Weather patterns Study guide
*Be able to identify the cloud types if given pictures
Cumulus
fog/ Stratus
cirrus
altostratus
cirrostratus
nimbostratus
cumulonimbus
stratocumulus
cirrocumulus
altocumulus
Matching: draw a line connecting the term with description
Sleet 0
0 Formed in thunderstorm clouds where rain and snow can coexist
Snow 0
0 Can start off as a liquid or a solid, and lands as a liquid.
Freezing Rain 0
0 Crystals do not pass through a surface of warm air.
Rain 0
0 Partially melts in a thin warm layer of air and refreezes before hitting
the surface.
0 Liquid water hits ground and freezes.
Hail 0
Fill In or Answer
11. Which type of air mass forms over cold, and dry areas?CP
12. What type of air masses bring warm temperatures and cloudy skies. MT
13. Maritime Polar air masses form over cold/moist areas.
14. Tornadoes are classified on which scales? fujita
15. Hurricanes are classified on which scales? Saffir-simpson
16. List 3 things that CAN be caused by thunderstorms? Flash floods, lightning, hail
17. Wind always flows from high pressure to low pressure
18. Summers in the Southwest United States are hot and dry because of what air mass? CT
19. The eye is the low-pressure area of a hurricane.
20. Thunder is the rapid heating of the air around a lightning bolt.
Use the diagrams below to answer the following questions
26. Which area of the United States is most likely to experience SHORT term periods of
precipitation?atlanta
27. Which city is most likely experiencing precipitation Salt Lake City or Cheyenne?
28. Which city is having warmer temperatures Memphis or Atlanta?
B
D
A
C
29. What is the air pressure at point B? 1020 mb
30. What kind of weather would you expect at point C? clear/fair
Open Ended: After reading the following answer the questions that follow.
From 1950 to 1952, tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean were identified by the
phonetic alphabet (Able-Baker-Charlie-etc.), but in 1953 the US Weather Bureau switched to
women's names. The rest of the world eventually caught on, and naming rights now go by the
World Meteorological Organization, which uses different sets of names depending on the part of
the world the storm is in. Around the U.S., only women's names were used until 1979, when it
was decided that they should alternate a list that included men's names too. There's 6 different
name lists that alternate each year. If a hurricane does significant damage, its name is retired
and replaced with another.
31. Hurricane Barbara is currently affecting the Florida coast. Come up with the next three
possible hurricane names.
1 C-boys name
2 D-girls name
3 E-boys name
Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity
Enhanced,
SCALE WIND SPEED POSSIBLE DAMAGE
Operational
Fujita Scale
F0
40-72 mph
Light damage: Branches broken off
EFO
trees; minor roof damage
65-85 mph
Moderate damage: Trees snapped;
F1
73-112 mph mobile home pushed off foundations;
roofs damaged
Considerable damage: Mobile homes
F2
113-157 mph demolished; trees uprooted; strong
built homes unroofed
EF1
86-110 mph
EF2
111-135 mph
Severe damage: Trains overturned;
F3
158-206 mph
cars lifted off the ground; strong built EF3
homes have outside walls blown
136-165 mph
away
Devastating damage: Houses leveled
F4
207-260 mph leaving piles of debris; cars thrown
300 yards or more in the air
Incredible damage: Strongly built
F5
261-318 mph homes completely blown away;
automobile-sized missiles generated
EF4
166-200 mph
EF5
over 200
mph
32. Use the Fujita Scale Chart above to determine what level of tornado caused the damage described in
the following statement and give a reason for why you chose that rating:
“I went to find my car and could look inside of my neighbor’s brick house. It was like all the outside
walls were gone and I could see into her living room. I finally got to my car and it was upside down on its
roof”.
F3---see above on scale