STUDY GUIDE for Exam Two: STUDY EARLY AND STUDY WITH OTHERS!!
Humidity
What is the water cycle?
What are the names of the phase changes of water and which ones require energy? Which ones
release energy?
What are the meanings of : specific humidity, relative humidity, dew point? How do they differ?
Understand the specific humidity curve (Figure 4.7)
Be able to calculate relative humidity using the specific humidity curve or the psychrometric
tables.
Be sure you understand dew and frost formation.
What does adiabatic mean? What are the dry and wet adiabatic rates? (Memorize the rates! In
both standard and metric units) Why is the wet rate slower than the dry rate?
How do they differ from the environmental lapse rate?
Be able to work a problem using the adiabatic lapse rates and a parcel of air rising and
descending over a mountain.
Clouds, Fog, Thunderstorms
Cloud formation, lifting condensation level, dew point, condensation nuclei, supercooled water
Composition of clouds
What are the two shape classes of clouds?
What are the three altitude classes of clouds? Know their heights. Know the types of clouds
within each altitude class and how to distinguish them from each other.
Cumulonimbus clouds, thunderstorm development and anatomy, hail formation process
Know the different types of fog.
Know the cold cloud precipitation process and the warm cloud precipitation process.
Atmospheric Pressure,Wind, Atmospheric Circulation
Definition of atmospheric pressure
Know the various values of normal atmospheric pressure at sea level.
How do Highs and Lows differ in cross-section?
Know the latitudes, pressure, characteristics and associated weather of the following: equatorial
lows, subtropical highs, subpolar lows, Polar highs.
What is wind?
What influences wind speed and wind direction.
Be able to explain what the Coriolis effect is and how it influences wind direction. Know
latitudinal differences in Coriolis deflection.
Know the direction of Coriolis deflection in the hemispheres.
Know the surface wind directions around Highs and Lows in both hemispheres (Fig 5.15).
Know the wind direction around highs and lows in the upper atmosphere (Geostrophic) in both
hemispheres (Fig 5.22).
Know the following wind zones: direction, strength, latitudes: Trade winds, doldrums, horse
latitudes, polar easterlies, westerlies, polar front zone (Fig 5.16).
Know the actual locations of Highs and Lows in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in
January and July. Know the names of the High and Low systems (Fig 5.17, p. 161).
What are Hadley cells?
What are Rossby waves? What are jet streams and where are they located?
Air Masses and Fronts
Know definition of air masses .
What is a source region? What characteristics of a source region determine the type of
air mass?
Know each air mass type, its source region, its temperature and moisture
characteristics.
Be able to compare and contrast cold and warm fronts in terms of relative stability, map
symbol, associated weather and clouds, cross-sectional profile, duration, speed.
Be able to explain a stationary front and an occluded front. What is the difference
between a cold occlusion and a warm occlusion? What are the symbols for stationary
and occluded fronts?
What are the stages of cyclogenesis and how are they related to occluded fronts? Be
able to recognize the stages of cyclogenesis on weather maps.
Tornados and Hurricanes
What are the vital statistics of a tornado (size, duration, speed, wind speed, average
path, etc.)?
Why do tornados frequent tornado alley and why do they occur in the spring (in U.S.)
and late afternoon?
How do tornados form?
Know the meaning of the following: wind shear, mesocyclone, wall cloud, condensation
funnel, debris cloud, hook echo
Know the difference between a tornado watch and warning.
Know the indoor and outdoor rules of tornado safety.
Other names for hurricanes
Where do hurricanes originate?
How do hurricanes form?
What are Easterly Waves?
What wind speeds are associated with each storm level (depression, tropical storm,
etc)?
How do tornados and hurricanes compare?
What are the parts of a hurricane?
What causes the destruction in a hurricane?
What is the Saffir-Simpson scale?
How do hurricane watches and warnings differ?
Global Climate Classification
Difference between weather and climate
3 general climate classes and their characteristics
4 low latitude climates: know their names and characteristics and location on maps.
Study their climographs.
6 mid-latitude climates: know names, characteristics, location on maps,. Study
climographs.
3 high latitude climate types: know names, characteristics, location on maps,. Study
climographs.
TEXTBOOK READING: (These are important Figures to understand and things that were not discussed in
lecture that you should know from the textbook).
Chapter Four:
Types of precipitation: orographic, convectional
Unstable air
Microbursts
Air pollution
GOES
Wind shear
Important Figures: 4.3, 4.6, 4.7,4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.12, 4.16, 4.17,4.18,4.20, 4.22, 4.29, 4.35,
Chapter Five:
El Nino and La Nina
Pressure change with altitude
Local winds: sea/land, mountain/valley
ITCZ and monsoons
Geostrophic winds
Ocean currents and circulation
Pacific decadal oscillation
North Atlantic Oscillation
Important Figures : 5.4, 5.7, 5.8,5.9, 5.13, 5.14, 5.15, 5.16, 5.17, 5.18, 5.20, 5.21, 5.22, 5.23, 5.26
Chapter Six :
Weather associated with wave cyclones
Cyclone tracks and cyclone families
TRMM
Important Figures: 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.10, 6.11,6.14,6.16,6.18, 6.20, 6.21, 6.25, 6.29
Chapter Seven:
Know the following climographs so that you could recognize them on the exam: wet equatorial
(Fig 7.14), wet-dry tropical (Fig 7.19), desert (Fig 7.24), dry midlatitude (Fig 7.33), moist
continental (Fig 7.36), tundra climate (7.41)
Important Figures: 7.3,7.5, 7.6, 7.8,7.9,7.10,7.11,7.12,7.13,7.15,7.16,7.18,7.19,7.20,7.22, 7.24,
7.27, 7.28, 7.29, 7.30, 7.32, 7.33, 7.34, 7.35, 7.38, 7.39, S7.2