Atmospheric Sciences

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Which dimension does not match a possible depth of airmass?
Select one:
a. from the surface to the tropopause
b. 5 kilometers (~ half the depth of the troposphere)
c. 1 to 2 meters
d. 1 to 2 kilometers

It is May on the Great Plains. A cold front is advancing toward you. What type of weather
conditions would you expect to find if the cold front is advancing into warm, moist,
conditionally unstable air?
Select one:
a. freezing rain and sleet
b. clear skies
c. thunderstorms
d. widespread fog

Which of the following statements about dry lines is false?
Select one:
a. Dry lines are found most commonly east of the Mississippi River.
b. A dry line is a front that is characterized by a sharp moisture difference
between two airmasses.
c. Dry lines develop when air flowing eastward from the high desert plateau
regions of the United States descends the Rockies into the southern Plains.
d. Thunderstorms tend to develop along dry lines in mid-afternoon.

While historically ice storms have caused significant impact in the United States, since 2000
there have been very few. Scientists attribute this to global warming.
Select one:
True
False

The warm rain process of freezing precipitation formation refers to the fact that the air
temperature is above freezing through most of the troposphere.

Select one:
True
False

In the central United States, most freezing precipitation is associated with arctic fronts and
warm fronts.
Select one:
True
False

Ice pellets are another name for frozen raindrops; sleet is another name for snow.
Select one:
True
False

Freezing drizzle is most common in the northeast United States and eastern
Canada, while freezing rain is most common on the High Plains of the central U.S.
and Canada.
Select one:
True
False

Freezing drizzle typically results in minor glaze accumulations.
Select one:
True
False

One of the most destructive ice storms in North America occurred in January 1998
along the northeast U.S./Canadian border. One reason for this storm’s destruction
was the prolonged duration (five days) of glaze accumulation.
Select one:
True
False

An “Alberta Clipper” is an extratropical cyclone that develops east of the Canadian
Rockies and rapidly moves eastward, typically across the Great Lakes region.
Select one:
True
False

The Great Lakes region experiences many extratropical cyclones. Which of the following
best describes why?
Select one:
a. The tracks of Rocky Mountain cyclones and Alberta Clippers converge over the Great
Lakes.
b. The Great Lakes is one the primary regions where extratropical cyclones initially develop.
c. The Great Lakes attract cyclones because of the large amounts of moisture in the air.
d. Both (a) and (b) are correct.
e. Both (a) and (c) are correct.

The tracks of extratropical cyclones that form east of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and
the United States typically converge over the Great Lakes region.
Select one:
True
False

Which statement about Alberta Clippers is not accurate?
Select one:
a. Alberta Clippers form east of the Rocky Mountains.
b. Alberta Clippers can produce up to 6 to 8 inches of snow.
c. Alberta Clippers develop as divergence occurs at jetstream level in a wave.
d. Alberta Clippers typically form in an environment where the air is very moist and warm.
e. Alberta Clippers move rapidly across the United States/Canadian border to the Atlantic
Ocean.

Cyclones typically intensify as they move onto the Plains east of the Rockies. Why does this
occur?
Select one:

a. The fronts all converge in the region of the low-pressure center.
b. Winds converge into the low-pressure center at the surface due to friction.
c. Warm air from over the Great Lakes moves into the cyclone increasing snowfall
downwind of the lakes and increasing divergence aloft over the low.
d. Warm air moves north to the east of the cyclone and cold air moves south to the west of
the cyclone. This can lead to an intensification of the curvature and jetstreak effects aloft,
increasing divergence over the low.
e. All of the above contribute to a lowering of the surface pressure.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

When a dry line passes, winds typically shift from westerly before the dryline
passes to easterly after the dryline passes.
Select one:
True
False

Which of the following statements about dry lines is false?
Select one:
a. A dry line is a front that is characterized by a sharp moisture difference between two
airmasses.
b. Thunderstorms tend to develop along dry lines in mid-afternoon.
c. Dry lines are found most commonly east of the Mississippi River.
d. Dry lines develop when air flowing eastward from the high desert plateau regions of the
United States descends the Rockies into the southern Plains.

Which dimension does not match a possible depth of airmass?
Select one:
a. 1 to 2 meters
b. from the surface to the tropopause
c. 1 to 2 kilometers
d. 5 kilometers (~ half the depth of the troposphere)

The two fronts that produce most of the freezing precipitation on the plains between the
Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains are:
Select one:
a. occluded fronts and dry lines.
b. arctic fronts and warm fronts.
c. upper level fronts and dry lines.
d. upper level fronts and cold fronts.
e. back door cold fronts and coastal fronts.

Since freezing rain is produced primarily by thunderstorms, a sounding taken during
freezing rain must show conditional instability.
Select one:
True
False

During an ice storm, __________winds will worsen the situation by __________.
Select one:
a. strong; causing ice burdened structures to fail
b. strong; blowing the glaze accumulation to other nearby areas
c. weak; concentrating the ice accumulation in a localized area
d. None of the above are correct. Wind cannot impact the destruction of an ice storm.

Aircraft icing is most dangerous in freezing drizzle situations because the entire cloud in
which the aircraft is flying may consist of supercooled water.
Select one:
True
False

Cold air trapping often leads to freezing rain in which geographic region(s)?
Select one:
a. The Great Basin
b. Appalachian mountain valleys
c. The Colorado River valley

d. The Columbia River valley
e. Both b and d are correct.

One of the most destructive ice storms in North America occurred in January 1998 along the
northeast U.S./Canadian border. One reason for this storm’s destruction was the prolonged
duration (five days) of glaze accumulation.
Select one:
True
False

Freezing precipitation is generally found in a narrow (less than 100 mile wide) band on the
cold side of the 0C isotherm at the Earth’s surface.
Select one:
True
False

Waves in the upper atmosphere are vital to the development and intensification of
extratropical cyclones. When will a wave in the jetstream amplify?
Select one:
a. When warm air moves northward west of a low and cold air moves southward east of a
low.
b. When warm air moves southward west of a low and cold air moves northward east of a
low.
c. When cold air moves northward west of a low and warm air moves southward east of a
low.
d. When cold air moves southward west of a low and warm air moves northward east of a
low.
e. None of the above are correct. The amplification of an atmospheric wave has nothing to
do with the transport of air of differing temperatures.

Which of the following may occur when extratropical cyclones develop on the Plains east of
the Rockies in early spring?
Select one:
a. A line of thunderstorms will often form ahead of the dry line or upper level front.
b. A widespread area of moderate rain or snow will typically occur north of the warm front.

c. Heavy snow will fall along the Rockies north of the low because cold air is rising along the
topography in this region.
d. Air will flow counterclockwise around the low.
e. All of the above may occur.

Several frontal boundaries can be present south of an extratropical cyclone located east of
the Rocky Mountains. Which of the following statement(s) correctly describe(s) the types of
weather that can occur in this region of the cyclone?
Select one:
a. A wide shield of clouds will be sometimes be present east of the upper level front with
precipitation type changing from rain to freezing rain to sleet to snow as one goes from
west to east.
b. When the upper level front leads the dry line, there may be one line of storms along the
upper level front and a second along the dry line if the low-level air is sufficiently heated
during the daytime.
c. Upslope flow will lead to a wide region of snowfall along the Rocky Mountains in this
quadrant of the cyclone.
d. The intensity of the precipitation and the potential for severe weather will depend on the
stability of the warm moist air and how the winds change with height in the warm air ahead
of the leading front.
e. b and d are both correct.

The Great Lakes region experiences many extratropical cyclones. Which of the following
best describes why?
Select one:
a. The tracks of Rocky Mountain cyclones and Alberta Clippers converge over the Great
Lakes.
b. The Great Lakes is one the primary regions where extratropical cyclones initially develop.
c. The Great Lakes attract cyclones because of the large amounts of moisture in the air.
d. Both (a) and (b) are correct.
e. Both (a) and (c) are correct.

The tracks of extratropical cyclones that form east of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and
the United States typically converge over the Great Lakes region.
Select one:
True

False

Upslope flow 179 263
Storms 282 283

To understand ice storms, we must first understand _______________.
Select one:
a. Glaze
b. Inversion
c. Melting Level
d. Supercooled Water

Which of the following is NOT a primary location of bomb cyclones to form?
Select one:
a. U.S Gulf Coast
b. U.S East Coast
c. Western Pacific
d. Mediterranean Sea

The balance between the pressure gradient force and Coriolis force is known as the?
Select one:
a. force balance
b. gradient force
c. geostrophic balance
d. hydrostatic balance

The type of cloud that can be describes as "layered and widespread"?
Select one:
a. stratus cloud

b. cumulonimbus cloud
c. cumulus cloud
d. cirrus cloud

Narrow bands of strong winds at upper levels below the tropopause are
Select one:
a. Wind convergence
b. Jet Streams
c. Jet streaks
d. Wind Divergence

Simple rules of winter travel can save your life if you are trapped on the road in a blizzard.
Travelers should ________________________
Select one:
a. Carry basic winter automobile safety items
b. Stay with your vehicle
c. Carry a winter storm survival kit
d. All of the above

The term "overrunning" referees to the action of?
Select one:
a. cold air falling downwards over warm air
b. none of the above
c. warm and cold are colliding
d. warm air rising upwards over cold air

A high value of air temperature corresponds to a low saturation vapor pressure.
Select one:
True
False

When a cloud dissipates, _________ is taking place.

Select one:
a. freezing
b. melting
c. evaporation
d. snowfall
e. condensation

How does the average speed of air molecules influence the atmosphere?
Select one:
a. It determines the air temperature.
b. It indicates the presence of clouds.
c. It indicates if there will be precipitation.
d. It determines what the relative humidity is.

The atmosphere is in hydrostatic balance if the vertical pressure gradient force exactly
balances the downward Coriolis force.
Select one:
True
False
A front is a narrow region with similar temperature characteristics directly under a jetstream
in the upper troposphere.
Select one:
True
False

If the earth did not rotate, the Coriolis force would be:
Select one:
a. strongest at the poles and zero at the equator.
b. strongest at the equator and zero at the poles.
c. strong and negative everywhere on earth.
d. zero everywhere on earth.

The atmosphere contains large numbers of invisible tiny particles called _____________.
Select one:
a. Deposition
b. Haze
c. Aerosol

Which of the following regions is not a preferred area for cyclone formation?
Select one:
a. Over the Pacific Ocean in the Gulf of Alaska
b. Over of the Great Lakes
c. East of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado
d. Near the North Carolina coast
e. Along the Texas-Louisiana coastline of the Gulf of Mexico

The balance between the pressure gradient force and Coriolis force is known as the?
Select one:
a. force balance
b. geostrophic balance
c. hydrostatic balance
d. gradient force

In general, a(n) ________________ front is likely to be present if a sharp line of storms
exists with clear air to the west of the line and if no significant change in the temperature or
dew point temperature appears at the surface across the line of storms.
Select one:
a. Stationary
b. Warm
c. Upper-Level
d. Cold

At what temperature (Celsius) does snow fall through the melting level and continue to fall
on the ground as rain?
Select one:
a. -10'c
b. 0'c
c. 2'c
d. 13'c

Which statement about the tropopause is incorrect?
Select one:
a. The tropopause acts as a lid on weather.
b. The tropopause slopes downward from the tropics to the poles.
c. The tropopause is the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
d. The tropopause is where pressure stops decreasing with height and starts increasing with
height.
e. The temperature at the tropopause is typically colder than the temperature at the
surface.

Which of Newton’s laws relates the force exerted on an object to its acceleration?
Select one:
a. First law of motion
b. Second law of motion
c. Third law of motion

The ___________ causes air to slow down near the surface.
Select one:
a. Coriolis force
b. frictional force
c. gravitational force
d. vertical pressure gradient force
e. horizontal pressure gradient force

Which term is defined by the rate at which pressure changes with distance?
Select one:
a. pressure gradient
b. pressure contour
c. pressure unit area
d. pressure isoheight

Occluded fronts form as a _________ overtakes a(n) _________ .
cold, warm

Choose which frontal passage below best corresponds to the following forecast: “Warm
temperatures, sunny skies and southerly winds will prevail today. Thundershowers expected this
evening followed by a rapid drop in temperature and winds shifting to northwesterly.”
Select one:
a. occluded front
b. cold front
c. warm front
d. dryline

Clouds that develop along warm fronts typically are layered in nature and
any precipitation tends to be more widespread and steady.
Select one:
True
False

Freezing precipitation is generally found in a narrow (less than 100 mile wide) band on the
cold side of the 0C isotherm at the Earth’s surface.
Select one:
True
False

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