Name:___________________________________
ATMS 113
11 November 2015
INDIVIDUAL QUIZ#09
Choose the single best answer in Questions (1) – (4). Each question is worth five points for
a total of 25 points.
(1) The ________ a thunderstorm remains in existence, the greater the chance of
producing severe weather. Hence, ________ thunderstorm is most likely to outlive
________ thunderstorm.
(a) shorter, an ordinary cell, a multicell
(b) shorter, a multicell, an ordinary cell
(c) longer, an ordinary cell, a multicell
(d) longer, a multicell, an ordinary cell, p. 277-278 of text
(2) Severe weather tends to form in the ________ sector of a mid-latitude cyclone partly
because ________ vertical wind shear in this location helps thunderstorms become
severe.
(a) warm, strong, p. 285 of text
(b) warm, weak
(c) cold, strong
(d) cold, weak
(3) Most cloud-to-ground lightning is ________, where the base of the cloud is ________
charged and the ground is ________ charged.
(a) negative, positively, negatively
(b) negative, negatively, positively, p. 292 of text
(c) positive, positively, negatively
(d) positive, negatively, positively
(4) The ________ downdraft appears to play an important role in producing tornadoes in
classic supercells. Studies have shown that if too ________ precipitation wraps around
the mesocyclone, the necessary interactions that produce the downdraft are disrupted, and
a tornado is not likely to form.
(a) rear-flank, little
(b) rear-flank, much, p. 304-305 of text
(c) mid-flank, little
(d) mid-flank, much
(5) Explain why there is a shift in tornado activity from winter to summer within the
continental United States.
Proper atmospheric setting for the development of severe T-storms that spawn tornadoes:
Warm humid surface air
Cool dry air aloft
This layering produces  conditional instability
Strong vertical wind shear  provided by polar jet stream p. 285
Polar jet stream shifts northward from winter to summer, hence, tornado activity should shift northward
from the Gulf States in winter to the northern U.S. in the summer [p. 297-298]