ATMO.4350.5350 Hydrology of the Atmosphere Spring 2025 Final Exam Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards based on the study guide for the final exam.

Atmospheric Factors Impacting Precipitation

Atmospheric factors such as water vapor, precipitable water, precipitation intensity, and precipitation duration that influence excessive warm season precipitation.

Atmospheric Rivers

Large, narrow, and elongated plumes of concentrated atmospheric moisture responsible for substantial horizontal water vapor transport, often associated with heavy precipitation events.

Mesoscale Convective System (MCS)

A complex of thunderstorms that becomes organized on a scale larger than the individual storms, and normally persists for several hours or more.

Climate

The long-term average of weather conditions in a specific region.

Weather

The state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place.

Climate Normal

A measure of the average conditions expected in a location, usually calculated over a 30-year period.

Drought

A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water.

Pluvial

A prolonged period of abnormally high rainfall, leading to flooding.

Spatial Precipitation Variability

Variations in precipitation amounts over different areas.

Temporal Precipitation Variability

Variations in precipitation amounts over time.

Teleconnections

Large-scale patterns of pressure and circulation in the atmosphere that drive weather patterns worldwide.

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

A climate pattern across the tropical Pacific Ocean that swings between warm (El Niño) and cold (La Niña) phases.

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO)

A band of clouds and precipitation that migrates around the global tropics on a roughly 30- to 60-day cycle.

Arctic Oscillation (AO)

Winds circulating cc around arctic at 55 N. Positive: ring of strong winds circulating around north pole confines colder air. Negative: Ring of winds becomes weaker and cold air masses penetrate to mid lats

Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)

El Nino like pattern, 20-30 yrs. Positive: cool SST interior North Pacific, warm SST along Pacific coast. Below avg sea level pressure over N Pacific. Neg: opposite

North Atlantic Oscilation (NAO)

Based on surface sea level press diffs b/w subtropical high and subpolar low. Pos: reflects below normal heights and press across high lats of NAtl, central NAtl, east US and west Europe

Atlantic Multi Decadal Oscillation (AMO)

60-80 yrs. Based on avg anomalies of SST in NAtl basin, typically over 0-80N. Positive: pos SSt anoms over most of NAtl, stronger anoms in subpolar region and weaker anoms in tropics.