ATSC 2000 FINAL EXAM Spring 2005 (16%)
T/F ____/15 MC ____/33 Short Answer ____/21 Essay ____/12 Total ____/81
True/False
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false (one point each).
____ 1. In order to conserve angular momentum, an object's rotational velocity must decrease if its distance from the
axis of rotation increases.
____ 2. The trade winds originate at the ITCZ.
____ 3. Descending Hadley Cell air is the source of both the midlatitude westerlies and the trade winds.
____ 4. Maritime polar air masses rarely affect the weather of Washington and Oregon.
____ 5. Continental tropical air masses form in the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada.
____ 6. Long, gentle rains are associated with cold fronts.
____ 7. Occluded fronts occur at the surface boundary between two polar air masses.
____ 8. Mountain ranges may trigger cyclogenesis.
____ 9. The warm conveyor belt is located ahead of the cold front.
____ 10. Wintertime anticyclonic regions over the United States interior usually carry mT air masses.
____ 11. In general, the higher the vertical wind shear, the more severe the thunderstorm.
____ 12. Cold weather and deep inversions are a sure sign that thunderstorms will occur.
____ 13. Cloud-to-ground lightning is more common than in-cloud lightning.
____ 14. What appears to be a single bolt of lightning is actually a series of rapid return strokes.
____ 15. Lightning requires the presence of strong updrafts and supercooled water droplets.
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.(one point each)
____ 16. During his voyage across the Atlantic, Columbus wanted to spend the least amount of time here a. horse latitudes. b. midlatitude westerlies, on his way back to Europe c. northeasterly trades, on his way out d. the New World. e. Cuba
____ 17. If Earth had no land, jet streams would typically be found at about ___ degrees and ___ degrees. a. 0, 90 b. 15, 45 c. 15, 75 d. 30, 60 e. 45, 75
____ 18. This/these are not typically found near the equator a. deserts. b. convective thunderstorms. c. the ITCZ. d. high humidity. e. warm temperatures.
____ 19. Trade winds a. begin in an area of low pressure. b. pick up much water vapor from tropical oceans. c. flow out of the ITCZ. d. are not part of Hadley Cell circulation. e. none of the above
____ 20. In the vicinity of the polar front you would expect to find a. midlatitude westerlies. b. polar easterlies. c. cold polar air. d. warm subtropical air. e. all of the above
____ 21. This is the most significant source of atmospheric transfer of heat poleward a. midlatitude cyclones. b. blocking highs. c. zonal flow. d. split-flow patterns. e. hurricanes.
____ 22. The characteristics of a maritime tropical air mass is a. very cold and dry. b. bitter cold and dry. c. warm and dry. d. warm and humid. e. cool and humid.
____ 23. Air masses a. are humid. b. typically form over heterogeneous surfaces. c. typically move away from the source region after they have formed. d. often form over medium-sized lakes, like Lake Powell in Utah. e. have large horizontal temperature gradients.
____ 24. Continental polar air masses that affect North America a. usually form over the southeastern United States. b. provide the moisture for much of the precipitation of the eastern United States. c. are typically unstable. d. always form over snow-covered regions. e. none of the above
____ 25. This North American air mass category forms over high latitude regions of Canada a. Air Canada b. mP. c. mT. d. cT. e. cP.
____ 26. Hot and humid summer weather in the eastern United States is usually caused by this type of air mass a. mT. b. mP. c. cP. d. cT. e. none of the above
____ 27. Fronts a. require two distinct air masses. b. can be several hundred miles long. c. are often associated with precipitation. d. all of the above e. none of the above
____ 28. Stationary fronts a. are usually cloudless. b. are the same as occluded fronts. c. occur when two cold fronts meet. d. occur inside a single air mass. e. are often accompanied by steady precipitation.
____ 29. This occurs earliest in an extratropical cyclone a. warm front. b. cold front. c. occluded front. d. occluded cyclone. e. open frontal wave.
____ 30. The most intense extratropical cyclones have lows of about ____ mb. a. 870 b. 910 c. 960 d. 999 e. 1010
____ 31. A cut-off cyclone a. has well-developed fronts. b. is found at the level of the jet stream c. does not cause precipitation. d. is the initial stage of extratropical cyclone development. e. is rarely found over North America.
____ 32. Which occurs first? a. a stationary front b. cut-off cyclone c. occluded cyclone d. cold front approaching the warm front e. fully developed cold front
____ 33. Which of the following can trigger cyclogenesis? a. mountain barriers b. temperature gradients c. a strong jet stream d. all of the above e. none of the above
____ 34. In spring, the low-level flow in heavy snow storms that hit eastern Wyoming comes from the a. west. b. east. c. north. d. south. e. southwest.
____ 35. The southern tail of a comma cloud is caused by a a. cold front. b. warm front. c. occluded front. d. stationary front. e. dry slot.
____ 36. Divergence in the jet stream a. diminishes precipitation. b. inhibits cloud formation. c. causes cyclones to dissipate. d. is common east of troughs in the jet stream. e. all of the above
____ 37. Anticyclones a. have strong winds. b. are identified by their tightly spaced isobars. c. do not appear in the continental United States. d. have skies that are mostly clear. e. cause violent weather events.
____ 38. Air in an anticyclone a. converges aloft and subsides b. flows along the surface toward the center of the high. c. is moved by strong horizontal pressure gradients. d. rises and produces precipitation. e. all of the above
____ 39. Thunderstorms a. contain cumulonimbus clouds. b. can penetrate up to the tropopuase. c. contain rapidly rising saturated air. d. all of the above e. none of the above
____ 40. Which of the following is not conducive to the formation of thunderstorms? a. a lifted index of -5. b. warm moist air near the ground. c. a capping inversion. d. strong daytime heating. e. vertical wind shear.
____ 41. Precipitation in an ordinary single-cell thunderstorm a. usually falls as snow. b. does not occur in the dissipating stage. c. ceases in the cumulus stage. d. is highest in the mature stage. e. none of the above
____ 42. In the dissipating stage of an ordinary single-cell thunderstorm a. tornadoes are often spawned. b. severe lightning is most likely to occur. c. precipitation reaches a maximum. d. downdraft is stronger than updraft. e. all of the above
____ 43. Most tornadoes descend from a. air-mass thunderstorms. b. hurricanes. c. multi-cell lines. d. warm frontal nimbostratus. e. supercell thunderstorms.
____ 44. A mesocyclone a. forms in the lee of the Rockies. b. is essentially a F5 tornado. c. is often found in a supercell thunderstorm. d. is also called a left-mover. e. all of the above
____ 45. A tornado with 305 mile-per-hour surface winds is a class ___ on the Fujita scale. a. F1 b. F2 c. F3 d. F4 e. F5
____ 46. Tornadoes a. are most common in late summer. b. affect both halves of the United States about equally. c. are most likely to occur between midnight and dawn. d. are quite frequent in Oklahoma. e. all of the above
____ 47. Charge separation in clouds a. requires collisions between ice particles and either snowflakes or graupel. b. is part of the collision-coalescence precipitation-formation process. c. is caused by the voltage difference between the ground and the tropopause. d. is most common in altocumulus clouds. e. is usually horizontal, not vertical.
____ 48. On average in the United States, of people killed by weather related events, the most fall victim to a. cold fronts. b. tornadoes. c. blizzards. d. hurricanes. e. lightning & flashfloods.
Short Answer
Fill out the blank (one point each)
49. The ______lie at about 30 degrees north and south, and they were disliked by sailors.
50. The ______meet at the ITCZ.
51. The circulation of air from the ITCZ through the upper atmosphere down through the subtropical highs and
back to the ITCZ is called a ______after the person who first explained it.
52. Calm winds near the equator are called the ______.
53. The warmer winds of the ______meets the colder winds of the polar easterlies at the
polar front.
54. The jet stream typically has several waves called ______waves.
55. A comparatively low levels of precipitation on the leeward side of the Coast Range in the Pacific Northwest is
termed a ______.
56. Air masses are characterized by the ______and moisture characteristics of their source regions.
57. The North Pacific is a common source region for ______air masses.
58. ______air masses often form over northern mainland Canada.
59. ______air masses form over the Southwest in summer.
60. ______air masses form over the Gulf of Mexico.
61. When winter cP air masses travel across the Great Lakes, ______-______snow can result, creating
snowbelts on the south and east sides of the lakes.
62. A ______front occurs when two air masses collide but have little if any surface movement.
63. Cyclone initiation and growth is termed ______.
64. During the process of ______, a cyclone's low-pressure area moves away from the fronts to a position
under the upper-level tough.
65. The dry slot behind the cold front is associated with the ______belt.
66. In a multi-cell storm, downdrafts feed the cold pool; the leading edge of the cold pool is called the ______
______, which fuels the storm by lifting warm moist air.
67. The destructiveness of tornadoes is measured on the ______scale.
68. The brilliant flash of lightning, from the ground up towards the stepped leader, is termed a ______
______.
69. Frozen precipitation that has concentric accreted shells is termed ______.
Essay
Please choose three and ONLY three essays (4 points each). Please write your essays on the back of this sheet.
70. Describe the characteristics of the Hadley Cell.
71. What are the formative causes of the horse latitudes and the doldrums?
72. Explain the formation of stratocumulus clouds in subtropical regions with colder oceans.
73. Write an essay in which you discuss the nature and importance of Rossby waves and the various flow patterns
associated with them.
74. Follow a cool and moist air parcel that delivers precipitation from one side of the Coast Range in the Pacific Northwest to the other side. Give details on relative dew points, temperatures, and precipitation amounts on
the windward and leeward sides.
75. Why are tropical air masses typically less stable than polar air masses?
76. Describe the important characteristics of cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, and occluded fronts.
77. In what ways do cold fronts differ from warm fronts?
78. Describe the factors that contribute to cyclogenesis.
79. Discuss the interactions of the jet stream with extratropical cyclones.
80. Explain how "conveyor belts" help explain the characteristics of extratropical cyclones.
81. Describe the formation and typical characteristics of the various types of multicell thunderstorms.
82. What causes lightning? ATSC 2000 FINAL EXAM Spring 2005 (16%)
Answer Section
TRUE/FALSE
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. F
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. T
10. F
11. T
12. F
13. F
14. T
15. T
MULTIPLE CHOICE
16. A
17. D
18. A
19. B
20. E
21. A
22. D
23. C
24. E
25. E
26. A
27. D
28. E
29. E
30. C
31. B
32. A
33. D
34. B
35. A
36. D
37. D
38. A
39. D
40. C
41. D
42. D
43. E
44. C
45. E
46. D
47. A
48. E
SHORT ANSWER
49. horse latitudes
50. trade winds
51. Hadley Cell
52. doldrums
53. midlatitude westerlies
54. Rossby
55. rain shadow
56. temperature
57. maritime polar
58. Continental polar
59. Continental tropical
60. Maritime tropical
61. lake-effect
62. stationary
63. cyclogenesis
64. occlusion
65. dry conveyor
66. gust front
67. Fujita
68. return stroke
69. hail