination of cold front and warm front weather

Question 22

How does a stationary front form?

Answer 22

• when 2 equally strong fronts meet

Question 23

How does a cold-front occlusion form?

Answer 23

• cold air pushes underneath a warm air mass forcing it upwards

Question 24

How does a warm-front occlusion form?

Answer 24

• warmer air overruns colder air mass

Question 25

What are some key differences between cold fronts and warm fronts?

Answer 25

• cold fronts are much faster than warm fronts
• cold fronts have a steeper frontal slope
• cold fronts contain more violent weather
• cold front develop much faster

Question 26

What are the 3 conditions necessary for the formation of a thunderstorm?

Answer 26

• water vapor, unstable lapse rate, and lifting force

Question 27

What are the 3 stages of a thunderstorm?

Answer 27

• cumulus, mature, and dissipating

Question 28

What type of weather can be seen during the cumulus stage of a thunderstorm?

Answer 28

• updrafts

Question 29

What type of weather can be seen during the mature stage of a thunderstorm?

Answer 29

• updrafts, downdrafts, and precipitation

Question 30

What type of weather can be seen during the mature stage of a thunderstorm?

Answer 30

• downdrafts

Question 31

What are the 6 types of fog?

Answer 31

• radiation fog, advection fog, steam fog, upslope fog, precipitation fog, and freezing fog

Question 32

What is radiation fog?

Answer 32

• forms on calm, cool nights when the ground cools and cools the surrounding air to its dew point

Question 33

What is advection fog?

Answer 33

• when moist air moves over cold water or ground, most common along the coast

Question 34

What is steam fog?

Answer 34

• when cold dry air moves over warm water

Question 35

What is upslope fog?

Answer 35

• when moist stable air moves up sloping terrain

Question 36

What is precipitation fog?

Answer 36

• when warm rain falls through cold air creating thick fog

Question 37

What is freezing fog?

Answer 37

• when tiny water droplets freeze in the air when the temperature is 15F or below