Meteorology 10 Final (60 pts.)
Name: ________________________
Multiple Choice: 1 point for each
1) A self-extinguishing thunderstorm is:
a) A severe event that often spawns tornadoes
b) Where the downdraft eventually destroys the updraft
c) A thunderstorm that rotates on its own
d) A thunderstorm with an updraft that is sustained by tilting with height
2) El Nino events cause a(n) ___________ of the normal Trade Wind pattern.
a) Strengthening
b) Weakening
c) Equalization
d) None of the above
3) Thunderstorms form more often in moist conditions because:
a) The addition of latent heat increases cloud buoyancy
b) It often leads to a conditional instability.
c) More moisture makes cloud formation easier
d) All of the above
e) None of the above
4) The sound of thunder is a result of:
a) The lightning strike’s impact on the surface
b) The large cumulonimbus clouds bumping into one another
c) The extreme heating of the air around the lightning strike
d) The sound of the angels bowling
5) Which factor is most important in describing why the earth has distinct seasons?
a. The elevation of the geographic area
b. The distance from the sun
c. The jet stream
d. The tilt of the planet
6) The average temperature of earth without a greenhouse effect would be:
a) About the same as now
b) Much less than now
c) Much more than now
7) Pick the correct statement:
a) Warm air rises and rising air cools
c) Cold air rises and rising air cools
b) Warm air sinks and rising air cools
d) Cold air rises and sinking air cools
8) What can the cloud types and formations tell us about the atmosphere?
a) Atmospheric stability
b) Temperature of atmosphere
c) Moisture in atmosphere
d) Windiness
e) All of the Above
9) Tornadoes most commonly form around:
a) Early morning
b) Noon
c) Late afternoon/evening d) Late at night
10) San Jose rarely experiences thunderstorms during the summer due to the presence of a marine
inversion; a situation where the temperature increases with height. Which of the choices best describes
why a marine inversion does not allow thunderstorms to form?
a) Stability of atmosphere not conducive to thunderstorm development/convection.
b) Moisture source is confined to the lowest levels.
c) Jet stream winds are too weak to allow for a strong updraft
d) The air is too cold
e) There is not enough moisture present.
11) An El Nino event generally ________ precipitation in San Francisco and _________ the amount of
Atlantic hurricanes.
a) decreases; decreases
b) decreases; increases
c) increases; increases
d) increases; decreases
12) Severe thunderstorm formation generally requires:
a) Additional moisture
b) Wind shear
c) A gust front
d) Conditional instability
17) All thunderstorms require:
a) hot, humid air
c) rising air
e) win shear
b) divergence of the air aloft
d) surface heating
18) The Coriolis force:
a) Deflects objects to the left in the NH and to the right in the SH
b) Influences the speed of the wind
c) Is the reason the toilets flush clockwise in the NH and counter clockwise in the SH.
d) All of the above
e) None of the above
19) Pressure differences, and therefore winds are mainly caused by:
a) Uneven heating of the surface by the sun
b) Cold and warm fronts
c) The diurnal variation in temperatures
d) Storm systems
21) The majority of the continental United States lies within this wind belt:
a) Westerlies
b) Easterlies
c) Northerlies
d) Trades
22) In the general circulation of the atmosphere, one would find the region called the doldrums:
a) Near 30° latitude
b) Near the poles
c) Near the equator
d) Near 60° latitude
23) Regions affected by low-pressure systems are typically
a) cloudy and stormy
b) clear and calm
c) moist and windy
d) hot and humid
24) The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is a region where:
a) The polar front meets the subtropical high
b) Northeast trades meet the southeast trades
c) Northeast trades converge with the subtropical high
d) The Ferrel cell converges with the Hadley cell
e) Polar easterlies converge with the air at the doldrums
25) The jet stream is strongest (has the highest wind speeds) in the winter because
a) The pole-equator temperature difference is at its largest
b) The presence of sea breeze circulations
c) The pole-equator temperature difference is very small
d) We are furthest from the sun at this time
26) In the Northern Hemisphere, winds blowing from the north may indicate
a) Warm air advection
b) Moisture advection
c) Cold air advection
d) Thickness advection
27) In the northern hemisphere, low-pressure systems are regions of _____ winds and high-pressure
systems are regions of ______ winds
a) Counter-clockwise, clockwise b) Clockwise, counter-clockwise
c) Upslope, downslope
d) Downslope, upslope
28) The hot and humid conditions that affect the Gulf States in summertime are due to what air mass?
a) cP
b) cT
c) mP
d) mT
29) The cP air mass is generally
a) warm and moist
c) cold and moist
b) warm and dry
d) cold and dry
30) An altocumulus cloud is best described as:
a) A rain cloud
b) A layered, high cloud
c) A layered, middle cloud
d) A low, puffy cloud
e) A puffy, medium-level cloud
31) 75% of all U.S. tornadoes occur in the:
a) Spring
b) Summer
c) Autumn
d) Winter
32) A supercell storm is:
a) a thunderstorm that produces several tornadoes
b) a thunderstorm that produces a category
F-5 tornado c) a thunderstorm with an extremely large downburst d) an enormous thunderstorm
that lasts for several hours
33) Hurricanes can't form along the equator because
a) there isn't much water along the equator, it's mostly land b) the Coriolis force is too small
along the equator c) there are no feedback mechanisms along the equator
d) it's too humid
for the ocean water to evaporate
34) Which statement is false regarding why Tornado Alley receives the most severe weather and
tornadoes?
a) It is the perfect location for the mixing of air masses
b) The Gulf of Mexico provides warm, moist air
c) Cold fronts regularly move into the region from the south
d) There is cold, dry air to the north, and northeast
e) It is at the right latitude for the polar jet stream
35) El Nino events are initiated by:
a) Differences in heating from the poles to the equator
b) Increased warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean
c) The jet stream
d) Thunderstorm formation along the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone
. 36) The Gulf Stream is...
a) an ocean current that brings warmer waters to the east coat of the U.S.
b) an ocean current that brings cooler waters to the east coat of the U.S.
c) a prevailing wind that brings warmer temperatures to the east coat of the U.S.
d) a prevailing wind that brings cooler temperatures to the east coat of the U.S.
.
37) Downslope winds (e.g. the Diablos and Santa Anas) bring what type of weather conditions
a) warm and dry
b) warm and moist
c) cool and damp
d) cool and moist
38) In the Northern Hemisphere, hurricanes and middle latitude cyclones are similar in that both:
a) have surface weather fronts
b) intensify with increasing height above the ground
c) have winds that blow counterclockwise around their centers
d) will generally move from west to east
39) The strongest winds in a hurricane are found:
a) at the center of the storm
b) in the eye wall
c) in the rain bands
d) at upper levels, above the center of the hurricane
e) near the periphery of the hurricane
40) San Francisco is susceptible to advection fog in the summertime because of
a) the rapid cooling of the surface
b) the existence of a peninsula
c) the large differences in ocean temperatures in the surrounding Pacific Ocean
d) Prevailing easterly winds
e) All of the above
41) Which below is not an atmospheric condition conducive to the formation of hurricanes?
a) a region of converging surface winds at the surface
b) warm water
c) strong upper-level winds
d) cold air aloft
e) moist, humid surface air
42) Which would you not expect to observe as the eye of a hurricane passes directly over your area?
a) an increase in surface temperature
b) a very low surface pressure reading
c) high winds
d) little or no precipitation
43) Higher latitudes will experience_____ seasonal variation than the equatorial regions, and summer days
in the high latitudes are ________ than summer days at the equator.
a) less, shorter
b) less, longer
c) more, shorter
d) more, longer
44) The areas of rainfall seen in Hurricanes are known as
a) Jet streaks
b) Spiral rain bands
c) Tornadoes
d) The eye wall
e) Easterly waves
45) Two major ocean currents that flow parallel to the coast of North America are:
a) Labrador, Canary
b) California, Gulf Stream
c) Kuroshio, California
d) Canary, Gulf Stream
46) The main source of energy for a hurricane is the:
a) upper-level jet stream
b) rising of warm air and sinking of cold air in the vicinity of weather fronts
c) warm ocean water and release of latent heat of condensation
d) ocean currents and tides
47) This illustration best describes
a) Convergence b) Divergence c) Convection d) Wind shear e) A cold front
48) All other things being equal, a place with a higher elevation should have a _______ climate.
a) warmer
b) colder
c) wetter
d) drier
e) windier
48) All other things being equal, a place with a lower latitude should have a _______ climate.
a) warmer
b) colder
c) wetter
d) drier
e) windier
49) Hurricanes can't form along the equator because
a) there isn't much water along the equator, it's mostly land
b) the Coriolis force is too small along the equator
c) there are no feedback mechanisms along the equator
d) it's too humid for the ocean water to evaporate
50) Tropical cyclones dissipate when:
a) they move over colder water
b) they move over land
c) surface inflow of air exceeds upper-level outflow of air
d) all of the above
51) In a hurricane, the eye wall represents:
a) the exact center of the storm
b) the area of broken cloudiness at the center
c) a region of light winds and low pressure
d) a zone of intense thunderstorms around the center
e) a layer of cirrus cloud in the center of the storm
52) Thunderstorms form more often in moist conditions because...
a) The addition of latent heat increases cloud buoyancy
b) It often leads to a conditional instability.
c) More moisture makes cloud formation easier
d) All of the above
53) Severe thunderstorms are different from ordinary thunderstorms in that severe thunderstorms:
a) contain thunder and lightning
b) have an anvil
c) contain hail
d) have a strong updraft and downdraft
e) have an updraft that tilts with height
54) A mesocyclone
a) Is a tropical storm system
b) Is part of a thunderstorm that rotates on its own
c) is part of a gust front
d) All of the above
e) b and c only
True or False:
55) A tornado is a type of cyclone
56) An updraft is a type of precipitation
57) Cold air holds more moisture than warm air
58) Sleet and freezing rain are the same thing
59) Most rain in San Jose starts out as snow but melts during the descent
60) Hail forms most often during thunderstorms