ATSC 201 - Meteorology of Storms - Fall 2004

Quizzes

Quizzes cover only the readings in textbook Rauber, Walsh and Charlevoix, 2002: Severe and Hazardous Weather. Kendall/Hunt Publ Co.

QUIZ 1 - Intro., Atmos. Structure, Tornadoes, Vorticity, Hodographs, Radar.

  1. The troposphere, where our weather happens, is deepest near (pick one): [tropics, mid-latitudes, poles]
  2. Pressure is equivalent to the weight of the column of air above a unit area. (true , false)
  3. Tornadoes in North Americal generally travel (i.e., translate) toward which direction? ____
  4. The rotating updraft of a thunderstorm is called a/an __________.
  5. What are 2 of the 3 sources of flow rotation that can contribute to absolute vorticity? ___ , ___
  6. Radar echo intensity (i.e., reflectivity) is used in meteorology to estimate ____ in storms, and the Doppler shift is used to estimate ____ in storms.

QUIZ 2 - Forces, Dynamics, Winds, Hail.

  1. ___ is the name for the ice particles that become hail embryos.
  2. Two types of turbulence are ____ and ____ .
  3. Angular momentum is ___________
  4. In which Canadian province is large hail most frequent?
  5. Horizontal convergence of air aloft is often associated with (increasing , no change , decreasing) surface pressure.
  6. Curved flow around a low pressure trough is usually (faster , not different , slower) than the geostrophic wind.
  7. Hail curtains surround what part of the thunderstorm.
  8. The two modes of large hailstone growth are called ___ and ___ .

QUIZ 3 - Observations, Adiabats, Stability, Thunderstorms

  1. UTC means ____ .
  2. List 2 instrument platforms used to get upper-air observations. ____ and ____ .
  3. The value of the dry adiabatic lapse rate is _____ K / km.
  4. List 3 mechanisms that can lift air: ____ , _____ , ____ .
  5. Capping inversions are statically (stable , neutral , unstable).
  6. Name 2 types of thunderstorms (not including supercells): ___ , ___
  7. Supercell thunderstorms always rotate. (true , false)

QUIZ 4 - Downbursts, Gust Fronts, Lightning, Thunder

  1. Positive-polarity lightning (i.e., positive strokes) usually come from what part of the thunderstorm?
  2. The atmospheric electric discharges known as sprites and elves are found (below the wall cloud , below the thunderstorm anvil , in the overshooting top , above the thunderstorm).
  3. ______ charging occurs as electical charge is transferred between large and small ice particles during collisions.
  4. Downbursts are caused by precipitation (true , false).
  5. Downbursts are strongest where the lapse-rate below cloud base is near (dry adiabatic , moist adiabatic , isothermal ).
  6. Where are gust fronts found? ____________________

QUIZ 5 - Global Circulation, Weather Maps, Airmasses

  1. The vertical position of the jet stream centre is usually near the _________ .
  2. A relatively fast portion of the jet stream is called a/an __.
  3. A deep region of heating (such as latent heating in deep thunderstorms) causes ___ pressure near the tropopause and ___ pressure near the surface.
  4. ( Convergence , Divergence ) in the flow is where air spreads apart horizontally.
  5. The arrangement of symbols around a weather station on a weather map is called a/an ____ .
  6. The upper-air isobaric map at 85 kPa (i.e., 850 mb) corresponds to an altitude near the (bottom , middle , top) of the troposphere.

QUIZ 6 - Fronts, Cyclones

  1. Name the air mass that typically blows into Vancouver from the northwest. ______
  2. Name this front: (diagram showed a stationary front, see p 153 Rauber) _______
  3. A ____ front where cold air is retreating at the surface.
  4. Name this front: (diagram showed a cold front aloft, see p 153 Rauber) _______
  5. “Trowal” means: ________
  6. For an intensifying cyclone, the trough axis is (to the east of ; roughly aligned with ; to the west of ) the surface low center.

QUIZ 7 - Forecasting and Hurricanes.

  1. List the 3 limitations of NWP models discussed in Rauber: ___ , ___ , ___
  2. List 2 techniques for compensating for the forecast errors resulting from those limitations: ___ , ___
  3. An NWP model that simulates phenomena of the scale of tornadoes and thunderstorms is called a/an ___ model.
  4. The names of the 4 levels of intensity for tropical weather systems are (in order from weakest to strongest):
    a) ____ , b) ____ , c) ____ , d) hurricane.
  5. What percentage of hurricanes that form in the northern hemisphere cross into the southern hemisphere? ___
  6. List 3 mechanisms that enhance surface convergence in the subtropics to trigger development of clusters of thunderstorms (i.e., incipient hurricanes): ___ , ___ , ___ .

written by Roland Stull, 2004.
UBC
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