Thunderstorms & Lightning
Thunderstorms & Ingredients
1. What type of cloud is primarily associated with thunderstorms?
A) Cirrus
B) Cumulonimbus
C) Stratus
D) Altocumulus
2. Which of the following is not an ingredient required for thunderstorm formation?
A) Warm, humid air
B) Instability
C) A cold air mass
D) Lifting mechanism
3. Which is not a lifting mechanism that helps form thunderstorms?
A) Convection
B) Conduction
C) Orographic lift
D) Convergence
4. Thunderstorms are most commonly associated with which air mass in the U.S.?
A) cP
B) mP
C) mT
D) cA
5. Which mechanism causes more thunderstorms near the western boundary currents (WBC)?
A) Cold water
B) Dry air
C) Warm water
D) High pressure
Types of Thunderstorms
6. What type of thunderstorm is isolated, short-lived, and often triggered by convection?
A) Multi-cell
B) Supercell
C) Air mass (single-cell)
D) MCC
7. What stage of an air mass thunderstorm is dominated by updrafts?
A) Mature
B) Dissipating
C) Cumulus
D) Mesoscale
8. During which stage of an air mass thunderstorm do downdrafts dominate?
A) Cumulus
B) Mature
C) Dissipating
D) Initiating
9. What type of thunderstorm forms a long line along or ahead of cold fronts?
A) Supercell
B) Squall line
C) MCC
D) Single-cell
10. Which of the following defines a severe thunderstorm?
A) Rainfall exceeding 1 inch
B) Winds > 50 knots or hail ≥ 1 inch or a tornado
C) Winds < 20 mph and light rain
D) Lightning strikes only
Supercells & MCCs
11. What percentage of U.S. thunderstorms are classified as supercells?
A) 1%
B) 2–3%
C) 10%
D) 25%
12. What is the rotating updraft in a supercell called?
A) Overshooting top
B) Gust front
C) Mesocyclone
D) Microburst
13. Supercells are often how tall?
A) Up to 20,000 ft
B) Up to 30,000 ft
C) Up to 65,000 ft
D) Up to 10,000 ft
14. Mesoscale Convective Complexes (MCCs) typically begin as:
A) Isolated storms
B) Tornadoes
C) Supercells
D) Squall lines
15. MCCs are hazardous mainly because they:
A) Last only a few minutes
B) Cause snowstorms
C) Are slow-moving and cause flooding
D) Form only over oceans
Thunderstorm Structure
16. What are warm, moist, rising air currents in a thunderstorm called?
A) Downdrafts
B) Updrafts
C) Gust fronts
D) Roll clouds
17. What happens when a thunderstorm updraft breaks through the tropopause?
A) Tornado formation
B) Gust front appears
C) Overshooting top develops
D) Thunder dissipates
18. What is formed by a cold downdraft hitting the surface and pushing warm air?
A) Mesocyclone
B) Gust front
C) Microburst
D) Roll cloud
19. Which feature appears at the top of a thunderstorm and is pushed by upper-level winds?
A) Mesocyclone
B) Anvil
C) Roll cloud
D) Mammatus
20. What is often triggered by gust fronts and can enhance thunderstorm activity?
A) Downburst
B) Surface divergence
C) New cell formation
D) Tornado
Hazards: Lightning, Hail, Winds
21. What percent of lightning occurs between clouds (cloud-cloud)?
A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 50%
D) 80%
22. The basic cause of lightning is:
A) Pressure difference
B) Charge separation
C) Magnetic force
D) Rapid condensation
23. Thunder is caused by:
A) Rain hitting the ground
B) Lightning heating air rapidly
C) Microbursts
D) Wind shear
24. The temperature of a lightning bolt can reach:
A) 2,000˚C
B) 6,000˚C
C) 20,000˚C
D) 33,000˚C
25. Which hazard is the number one thunderstorm killer?
A) Lightning
B) Hail
C) Flash flooding
D) Tornadoes
Hail & Winds
26. Hail formation requires:
A) Only freezing temperatures
B) Only low pressure
C) Strong vertical winds
D) High humidity alone
27. Which wind event is very dangerous for aircraft due to sudden downward motion?
A) Tornado
B) Microburst
C) Derecho
D) Roll cloud
28. A derecho is similar to a gust front but is:
A) Weaker and slower
B) Narrow and short-lived
C) Longer lasting and stronger
D) Caused by freezing rain
29. What results when ice particles repeatedly circulate within a thunderstorm?
A) Hail growth
B) Thunder
C) Lightning
D) Flooding
30. Which feature helps initiate additional thunderstorm cells from cold air outflow?
A) Anvil
B) Gust front
C) Overshooting top
D) Microburst