Atmo 203 Quiz 4

Surface/1000mb map

What’s plotted: Isobars of SLP and surface station plots

What it shows: Fronts and low/high pressure systems

850 mb map

What’s plotted: isotherms and isoheights

What’s shown: warm and cold air advection

700mb map

What’s plotted: isoheights, rising motion, relative humidity

What’s shown: precipitation opportunities

500 mb map

What’s plotted: isoheights and vorticity

What’s shown divergence and convergence

300/250/200mb map

What’s plotted: isotachs (lines of constant wind speed)

What’s shown: jet streams/streaks

Names of the common iso-lines and what they are

Isotherms - Lines of constant temperature

Isodrosotherms - lines of constant dew point

Isobars - lines of constant pressure

Isohypses/isoheights - lines of constant geopotential height

Isotachs - lines of constant wind speed

Which jet stream maps should be used during what seasons?

300 - winter

250 - fall/spring

200 - summer

What are the RH proxy’s for clouds and rain on a 700mb map?

>70% RH for clouds

>90% RH for rain

What are the lines on a 700mb map?

The green shading is RH, black lines are mean SLP, red/blue lines are 500-1000mb thickness

How to find clouds on a skew t

Look for wherever the temperature and dew point fall within 3 degrees of each other

How to find LCL, LFC, AND EL

LCL is the intersection of the nearest dew point and dry adiabat from the surface temp and dew point. You then lift the parcel moist adiabatically until it becomes warmer than its surroundings (LFC) then where it crosses over again and becomes cooler (EL)

How to do 850mb on skew t

Find the temperature at 850mb and lower it dry adiabatically to the surface