Weather Patterns

Question 1

Scientist classify air masses according to ______ and _______.

Answer 1

Temperature

Humidity

Question 2

Four major types of air masses influence the weather in _____ ______.

Answer 2

North America

Question 3

• Maritime air masses form over oceans

- Warm, humid air mass

Answer 3

Maritime Tropical

Question 4

Cool, humid air mass that forms over the icy cold North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans.

Answer 4

Maritime Polar

Question 5

Continental air masses form over land.

Hot, dry air mass

Answer 5

Continental tropic

Question 6

Forms over Alaska and Canada
Very cold, dry air
This year = polar vortex

Answer 6

Continental polar

Question 7

When an air mass moves into an area and interacts with other air masses, it causes the weather to _______.

Answer 7

Change

Question 8

In the U.S., air masses are commonly moved by the _______ ________ and ________ ________.

Answer 8

Prevailing westerlies

Jet Streams

Question 9

Air masses generally move from ______ to ______.

Answer 9

West to East

Question 10

When 2 air masses collide that have _____ ______ and _____, they do not mix easily.

Answer 10

Different temperatures

Humidity

Question 11

The boundary where the air masses meet becomes a _____

Answer 11

Front

Question 12

_______ and ______ weather often develop along the front.

Answer 12

Storms

Changeable

Question 13

4 types of fronts

Answer 13

Cold front
Warm front
Stationary front
Occluded front

Question 14

_____ air is _____ and tends to sink.

Answer 14

Cold

Dense

Question 15

______ air is _____ dense and tends to rise.

Answer 15

Warm

Less

Question 16

When a fast moving cold air mass runs into a slow moving warm air mass, the denser cold air slides under the warm air and pushes it upward.

Answer 16

Cold front

Question 17

Fast moving warm air mass overtakes slow cold air mass (moves above cold air)

Answer 17

Warm front

Question 18

Cold air mass and hot air mass meet, but cannot move each other.

Answer 18

Stationary front

Question 19

Warm air mass caught between 2 cold air masses.

Answer 19

Occluded front

Question 20

A _____ is a violent disturbance in the atmosphere.

Answer 20

Storm

Question 21

Storms involve sudden _____ in _____ _____ that causes rapid air movements.

Answer 21

Changes

Air pressure

Question 22

Types of storms

Answer 22

Thunderstorms

Tornados

Question 23

Small storm often with heavy rain, thunder, and lightening.

Form in large cumulonimbus clouds, AKA thunderheads

Answer 23

Thunderstorms

Question 24

______ is a sudden spark, or electrical discharge, as positive and negative charges move around.

Answer 24

Lightening

Question 25

_____ is the rapid heating of air by lightening that expands suddenly and explosively.

Answer 25

Thunder

Question 26

A ____ is a rapidly whirling funnel - shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch earth’s surface.

Answer 26

Tornado

Question 27

A _____ is a tornado that occurs over a lake or a ocean.

Answer 27

Water spout

Question 28

Tornados most commonly develop in thick cumulonimbus clouds when _____, ____ air, meets a cold, dry air mass.

Answer 28

Warm

Humid

Question 29

_____ _____ changes cause tornados to drop down from the cloud.

Answer 29

Air pressure

Question 30

____ _____ is an area in the U.S. where tornados occur more often and other parts of the U.S. (only a small corner of Arkansas is a part of this area).
-This area is where cold, dry air from Canada and warm, humid air from the Gulf meets most of the time.

Answer 30

Tornado Alley

Question 31

A _____ _____ means that tornados are possible in your area.

Answer 31

Tornado Watch

Question 32

A ____ ____ means that a tornado has been seen or spotted on radar in your area.

Answer 32

Tornado Warning

Question 33

The safest place to be during a tornado is in a _____ _____, ______, or interior _____ or _____.

Answer 33

Storm shelter
Basement
Closet
Bathroom