Study Guide- Weather
Name____________________________
Class_____________
Date_____________________________
I. What is Weather?
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What is weather?
What is climate?
What is meteorology?
What do we call people who study the weather?
Hurricane- an area of low pressure into which air rushes, creating powerful winds of at least
75mph. Form in the Atlantic when water reaches 80°F and over an area of low pressure (rising
air).
Warm, wet winds collide with cool dry air. This clash of air can produce rapidly rotating columns
of air, extending from a thunderstorm to the ground, known as tornadoes.
Where is “Tornado Alley”?
Be sure you know the following terms:
a. Temperature
b. Humidity
c. Wind Direction
d. Wind Speed
e. Pressure
f. Visibility
Know your weather instruments!
a. Thermometer
b. Barometer
c. Hygrometer
d. Anemometer
e. Wind Vane
II. Atmosphere
1. When a volume of gas is compressed into a smaller space, the molecules are pushed closer
together. The number of molecules is the same, they are just closer.
2. Air has mass and weight! It can be compressed. It exerts 14.7lbs/in2
3. Why is it colder in the mountains than in the cities?
4. What is the atmosphere?
5. What area of the atmosphere do we live in?
6. What layer of the atmosphere does weather happen?
7. What two main gases make up our atmosphere?
III. Heat Transfer
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What is radiant energy?
How does radiation affect the surface of the Earth?
The warmth you feel from the sun is radiation (infrared radiation)
The sun is the major source of energy that heats the atmosphere, and drives all the weather
patterns on Earth.
Energy is always transferred from areas of high energy to low energy.
What is heat?
All matter radiates energy!
When land and sea absorb energy, they re-radiate (goes back into atmosphere) in the form
of infrared waves (heat)
What is conduction?
Energy transfer more energized molecules (hotter) to less energized molecules (colder)
What is temperature?
Why do things feel “hot” or “cold”?
It takes a lot more heat energy to heat water than land. This is why people who live near
the coast have more stable climates—the water keeps temperatures cooler in the summer
and more mild in the winter.
IV. Water in the Air
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Water changes from liquid to gas (vapor) by evaporation.
What is the water cycle?
Water changes from a gas to liquid by condensation.
What are clouds made of?
What are the “ingredients” for a cloud to form?
Dew, fog, and clouds are formed when air cools to its dew point and condenses.
V. Air Pressure and Wind
1. Pressure exerted on a gas reduces its volume and increases its density.
2. Differential heating of Earth’s surface can create high-low pressure areas.
3. Wind is the movement of air from high to low pressure areas.
4. The Jet Stream is high altitude winds which blow from West to East and influence the
weather. Air planes like to fly with these “tail winds” to save on fuel.
5. What type of weather is associated with High Pressure?
6. What type of weather is associated with Low Pressure?
7. Air pressure is measured in millibars.
8. What weather tool measures air pressure?
9. What weather tool measures wind speed?
10. Average sea level air pressure is 1013 millibars.
11. Review how to read isobars on a weather map.
12. The closer the bars are together, the greater the shift in pressure; thus, the faster the wind.
VI. Weather Maps
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Warm fronts are indicated by red lines with bubbles.
Cold fronts are indicated by blue lines with triangles.
The direction of the bubbles/triangles indicates the direction the front is moving.
Rain maps—isolines—find the point between the lines and that is the amount of rainfall.
Can you make a line graph of data?
A warm front is the boundary between warm and cool, or cold, air when the warm air is
replacing the cold air. Often brings precipitation. Warm fronts often form to the east of
low pressure centers, where southerly winds push warm air northward. As the warm air
advances northward it rides over the cold air ahead of it, which is heavier. As the warm air
rises the water vapor in it condenses into clouds that can produce rain, snow, sleet or
freezing rain.
7. A cold air front is the place where a cold air mass replaces a warm air mass. Don’t always
bring cold weather! In summertime, they bring dry air. Winter they bring frigid air. In the
summer, an arriving cold front can trigger thunderstorms, sometimes severe thunderstorms
with large hail, dangerous winds and even tornadoes.
VII. Severe Weather
*Know what to do in the event of severe weather! It saves lives!
For each type of severe weather, list 2-3 safety tips.
TornadoesFloodsLightningBlizzardsHurricanes-