Meteorology Practice Exam 3: Chapters 11-14

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1 Class: _ Date: _ Meteorology Practice Exam 3: Chapters Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. Squall lines most often form ahead of a: a. cold front. b. warm front. c. cold-type occluded front. d. warm-type occluded front. e. stationary front. 2. The origin of cp and ca air masses that enter the United States is: a. Northern Siberia. b. Northern Atlantic Ocean. c. Antarctica. d. Northern Canada and Alaska. 3. Which of the following statements is most plausible? a. In winter, cp source regions have higher temperatures than mt source regions. b. In summer, mp source regions have higher temperatures than ct source regions. c. In winter, ca source regions have lower temperatures than cp source regions. d. In summer, mt source regions have lower temperatures than mp source regions. e. They are all equally plausible. 4. Compared to an mp air mass, mt air is. a. warmer and drier b. warmer and moister c. colder and drier d. colder and moister 5. One would expect a cp air mass to be: a. cold and dry. b. cold and moist. c. warm and dry. d. warm and moist. 6. What type of air mass would be responsible for refreshing cool, dry breezes after a long summer hot spell in the Central Plains? a. mp b. mt c. cp d. ct 7. Generally, the greatest lake effect snow fall will be on the shore of the Great Lakes. a. northern b. southern c. eastern d. western 1

2 8. What type of air mass would be responsible for persistent cold, damp weather with drizzle along the east coast of North America? a. mp b. mt c. cp d. ct e. ca 9. The air mass with the highest actual water vapor content is. a. mt b. ct c. mp d. cp 10. What type of air mass would be responsible for hot, dry summer weather in southern Arizona? a. mp b. mt c. cp d. ct 11. Along the boundary between continental polar and maritime tropical air masses, is often found. a. a large area of calm (extremely light wind) b. intense heat and drought c. widespread precipitation and storminess d. both a and c 12. A stationary front does not move because: a. winds on both sides of the front are calm. b. the winds blow parallel to the front. c. the front is between high and low pressure. d. the winds blow against each other and are of equal strength. 13. On a weather map, this front, drawn in blue, represents a region where colder air is replacing warmer air: a. warm front. b. cold front. c. cold-type occluded front. d. warm-type occluded front. 14. The rising of warm air up and over cold air is called: a. overrunning. b. frontolysis. c. frontogenesis. d. occlusion. 2

3 15. What type of weather front would be responsible for the following weather forecast? "Increasing high cloudiness and cold this morning. Clouds increasing and lowering this afternoon with a chance of snow or rain tonight. Precipitation ending tomorrow morning. Turning much warmer. Winds light easterly today becoming southeasterly tonight and southwesterly tomorrow." a. cold front b. warm front c. stationary front d. warm-type occluded front 16. The upper air flow on the map below would bring air masses into western Canada and the United States, and air masses into the eastern United States. a. mp; mt b. ca; mp c. mp; cp d. ca; mt e. ct; mt 17. The below diagram represents a side view of: a. a cold front. b. a warm front. c. an occluded front. d. a stationary front. 3

4 Exhibit 11-2 Use the surface weather map to answer the question(s). 18. Refer to Exhibit Heavy snow would most likely be falling at position: a. 1. b. 2. c. 3. d Refer to Exhibit Clearing skies are most likely at position: a. 1. b. 2. c. 3. d Refer to Exhibit Which position is located in the warm sector? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d According to the model of the life cycle of a wave cyclone, the storm system is normally most intense: a. as a frontal wave. b. as a stable wave. c. as an open wave. d. as a stationary wave. e. when the system first becomes occluded. 22. In the polar front theory of a developing wave cyclone, energy for the storm is usually derived from all but which of the following? a. rising of warm air and the sinking of cold air b. latent heat of condensation c. an increase in surface winds d. heat energy stored in the ground 23. Which region is not considered to be a region where cyclogenesis often occurs? a. eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains b. Atlantic Ocean near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina c. California d. the Great Basin of the United States e. Gulf of Mexico 4

5 24. If the flow of air into a surface low pressure area is greater than the divergence of air aloft, the surface pressure in the center of the low will: a. increase. b. decrease. c. remain the same. d. deepen. 25. Cyclogenesis is the of a mid-latitude cyclone. a. development or strengthening b. weakening or dissipation c. term for the exact midpoint d. none of these 26. When an upper-level low lies directly above a surface low, a. the surface low will probably weaken. b. thunderstorms will develop. c. a wave cyclone will begin to form. d. the pressure of the surface low will decrease. e. cyclogenesis will occur. 27. For a surface storm system to intensify, the upper-level low (or trough) should be located to the of the surface low. a. north b. south c. east d. west 28. Developing low pressure areas generally have air near the surface and air aloft. a. converging; diverging b. diverging; converging c. converging; converging d. diverging; diverging 29. When upper-level divergence of air above a surface low pressure area is stronger than the convergence of surface air, the surface pressure will and the storm itself will. a. increase; intensify b. increase; dissipate c. decrease; intensify d. decrease; dissipate 30. Atmospheric shortwaves usually move than longwaves, and when they move through a longwave ridge. a. faster; weaken b. faster; strengthen c. slower; weaken d. slower; strengthen 5

6 31. A small, moving disturbance imbedded in a longwave is called: a. a lee-side low. b. a wave cyclone. c. a shortwave. d. a frontal wave. 32. During baroclinic instability, a. wave cyclones can intensify into large storm systems. b. strong wind speed shear exists from the surface up to at least the 500 mb level. c. rising and descending air motions exist. d. temperature advection is occurring. e. all of these 33. Referring to the diagram below, if the winds are all blowing at constant speed, confluence of air is occurring at point: a. 1. b. 2. c. 3. d Front A in the figure below is a Southern Hemisphere front and is moving toward the. a. warm; north b. warm; south c. cold; north d. cold; south e. none of these 35. A weather watch would probably be issued for which of the following conditions? a. There is a chance for tornadoes tomorrow. b. Presently, extremely high winds are occurring at mountain summits. c. A tornado has been sighted at the outskirts of town. d. Heavy snow has been falling over the forecast area. 6

7 36. Suppose it is warm and raining, and a cold front is moving toward your location. Directly behind the cold front, it is cold and snowing. Still further behind the front, the weather is cold and clearing. If the front is scheduled to pass your area in 6 hours, a persistence forecast for your area for 12 hours from now would be: a. cold and snowing. b. cold and clearing. c. cold and cloudy. d. warm and raining. e. not enough information on which to base a forecast. 37. Predicting the weather by weather types employs which forecasting method? a. probability b. steady-state c. analogue d. persistence e. guess 38. The forecasting technique that produces several versions of a forecast model, each beginning with slightly different weather information to reflect errors in the measurements, is called: a. climatology forecasting. b. redundancy analysis. c. persistence forecasting. d. ensemble forecasting. e. probability forecasting. 39. The forecasting of weather by a computer is known as: a. weather type forecasting. b. climatology forecasting. c. extended weather forecasting. d. analogue prediction. e. numerical weather prediction. 40. Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when: a. lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud. b. when all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice. c. when the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft. d. when solar heating at the ground begins to decrease. 41. 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 a tilted updraft in the mature stage. 42. The main difference between a downburst and a microburst is: a. duration. b. strength. c. size. d. altitude. 7

8 43. The wind shear associated with several major airline crashes is believed to have been caused by: a. microbursts. b. dry lines. c. the jet stream. d. mesocyclones. 44. A relatively narrow downburst, less than 4 kilometers wide, is called a: a. microburst. b. funnel cloud. c. rain shaft. d. narrow burst. e. mesocyclone. 45. Squall lines generally do not form: a. behind a cold front. b. when the air aloft develops waves downwind from a cold front. c. along a dry line. d. in the warm sector where warm, dry air meets warm, humid air. e. ahead of an advancing cold front. 46. On a surface weather map, which of the following marks the boundary where a warm, dry air mass encounters a warm, moist air mass? a. gust front b. dry line c. storm front d. wall cloud 47. Most squall line thunderstorms form: a. in advance of a cold front. b. along a cold front. c. behind a cold front. d. in advance of a warm front. e. along an occluded front. 48. Lightning may occur: a. within a cloud. b. from a cloud to the ground. c. from one cloud to another cloud. d. all of these 49. Lightning discharges within a cloud occur cloud-to-ground lightning. a. more frequently than b. less frequently than c. about as frequently as d. Lightning cannot remain in the cloud; it must strike an object on the ground. 8

9 50. Distant lightning that is so far away you cannot hear the thunder is called: a. sheet lightning. b. heat lightning. c. false lightning. d. St. Elmo's fire. e. auroral lightning. 51. Electrons: a. are negatively charged. b. are positively charged. c. carry no charge. d. can carry either positive or negative charge. 52. A cloud-to-ground lightning discharge will sometimes appear to flicker. This is because: a. you are able to see the separate steps of the stepped leader. b. you are able to distinguish separate return strokes. c. the bright light causes you to blink. d. of refraction caused by turbulent thunderstorm winds. 53. You a generally safe inside an automobile during a lighting storm because: a. the car's radio antenna will act as a lightning rod: b. the rubber tires insulate you from the ground. c. metal cars do not become electrically charged. d. the metal car body will carry the lightning current around the passengers inside. 54. Thunder will not occur: a. without lightning. b. in wintertime thunderstorms. c. in thunderstorms over the ocean. d. when a thunderstorm is producing precipitation. 55. When caught in a thunderstorm in an open field, the best thing to do is to: a. run for cover under the nearest tree. b. lie down flat on the ground. c. crouch down as low as possible while minimizing contact with the ground. d. remove all metallic objects from your pockets. 56. A funnel cloud is composed primarily of: a. cloud droplets. b. dust and dirt from the ground. c. raindrops. d. hail. e. ice crystals. 57. Which of the following statements about tornadoes is correct? a. All tornadoes rotate in a counterclockwise direction. b. Tornadoes never strike the same place twice. c. All tornadoes make a distinction roar. d. The United States has more tornadoes that any other country in the world. 9

10 58. The small, rapidly rotating whirls that sometimes occur within a large tornado are called: a. microtornadoes. b. whirl winds. c. suction vortices. d. mesocyclones. 59. A funnel cloud or tornado may develop from this rotating cloud that extends beneath a severe thunderstorm. a. mammatus cloud b. anvil cloud c. roll cloud d. wall cloud e. suction vortex 60. Most tornadoes move from: a. northwest to southwest. b. southwest to northeast. c. south to north. d. southeast to northwest. 61. A typical diameter of a tornado would be: a. 50 meters. b. 250 meters. c. 1,000 meters. d. 2,500 meters. e. 4,000 meters. 62. In the United States, tornadoes are most frequent during the, and least frequent during the. a. summer; fall b. spring; winter c. spring; fall d. summer; winter e. winter; fall 63. Tornadoes are usually observed: a. behind cold fronts. b. on the windward side of mountains. c. near large bodies of water. d. along occluded fronts. e. ahead of cold fronts. 64. At home, when confronted with an approaching tornado, you should: a. open the windows right away. b. grab a video camera and start filming. c. listen to see whether the tornado has an audible roar. d. seek shelter immediately. 10

11 65. The Enhanced Fujita Scale for classifying tornado strength is based on: a. multiple damage indicators. b. degree of damage. c. atmospheric stability. d. multiple damage indicators and the degree of damage. e. none of these 66. Damage to structures inflicted by tornadoes can be caused by: a. flying debris. b. the tornadoes high winds. c. the drop in air pressure as a tornado moves overhead. d. the drop in air pressure above a roof as high winds blow over it. e. all of these 67. The signal detected by a Doppler radar is: a. a radiowave emitted by lightning. b. a soundwave produced by thunder. c. a radiowave reflected by precipitation. d. a soundwave produced by wind shear. 68. A single Doppler radar is NOT able to: a. measure the speed of falling precipitation. b. measure the speed at which precipitation is moving horizontally. c. measure the speed at which precipitation is moving parallel to the radar antenna. d. detect areas of precipitation. e. detect a mesocyclone. 69. Most waterspouts: a. form in severe thunderstorms. b. draw water up into their core. c. have rotating winds of less than 45 knots. d. form in an area where winds are descending from a cloud. e. actually form over land. 70. Referring to the figure below, lightning flashes that stay within a cloud are frequent than discharges that strike the ground. a. more b. less 11

12 71. Supercell thunderstorms are much larger than ordinary thunderstorms and have. a. many individual cells b. at least two individual cells c. one large cell 72. According to the National Weather Service definition, a severe thunderstorm is a storm having: a. hail at least three-quarters of an inch in diameter. b. surface wind gusts of 50 knots (58 miles/hr) or greater. c. a tornado. d. all of these e. at least one of the conditions described in (a), (b), and (c) 73. The appearance of a downdraft marks the of the mature stage of a thunderstorm. a. end b. beginning c. peak 74. In a multicell storm, each of the cells is always in the same stage of development. a. true b. false 75. The largest and most severe type of squall line forms: a. behind a cold front. b. ahead of a cold front. c. above a cold front. Essay 76. Describe the data and tools that a meteorologist assembles prior to making a weather forecast. 12

13 Meteorology Practice Exam 3: Chapters Answer Section MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. ANS: A PTS: 1 2. ANS: D PTS: 1 3. ANS: C PTS: 1 4. ANS: B PTS: 1 5. ANS: A PTS: 1 6. ANS: C PTS: 1 7. ANS: C PTS: 1 8. ANS: A PTS: 1 9. ANS: A PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: E PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: E PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: E PTS: ANS: C PTS: 1 1

14 41. ANS: E PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: E PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: D PTS: ANS: E PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: A PTS: ANS: C PTS: ANS: E PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: B PTS: ANS: B PTS: 1 ESSAY 76. ANS: Answer not provided. PTS: 1 2