Meteorology Final Exam

Earth’s first atmosphere (approximately 4.6 billion years ago) was most likely composed of…

Hydrogen and Helium

Air temperature measures what?

The average speed of the atoms and molecules

The greenhouse effect is directly enhanced (made stronger) by…

Addition of water vapor to the atmosphere

The vertical profile of _____ is a variable in each layer of Earth’s atmosphere.

Air Temperature

All the weather we are familiar with on Earth occurs in the _____.

Difficulty: [1/5]

Troposphere

The air pressure at the summit of Mount Everest is _____ than the air pressure at sea level.

Difficulty: [2/5]

Lower

All things with a temperature _____ absolute zero emit energy, no matter how big or small.

Difficulty: [2/5]

above

As the air temperature increases, the air’s capacity for water vapor…

Difficulty: [3/5]

Increases

What accounts for the majority of the water vapor added to the atmosphere each year?

Difficulty: [2/5]

Evaporation from the ocean

On a clear, calm night, particularly in high-elevation desert locations such as Winnemucca, Nevada, where the summer air is dry and thin, the ground and air above cool very dramatically, mainly by what process?

Difficulty: [4/5]

Radiation

The transfer of heat by the mass movement of a fluid, such as water and air

Difficulty: [1/5]

Convection

When naming clouds, the term “stratus“, or “strato”, means _____ clouds.

Difficulty: [2/5]

Layer

As the difference between the air temperature and the dew point increases, the relative humidity…

Difficulty: [3/5]

Decreases

What type of fog is produced over land when radiational cooling reduces the air temperature to or below its dew point?

Difficulty: [2/5]

Radiation

What is the force that causes the wind to blow?

Difficulty: [1/5]

Pressure Gradient

A parcel rises and cools by __C per 1000m if it is unsaturated

Difficulty: [2/5]

10

Convection clouds form by…

Difficulty: [2/5]

Surface heating

The pressure gradient force is directed from higher pressure toward lower pressure at…

Difficulty: [2/5]

All places on Earth

The wind around a surface low-pressure center in the Northern Hemisphere blows _____ the center.

Difficulty: [2/5]

Counterclockwise and inward toward

A parcel rises and cools by __C per 1000m if it is saturated

Difficulty: [2/5]

5

The phrase “rain shadow” is associated with which type of precipitation?

Difficulty: [3/5]

Orographic

Atmospheric condition that exists when the environmental lapse rate is GREATER than the dry adiabatic rate. This results in a lifted parcel of air being warmer than the air around it.

Difficulty: [2/5]

Absolutely UNstable atmosphere

Atmospheric condition that exists when the environmental lapse rate is less than the moist adiabatic rate. This results in a lifted parcel of air being colder than the air around it.

Difficulty: [2/5]

Absolutely stable atmosphere

Atmospheric condition that exists when the environmental lapse rate is less than the dry adiabatic rate, BUT GREATER than the moist adiabatic rate.

Difficulty: [2/5]

Conditionally UNstable atmosphere

Monsoon season refers to…

Difficulty: [1/5]

seasons changing winds

What creates pressure gradients that cause sea and land breezes to blow?

Difficulty: [3/5]

Differences in Temperature

The size and temperature of the object ____ related to whether it emits energy or not.

Difficulty: [0/5]

Is not

Synaptic scale is _____ than mesoscale

Difficulty: [1/5]

larger

Maximum air temperature in a given day usually occurs _______ of solar heating.

Difficulty: [3/5]

2-4 hours after maximum

If Earth’s gravitational force were to increase, atmospheric pressure at the ground would…

Difficulty: [2/5]

Increase

The _____ force is an apparent force created by Earth’s rotation.

Difficulty: [1/5]

Coriolis

Which cloud type would be least likely to form in a stable atmosphere?

Difficulty: [3/5]

Cumulonimbus

As the air temperature decreases, the air’s capacity for water vapor…

Difficulty: [2/5]

Decreases

Warm, moist air moving over a cold surface produces _____ fog.

Difficulty: [3/5]

advection

The most abundant gases in Earth’s present-day atmosphere (by volume) are…

Difficulty: [2/5]

nitrogen and oxygen

The energy of motion is known as…

Difficulty: [1/5]

Kinetic energy

A _____ wind blows at a constant speed parallel to straight line isobars, with the pressure gradient force (PGF) and the Coriolis force in balance.

Difficulty: [3/5]

Geostrophic

A sea breeze circulation will reverse direction and become a land breeze circulation…

Difficulty: [2/5]

Once per day

What is something you should NOT do in contouring?

Difficulty: [1/5]

Isopleths stopping in the middle of the map

Middle layer clouds

Difficulty: [2/5]

“Alto”

Clouds with rain or precipitation

Difficulty: [2/5]

“Nimbus” or “Nimbo”

A cloud in the form of individual, detached domes or towers that are usually dense and well-defined

Difficulty: [3/5]

“cumulus” or “cumulo”

Frequently accompanied by heavy showers, lightning, thunder, and sometimes hail

Difficulty: [3/5]

Cumulonimbus clouds

A dark, gray cloud characterized by more or less falling precipitation. It is rarely accompanied by lightning, thunder, or hail.

Difficulty: [3/5]

Nimbostratus clouds

Secondary rainbows occur when…

Difficulty: [1/5]

two internal reflections of light occur in each raindrop

When two air masses collide at a front, one may be pushed upward by the other. This is because…

Difficulty: [2/5]

one air mass is more dense than the other

What is the current atmospheric pressure in this station model?

Difficulty: [2/5]

999.6

What are the necessary ingredients for thunderstorm process?

Difficulty: [2/5]

Moisture, Lifting Mechanism, Instability

What is the current wind speed according to this station model?

Hint: Look at the four lines

Difficulty: [3/5]

35

Jet streams play a major role in the global transfer of heat by directing…

Difficulty: [3/5]

cold air equatorward

A mirage is caused by…

Difficulty: [1/5]

the bending of light by air of different densities

A hook-shaped echo on a radar screen often indicates…

Difficulty: [3/5]

The possible presence of a tornado-producing thunderstorm

A SEVERE thunderstorm is one that produces…

Difficulty: [2/5]

Large hail

What type of weather front is being shown?

Hint: Look at the steepness

Difficulty: [2/5]

Warm front

Atmospheric scales of motion from largest to smallest:

Difficulty: [4/5]

1) global scale, 2) synoptic scale, 3) mesoscale, 4) microscale

What type of weather front is being shown?

Difficulty: [2/5]

Cold front

What is the current temperature here?

Difficulty: [1/5]

76

What show lines of constant temperatures?

Difficulty: [1/5]

Isotherms

Factors that produce the climate in any given place are called…

Difficulty: [2/5]

Climate controls

The Koppen scheme for classifying climates employs annual and monthly averages of…

Difficulty: [3/5]

temperature and precipitation

The climate of a large state or small nation is called a(an)…

Difficulty: [1/5]

Macroclimate

Which option below is NOT considered a climate control?

Difficulty: [3/5]

Precipitation

Everything else being equal, a gradual increase in global CO2 would most likely bring about…

Difficulty: [3/5]

An increase in surface air temperature

What phenomena cover an area of several hundred or even thousands of kilometers?
High- and low-pressure systems seen on local weather forecasts are included in this scale.

Difficulty: [3/5]

Synoptic-Scale

The coldest of all air masses is…

Difficulty: [3/5]

cA

What is responsible for the cold feeling that you experience after leaving a swimming pool on a hot, dry summer day?

Difficulty: [2/5]

Heat transport by latent heat

What type of air mass would be responsible for high, muggy summer weather in the eastern half of the United States?

Difficulty: [3/5]

mT

Generally, the average speed of a warm front is _____ than the average speed of a cold front

Difficulty: [2/5]

slower

Hurricanes dissipate when…

Difficulty: [2/5]

they move over colder water

Just before a storm is classified as a fully developed hurricane, it is in the tropical _____ stage

Difficulty: [2/5]

storm

cloud iridescence is caused mainly by…

Difficulty: [3/5]

diffraction

An intense long-lasting thunderstorm with a single violently rotating updraft

Difficulty: [1/5]

Supercell

What is the best source region for an air mass?

Difficulty: [2/5]

Flat areas of uniform composition with light surface winds

The rapid heating of air surrounding a lightning channel

Difficulty: [1/5]

Thunder

Hurricane energy comes from the latent heat of…

Difficulty: [1/5]

Condensation

What is this an example of?

“There is a chance for tornadoes today.”

Difficulty: [3/5]

Weather watch

What is this an example of?

“A hurricane is happening in this forecast area right now.”

Difficulty: [3/5]

Weather warning

During a hurricane, the heaviest rainfall occurs in the…

Difficulty: [1/5]

eyewall

The forecasting technique that produces several versions of a forecast model, each beginning with slightly different weather information to reflect errors in the measurements, is called…

Difficulty: [3/5]

ensemble

A chart that plots how air temperature has changed over the past 5 days at a given station is a…

Difficulty: [3/5]

meteogram

If the first tropical storm of the season was named Andrea, then what is the second tropical storm of the season?

Hint: Female and then Male in Alphabetical order

Bill

If the first tropical storm of the season was named Danny, then what is the second tropical storm of the season?

Hint: Female and then Male in Alphabetical order

Eve

a raindrop that freezes before reaching the ground

Difficulty: [2/5]

Sleet

What shape is a raindrop?

Difficulty: [0/5]
This is a really easy one. You should not get this wrong

Hamburger shaped