Weather Final Practice Quiz (Exam 2)
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Weather is the study of all things that you may take for granted on a daily basis – namely, the rain, the clouds in the sky, sunny days, warm climates and thunder and lightning. How much do you know about it?
- 1.In cloud-to-ground lightning, the stepped leader makes contact with
- A.
Objects on the surface
- B.
A dart leader
- C.
A positive streamer
- D.
A return stroke
- 2.Severe thunderstorms are different from air-mass thunderstorms in that severe thunderstorms
- A.
Contain thunder and lightning
- B.
Have an anvil
- C.
Have a tilted updraft in the mature stage
- D.
Have a strong updraft and downdraft
- E.
Contain hail
- 3.The flood of 1993 had its greatest impact during the _______ months
- A.
Spring
- B.
Winter
- C.
Summer
- D.
Fall
- 4.Hail grows by
- A.
Collisions with graupel
- B.
Accretion of supercooled droplets
- C.
Collisions with frozen raindrops
- D.
Sublimation
- 5.A station at an altitude of 900 m (about 3000 feet) above sea level measures an air pressure of 930 mb. Under normal conditions, which of the values below do you think would be most realistic sea level pressure for this station?
- A.
900 mb
- B.
930 mb
- C.
1020 mb
- D.
1010 mb
- E.
1000 mb
- 6.Which statement below is NOT correct concerning the Coriolis force?
- A.
It deflects winds in opposite directions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
- B.
It can cause winds to change direction, but not to increase or decrease in speed
- C.
It causes the winds to deflect to the right in the Northern Hemisphere
- D.
It is strongest at the equator
- 7.The extent of property damage from hail depends on
- A.
The hardness of the hail
- B.
The size of the hail
- C.
All of these factors
- D.
The angle of impact of the hail
- 8.A type of thunderstorm that does not commonly produce hail is a(n) _______ thunderstorm
- A.
Ordinary
- B.
Multicell
- C.
Squall line
- D.
Supercell
- 9.A ______ usually indicates clearing weather or fair weather
- A.
Steadily rising pressure
- B.
Steadily falling pressure
- C.
Constant pressure
- D.
Fluctuating pressure
- 10.The weather conditions associated with the flood of '93 included a strong stationary high pressure system sitting over
- A.
North Dakota
- B.
Texas and Oklahoma
- C.
The southeast US
- D.
The central plains
- 11.Cloudy ice in a hailstone indicates the hailstone formed in an environment that was
- A.
Below freezing, very cold
- B.
About 0 degrees c
- C.
Below freezing, moderately cold
- D.
Warm (above freezing)
- 12.To correctly monitor horizontal changes in air pressure, the most important correction for a mercury barometer measurement is the correction for
- A.
Gravity
- B.
Altitude
- C.
Density
- D.
Temperature
- 13.A conditionally unstable environment needed for thunderstorm development means that air above the lowest levels of the atmosphere must ______ with increasing height
- A.
Cool slowly
- B.
Cool rapidly
- C.
Warm slowly
- D.
Warm rapidly
- 14.For a weather radar, range is determined by
- A.
Timing the return of the pulse
- B.
Measuring the frequency shift of the pulse
- C.
Satellite sensors
- D.
The strength of the pulse returning to the radar
- 15.The strength of the radar energy that returns to a weather radar is called the
- A.
Shift
- B.
Range
- C.
Pulse
- D.
Reflectivity
- E.
Velocity
- 16.Which of the following explain why it is possible to see clouds on satellite images taken at night?
- A.
The clouds emit infrared radiation
- B.
The clouds reflect light coming from the moon
- C.
The clouds emit visible light
- D.
The clouds reflect visible light from the sun
- 17.The surface pressures at the bases of warm and cold columns are equal. Air pressure in the warm column of air will ______ with increasing hight _______ than the cold column
- A.
Decrease, more slowly
- B.
Increase, more slowly
- C.
Increase, more rapidly
- D.
Decrease, more rapidly
- 18.The wind around a surface low pressure center in the Southern Hemisphere blows
- A.
Counterclockwise and inward toward the center
- B.
Counterclockwise and outward from the center
- C.
Clockwise and inward toward the center
- D.
Clockwise and outward from the center
- 19.Isobars on a surface weather map represent
- A.
Locations with the same dew point temperature
- B.
Locations with the same temperature
- C.
Fronts
- D.
All of these
- E.
Locations with the same sea level adjusted pressure
- 20.If you see a lightening stroke and then, 15 seconds later, hear the thunder, the lightning is about ___ miles away
- A.
15
- B.
45
- C.
3
- D.
5
- 21.The precipitation associated with a stationary front is typically
- A.
Light
- B.
Moderate to heavy
- C.
Heavy
- D.
Very heavy
- E.
Moderate
- 22.An ordinary thunderstorm begins to dissipate when
- A.
When the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft
- B.
When all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice
- C.
Lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud
- D.
When solar heating at the ground begins to decrease
- 23.What stage of the lightning process produces thunder?
- A.
Return stroke
- B.
Positive streamer
- C.
Stepped leader
- D.
Building electrical potential
- 24.On an upper-level chart, normally we find warm air associated with ______ pressure, and cold air associated with ______ pressure
- A.
High, high
- B.
Low, low
- C.
High, low
- D.
Low, high
- 25.An ordinary (air-mass) thunderstorm is most intense during the ______ stage
- A.
Dissipating
- B.
Mature
- C.
Multicell
- D.
Cumulus
- 26.From the gas law, we know that if pressure is kept constant, density must _____ as temperature increases
- A.
Stay the same
- B.
Increase
- C.
Decrease
- 27.When two air masses collide at a front, one air mass is pushed upward by the other. This is because
- A.
Pressure is falling in one air mass and rising in the other
- B.
One air mass is moving faster than the other
- C.
One of the air masses encounters topographical features on the ground
- D.
One air mass is denser than the other
- 28.The coldest of all air masses is
- A.
MP
- B.
MT
- C.
CT
- D.
CF
- E.
CA
- 29.Observations indicate that ball lightening
- A.
Lasts for up to 10 seconds
- B.
Does not occur indoors
- C.
All of these are true
- D.
Is extremely bright
- E.
Does not move
- 30.Which statement is true?
- A.
To occur, flash floods require a well defined stream channel
- B.
Flash floods only occur at night
- C.
Flash floods can occur during drought conditions
- D.
Only intense rainfall can produce a flash flood
- 31.A group of thunderstorms which develop in a line one next to the other, each in a different stage of development, are called
- A.
A thunderstorm cluster
- B.
Air-mass thunderstorms
- C.
Mature thunderstorms
- D.
A multicell thunderstorm
- 32.Which of the following on average are responsible for the most fatalities each year?
- A.
Floods
- B.
Tornadoes
- C.
Hail
- D.
Lightning
- 33.The best path for large hailstone growth in a thunderstorm cloud is ______ the freezing level and nearly ______
- A.
Above, vertical
- B.
Below, vertical
- C.
Above, horizontal
- D.
Below, horizontal
- 34.The lifting mechanism in which cold air from one thunderstorm pushes up the air outside of the storm is called
- A.
An outflow boundary
- B.
The anvil process
- C.
Convective lifting
- D.
Topography lifting
- 35.Monitoring river levels in the U.S. is mainly conducted by
- A.
Automated stations
- B.
Observers from the community
- C.
Police and fire departments
- D.
National weather service employees
- 36.In cloud-to-ground lightning, the stepped leader travels ______ and the return stroke travels ________
- A.
Upward, downward
- B.
Downward, downward
- C.
Upward, upward
- D.
Downward, upward
- 37.Sheet lightning is caused by
- A.
The flash occurring inside the cloud
- B.
The stepped leader traveling the original path
- C.
A very low cloud base
- D.
Wind spreading the ionized channel
- 38.At a warm front, the warm air
- A.
Sinks and cools
- B.
Rises and cools
- C.
Sinks and warms
- D.
Rises and warms
- 39.Cyclonic flow means ______ in either the northern or southern hemisphere
- A.
Circulation around a low pressure center
- B.
Circulation around a high pressure center
- C.
Counterclockwise flow
- D.
Clockwise wind flow
- 40.Occluded fronts may form as
- A.
Overrunning occurs along a warm front
- B.
A cold front overtakes a warm front
- C.
A warm front overtakes a cold front
- D.
A cold front overtakes a squall line
- 41.What percentage of lightning flashes reach the earth's surface?
- A.
80
- B.
100
- C.
60
- D.
20
- E.
40
- 42.What is considered the "fuel" that enables thunderstorm development?
- A.
Convection
- B.
Hail
- C.
Water vapor
- D.
Precipitation
- E.
Unstable environment
- 43.Lines connecting points of equal pressure are called
- A.
Contours
- B.
Isobars
- C.
Isotherms
- D.
Millibars
- 44.Geostationary satellites
- A.
Are in orbit around the sun, not the earth
- B.
Orbit the earth once in 24 hours
- C.
Orbit the earth about once every 5 hours
- D.
Orbit the earth in about 100 minutes
- 45.Compared to an mP air mass, mT air is
- A.
Warmer and moister
- B.
Colder and drier
- C.
Colder and moister
- D.
Warmer and drier
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