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ESSC Test 2
| most of the united states is situated in which zone of prevailing winds? | westerlies |
| el niño events are characterized by: | pooling of unusually warm water in the eastern tropical Pacific |
| a primary factor causing monsoon circulations is | greater temperature changes over continents compared to oceans |
| a steep pressure gradient: | produce strong winds |
| the region where the northeast trades meet the southeast trades is known as | ITCZ |
| middle-latitude anticyclones rotate | clockwise |
| a cyclone in meteorology is defined as | an area of low pressure |
| middle-latitude cyclones rotate | counterclockwise |
| in atmospheric terms, what does it mean when we use the term divergence | air moving out of an area |
| in atmospheric terms, what does it mean when we use the term convergence | air moving in to an area |
| jet streams are associated with fronts because of the | large temperature gradient |
| rotation of mid-latitude cyclones in the northern hemisphere is | counterclockwise |
| in the United States what is the average atmospheric pressure at sea level | 1013 mb |
| which of the following is not a control of the wind | humidity |
| the major features of precipitation distribution patterns are determined by | general circulation and pressure patterns |
| you would expect vertical airflow in an anticyclone to result in | convergence aloft |
| you would expect vertical airflow in a cyclone to result in | divergence aloft |
| earth has a Coriolis effect due to | its rotation |
| why does occlusion lead to the demise of a mid latitude cyclone | all warm air is displaced aloft, so the surface temp gradient has been equalized |
| a line with blue triangles on a map represents | a cold front |
| if a warm front is approaching you, you can expect | rising temps |
| a source region refers to | where an air mass will originate |
| if a cold front is approaching you can expect | falling temps |
| the cp air masses that affect North America usually originate | interior of Alaska and canada |
| at a given altitude, these two properties of an air mass tend to have similar values no matter where in the air mass they are measured | temp and moisture content |
| a line with red semi circles on a map represent | a warm front |
| continental air masses have a ___ in relation to maritime air masses | lower moisture content |
| rain long foretold, long last; short notice soon past. the last five words of the proverb refer to | a cold front |
| rain long foretold, long last; short notice soon past. the first five words of this proverb refer to | a warm front |
| maritime air masses have a ___ in relation to continental air masses | higher moisture content |
| in the u.s. lake effect snows occur over which area | the leeward shores of the great lakes |
| an air mass whose source region is the gulf of Mexico would have what abbreviation | mT |
| compared to warm fronts, cold fronts have | a steeper gradient and a faster advance rate |
| tornadoes most often move toward what direction | northeast |
| some of the most dangerous weather is produced by a type of thunderstorm called | supercell |
| the terms leader, flash, and stroke are used when describing | lightning |
| when a hurricane moves onto land, it declines in intensity. which of the factors listed below contribute to this loss of punch | friction and lack of warm air |
| the United States deadliest hurricane happened in 1900 in Galveston Texas. approximately how many deaths did the hurricane cause | 8000 |
| why don't hurricanes develop on or near the equator | the Coriolis effect is too weak to create rotation |
| hail is most commonly associated with | cumulonimbus clouds |
| thunderstorms can be associated with all of the following except | warm fronts |
| this type of lighting is the least common | cloud to ground |
| the enhanced-fajita scale is used for | tornadoes |
| what weather activities are associated with thunderstorms | tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones |
| the most deaths from thunderstorms come from | flash floods |
| this country has the greatest variety of weather in the world | united states |
| this is one of the identifying features of a supercell thunderstorm | overshooting top |
| the saffir Simpson scale is used for | hurricanes |
| to be classified as a hurricane, the minimum sustained wind speed must be | 74 mph |
| when occurring in the Atlantic Ocean they are known as hurricanes, what are they known as when occurring in the western pacific | typhoons |
| hurricanes only form in the tropics, why | warm water temps are found there |
| "heat lightning" | occurs more than 20 kilometers from the person observing it |
| at what time o day is an air-mass thunderstorm more likely to develop | mid afternoon |
| what term is used to describe clouds with precipitation | nimbo or collision- colescence process |
| types of precipitation, 2 main processes that generate precipitation | sleet, snow, rain, drizzle, glaze. hail, rime |
| when is the highest relative humidity | 100% |
| what is relative humidity and what changes it | ratio of the airs actual water vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor required for saturation at the temp |
| what is the dew point | temp at with a parcel of air would need to be cooled to reach saturation- can't hold water vapor |
| stable vs unstable air, what causes are to be forced upward | stable- air parcel is cooler than the surrounding atmosphere it will sink back to its original position; unstable- air parcel is warmer than the surrounding atmosphere it will rise; air is forced upward by heating of the mountain slopes of the sun |
| adiabatic heating and cooling | heating- air descending through the atmosphere is compressed by the increasing pressure and undergoes adiabatic heating; cooling- the process of reducing heat through a change in air pressure caused by volume expansion |
| processes that lift air | any time an air mass is pushed upward |
| cloud formation, condensation nuclei | |
| what is standard sea level pressure in mb | 1013.2 |
| who invented the mercurial barometer | Torricelli |
| how is wind generated | caused by differences in the atmospheric pressure |
| what are isobars | lines of equal air pressure |
| closely spaced vs widely spaced isobars and what it measn | close: indicate large pressure changes over a small area and suggest strengthening winds; wide- a flat or weak pressure gradient typical of light- wind situation |
| the characteristics of high vs low pressure systems in the northern hemisphere | high- normally associate with dry weather and mostly clear skies with larger diurnal temperature changes due to greater radiation at night and greater sunshine; low- associated with clouds and precipitation that minimize temp changes throughout the day |
| Coriolis effect and why it happens | apparent deflection in the wind ind direction due to the earths rotation; deflect is to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left Southern Hemisphere |
| upper levels vs low level winds and the forces acting on each | upper- wind blowing west to east; friction |
| prevailing winds over most of the united states | westerlies |
| what are jet streams | a river of air with a high altitude and high velocity of 120-240 kilometers per hour |
| land vs sea breezes when and how they occur | land- means the air over the water is warmer, less dense and begins to rise; sea- during hot, summer days because of the unequal heating rates of land and water |
| why do deserts occur at 30 n and 30 s | hot air from the equator rises, then cools, moisture is lost, and the dry air comes down at 30 degrees north and south |
| cumulonimbus clouds, what weather phenomena are associated with them usually form | clouds of vertical development from low to high altitudes. they often produce rain showers and thunderstorms |
| various air masses and their characteristics | maritime tropical- warm, moist, unstable air; continental tropical- hot, dry; maritime polar- brings precipitation to the western mountains |
| types of fronts, their characteristics and their representation on a map | warm- light to moderate precipitation, seen as a map by semicircles, warm replaces cooler air; cold- twice as steep as warm fronts, faster than warm fronts, see as a map triangles; stationary- doesn't move, sees where the front is; occluded- weird weather |
| what is a mid latitude cyclone and why are they important | a low- pressure system characterized by the presence of frontal boundaries. forms and moves along the front. rotates counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. travels west to east, strong westerly flow |
| where do tornadoes form, when are they most frequent, general movement | a conditionally unstable atmosphere where there is strong vertical wind shear for supercell thunderstorm development; may to June; west to east |
| hurricanes- what are they, how they form, what they are called in the pacific | tropical storm with winds that have reached a constant speed of 74 mph or more; over the ocean beginning as a tropical wave; typhoon |
| hail | hard rounded pellets; it occurs in a large cumulonimbus clouds with violent up and down drafts. layers of freezing rain are caught in up and down drafts in the cloud. they fall when its heavy. |
| sleet | small particles of ice; occurs when warmer air overlies colder air, rain freezes it when it falls |
| snow | ice crystals, or aggregates of ice crystals |
Created by:
allyrichard4