**Write
all of your answers on the answer sheets**
For
questions 1 - 3, consider the following regions of the United States. None of the answers are used more than
once. (1 point each)
(a)
West
coast (California, Oregon, Washington)
(b)
Desert
southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado, southern Utah)
(c)
Gulf
coast (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana)
(d)
Southern
great plains (northeast Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas)
1.
Which
area experiences the most thunderstorms per year?
2.
Which
area experiences the least thunderstorms per year?
3.
Which
area experiences the most violent tornadoes per year?
For each question 4-6,
select the change that will act to make the atmosphere more unstable, i.e., increase
the likelihood of thunderstorms. (1
point each)
4.
(a)
Warm the air in the lower troposphere (near the ground)
(b) Cool the air in the lower troposphere (near the
ground)
5.
(a)
Warm the air aloft (above 600 mb)
(b) Cool the air aloft (above 600 mb)
6.
(a)
Add water vapor to the air in the lower troposphere (near the ground)
(b) Add water vapor to the air aloft (above 600 mb)
Multiple Choice -- 2 points each
7. Cloud-to-ground lightning is more common than in-cloud and cloud-to-cloud lightning.
(a)
True (b) False
8.
The
inside of a car is a very dangerous place to seek shelter from lightning.
(a)
True (b) False
9.
Thunder
is caused by the rapid heating of air that occurs in and near the lightning
channel.
(a)
True (b) False
10.
There
are documented cases of tornadoes that remain on the ground for over 6 hours
and cause destruction along a path hundreds of miles long.
(a)
True (b) False
11.
More
tornadoes occur in the United States than anywhere else in the world.
(a)
True (b) False
12.
A
good place to seek shelter from a tornado is underneath a highway overpass
(i.e., under a bridge that passes over a highway)
(a)
True (b) False
13.
Which
of the labeled points (A-D) are located in a 500 mb ridge. (Select all that apply)
(a)
A (b) B (c) C (d)
D
14.
At
which point do you expect the air temperature at the surface to be the most
below average?
(a)
A (b) B (c) C (d)
D
15.
At
which point do you expect the best chance for precipitation at the surface?
(a)
A (b)
B (c) C (d) D
16.
At
which point will the wind speed at 500 mb be the fastest?
(a)
A (b) B (c) C (d)
D
17.
What
is the 500 mb wind direction at point C?
(Use the meteorological definition for wind direction).
(a)
South (b) Southwest (c) Northeast (d)
North
18.
The
average 500 mb height over Tucson on October 28 is about 5780 m. Using this information and the map above,
which is the best temperature forecast for Tucson?
(a)
Much
below average (c)
Near to slightly above average
(b)
Near
to slightly below average (d)
Much above average
19.
More
people in the United States die each year from severe weather than die from
traffic accidents and murders combined.
(a) True (b)
False
20.
Hurricanes
on average cause more property damage per year in the United States (in terms
of dollar cost) than any other category of severe weather.
(a)
True (b) False
21.
Several
years before Katrina struck, a New Orleans newspaper article warned about the
possibility for a significant loss of life and societal chaos in the New
Orleans area that would occur if residents failed to evacuate before getting
hit by a major hurricane like Katrina.
(a)
True (b) False
22.
The
ozone hole has caused a worldwide increase in the occurrence of skin cancer,
especially in and near the tropics where ultraviolet exposure is greatest.
(a)
True (b) False
23.
It
is common for weather front to provide the rising motion to “trigger”
thunderstorm formation. To assess the
stability of the atmosphere and the potential for thunderstorms near a weather
front, a meteorologist should lift surface parcels located on the ________ air
mass side of the front.
(a)
warm (b) cold
24.
When
we look at weather systems from above (using satellite imagery as was shown in
class), we see swirling cloud motions in the middle latitudes that indicate
winter-type storms. These large storm
systems rotate ___________ in the Northern Hemisphere.
(a)
clockwise (b) counterclockwise
Multiple Choice -- 3 points
each
25.
Strong
vertical wind shear is a necessary ingredient in the formation of _______ .
(a)
severe
thunderstorms and tornadoes
(b)
hurricanes
(c)
both
(a) and (b)
(d)
neither
(a) nor (b)
26.
A
microburst is _______________ .
(a)
the
beginning stage of a tornado
(b)
a
small, localized area of frequent cloud to ground lightning
(c)
a
burst of extremely heavy rain falling from a thunderstorm
(d)
a
small, but very strong downdraft
27.
Much
of the energy required to produce strong thunderstorm updrafts comes from _____
.
(a)
latent
heat released when raindrops evaporate
(b)
latent
heat released when water vapor in the air condenses
(c)
latent
heat released when ocean water evaporates into the air
28.
If
you see a lightning stroke and then 20 seconds later hear the thunder, the
lightning is about ________ miles away.
(a) 2 (b)
4 (c) 5 (d) 10
29.
On
average, clouds cover about _________ of the Earth’s surface.
(a)
20% (b) 40 % (c) 60% (d)
80%
30.
In
recent years, heat-related deaths have been increasing in the United
States. Which of the reasons given
below should be considered “speculative” since it has not yet been
scientifically proven?
(a)
The
average age in the U.S. is increasing and older people are more susceptible to
heat-related deaths.
(b)
The
heat island effect – as urban areas become larger and more filled in with
buildings, roads, and people, they become progressively warmer than the
surrounding countryside resulting in more heat deaths in large U.S. cities.
(c)
In
recent years, there has been a trend toward higher concentrations of poor and
elderly people living near the centers of large urban areas where heat deaths
are most common.
(d)
Global
warming has caused heat waves to become more common and more severe than they
were in the past.
31.
Based
on the dates and average high temperatures given below for Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA, select the day that has the greatest potential ultraviolet
exposure.
(a)
June
15, average high temperature 78° F
(b)
July
15, average high temperature 85° F
(c)
August
15, average high temperature 81° F
(d)
September
15, average high temperature 72° F
32.
In
Tucson, the sea level pressure that is plotted on surface weather maps is
__________ than the air pressure measured with a barometer.
(a) always higher (b)
always lower
(c) sometimes higher and sometimes lower
33.
Throughout
the Northern Hemisphere, a typical number of longwaves in the 500 mb pattern is
_________.
(a)
5 (b) 50 (c) 500 (d) 5000
34.
A
large body of cold, dry air (say 1,000 square kilometers) that forms over
northern Canada and then moves southward over the United States is called
_________ .
(a)
a
cyclone (c)
an air mass
(b)
an
anticyclone (d)
the polar front
Short Answer Questions – 8 points each
For each numbered question
1-4, select either (a) or (b)
1. Select either (a) or (b).
(a) What is a dome cloud in a thunderstorm (describing what it looks like is good enough)? How is the dome cloud formed? What does it indicate about the thunderstorm?
(b) The characteristics of an individual thunderstorm depend on the atmospheric conditions present at the time the storm forms. Consider conditions A and B below, which were measured just before a thunderstorm developed at each location. Use this information to answer the questions below the table.
|
Atmospheric Condition (measured) |
For Thunderstorm A |
For Thunderstorm B |
|
Air temp at ground level |
85° F |
95° F |
|
Dewpoint temp at ground level |
75° F |
65° F |
|
Air temperature at 500 mb |
15° F |
15° F |
· Which thunderstorm will have the lowest cloud base? Provide a complete explanation with your answer.
· Which thunderstorm is more likely to produce large hail? Provide a complete explanation with your answer.
· Which thunderstorm is more likely to produce strong downdraft winds and gust fronts? Provide a complete explanation with your answer.
2. Select either (a) or (b).
(a) The very active 2004 and 2005 Atlantic hurricane seasons have caused many to wonder if there is a connection to global warming. What is the simple argument (or basis for believing) that global warming will result in more and stronger hurricanes? Is global warming the best explanation for the active 2004 and 2005 Atlantic hurricane seasons? Explain you answer.
(b) Many citizens of the United States are not aware of just how deadly heat waves can be. Give three reasons why with a brief explanation for each. (More than three reasons were provided in the NY Times article “Most Deadly of Natural Disasters: the Heat Wave”)
3. Select either (a) or (b).
(a) In years when winter snows are plentiful, ski resorts located at high altitudes in the western U.S. are often able to stay open through early June. Late spring skiers often do not think to apply sunscreen and can get nasty sunburns. Give three reasons why late spring skiers are at a high risk for getting sunburned. Provide a brief explanation with each of the reasons you give.
(b) Why should we worry about the amount of ozone in the stratosphere? Briefly discuss how human activity has influenced the amount of ozone in the stratosphere. What is the future outlook for ozone levels in the stratosphere? Explain your answers.
4. Select either (a) or (b).
(a) On a 500 mb map, what do the numbers (labeled on the contour lines) represent? In winter the average air temperature in the lower troposphere over the U.S. generally decreases (from north toward south) or (from south toward north)? Choose one no explanation needed. In winter the winds at 500 mb over the U.S. generally blow (from the west) or (from the east)? Choose one no explanation needed. Explain how this general temperature pattern in the lower troposphere results in the wind direction you selected. You need to mention all the important forces that act on the air.
(b) Shown
below is a portion of a sea level weather map. What do the numbers (labeled contour lines) represent? Based on the contour pattern, draw arrows at
points A and B showing the wind direction.
To get full credit, you need to briefly explain how you determined the
wind direction. Does the wind pattern you
drew below result in divergence, convergence, or neither for the region
located between points A and B? Will
this force air to rise, to sink, or neither in a vertical air column located
between points A and B?