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160 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Historical/statistical weather describes?
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Climate
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What is weather?
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The current state of atmosphere
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What occurs over latitude?
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insolation, pressure belts, winds and ocean circulation
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Orography focuses on?
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aspect and elevation
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A climograph displays?
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average monthly temperature and precipitation
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What is continental?
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dry atmosphere and larger temperature ranges
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_____ has moist temperatures and small temperature ranges
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Maritime
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Ocean currents influence local weather and climate, but....
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prevailing wind direction also plays a role
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Cold currents come from the ___
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west coast of continents
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East coast of continents bring _____
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Warm currents
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What is elevation?
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the height above sea level
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Position and facing is?
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Aspect
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Air forced up over a tall barrier is directly related to?
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windward side and orographic precipitation
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Air forced down the other side is?
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leeward side and rainshadow effect
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Deep currents are controlled by?
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Density which is a function of temperature and salinity
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The North Atlantic Deep Water is a thermohaline deep current, which
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initiates in the North Atlantic.
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As the current cools, _______
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ts salinity increases since salts due not evaporate
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The global distribution of water vapor is?
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4% on equator
0% on poles |
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The circulation of water vapor consist of?
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Evaporation
Condensation Advection; which is horizontal transport |
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What are the positive effects of evaporation?
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Availability
Water temperature (warmer) Humidity (drier atm) Wind speed (faster) |
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Energetic _____ allows molecules to _____
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input; escape
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Warm air has a greater______ to hold water vapor
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capacity a.k.a relative humidity
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When air is holding maximum amount of water vapor, per given temp
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there is 100% relative humidity and condensation begins
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What are two instruments that measure the water vapor?
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hair hygrometer
sling psychrometer |
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Temperature to which the air must cool for saturation (condensation) to occur
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dew point temperature
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What is vapor pressure?
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amount of pressure in atmosphere exerted by water molecules
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Vapor pressure is measured in?
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millibars (mb)
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What is the average sea level pressure?
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1000 mb
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Vapor pressure ranges between?
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0-40 mb
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How do you measure absolute humidity?
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mass water vapor/volume air
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Mass water vapor/total mass air
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is how you measure specific humidity
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How do you measure the mixing ratio?
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Mass water vapor/mass dry air
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Capacity changes with ____?
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temperature
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Humidity is ______ to temperature
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relative
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RH is a ____ measure of _____ humidity
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poor; actual
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Amount of thermal to do the work of evaporation is a factor of
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relative humidity
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Transfer mechanism
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is on a global scale and redistributes heat
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Wind moves from ______ pressure to ______ pressure
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high to low
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Air moves in response to?
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pressure variations
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Troughs are?
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elongated lows
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Elongated highs
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Ridges are?
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Meridional flows are?
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North and South
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Zonal flows are?
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East to West
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Wind vectors represent?
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wind direction and magnitude
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Wind is ALWAYS named for the direction it's ______
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coming from
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Air that moves from east to west is?
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easterly wind
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Vertical pressure gradients are _____ than _________
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greater; horizontal PGF
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Hydrostatic balance is?
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gravity=PGF
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What are two factors that influence air movement?
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friction and coriolis
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What is PGF?
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its the difference between pressure over distance
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PGF determines?
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wind speed and starts atmospheric motion
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Apparent deflection of wind at the earth's surface is?
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coriolis effect
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Coriolis effect is caused by?
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rotation
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Winds are deflected to the left in the ________?
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Southern hemisphere
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Winds are deflected to the right in the _______?
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Northern hemisphere
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Cyclone is ____ pressure and is _____ in the N. Hemisphere
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low; CCW
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_________ is high pressure and goes CW in the N. Hemisphere
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Anticyclone
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Converge is to ____ pressure
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low
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Diverge is to _____ pressure
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high
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Intertropical Convergence Zone
(ITCZ) is? |
low; 0 degrees
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Subtropical High is?
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high; 30 degrees N/S
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Low 60 degrees N/S
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Polar front
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Polar high is?
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90 degrees N/S
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Polar cell has.....
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descending cold, dry air
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Rising warm, moist air. . .is?
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ferrel cell
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Hadley cell has.....
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descending cool, dry air
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In the lad-sea breeze, onshore sea breeze is _______
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has a thermal low land and occurs during daytime
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Offshore land breeze occurs during the nighttime and _____
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land that cools faster and has high pressure
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Valley wind occurs in the ______
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daytime
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Mountain wind occurs during the _______
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nighttime
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Seasonal reversal of winds is?
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monsoon
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During the summer of monsoons there are low pressures that occur during the daytime
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onshore wind
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In the winter monsoon there is?
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high pressure
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offshore wind
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What are clouds?
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a condensed form of water
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suspended liquid and/or ice
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What is condensation?
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air cools to dew point temperature
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moisture condense from gas to liquid
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What is condensation nuclei
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small particles onto which moisture can condense
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example; dust, pollution, and salt
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Cirrus
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latin word for hair or curl
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wispy, high level ice crystals
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Cumulus
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latin word or heap or pile
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As tall or taller than width, lumpy; forms in unstable air
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Stratus
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latin word for layer or blanket
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Much wider than height, layered; forms in stable air
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Convection
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vertical motion, local scale
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clouds have lumpy form
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Advection
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horizontal motion, larger scale
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clouds have flatter form
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Cirro- (cloud height)
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high clouds >20,000 ft
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usually ice crystals
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Alto-
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middle clouds, between 6k-20k
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mix of liquid and ice
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Strato
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low clouds
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up to 6k ft and usually liquid
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What are the high clouds?
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cirrus
cirrostratus cirrocumulus |
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Altostratus and Altocumulus are ____ clouds
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Middle
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Low clouds are?
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Stratus
Stratocumulus |
Nimbostratus
Cumulus Cumulonimbus |
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Cirrus clouds are also called?
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mares tails
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Cirrus clouds show prevailing ____________. They usually move from _____ to ______
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upper-level winds
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west/east
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Fair weather is often displayed in _____?
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cirrus clouds
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This cloud forms a halo around the moon or sun from ice crystals.
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cirrostratus
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it can mean bad weather is 12-24 hrs away
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Cirrocumulus is also called?
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mackerel sky
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This cloud is as big as your pinky nail and appears in warm fronts?
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cirrocumulus
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Altostratus clouds make the sun appear _____ and are gray to pale blue
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watery because of the liquid in the cloud
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White to gray, moist slightly unstable conditions describes
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the altocumulus
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Light to dark gray. Usually cover the sky. May be a fog layer that has lifted, or may denote advection of moist air into the area.
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stratus
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Stratocumulus
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Low-lying groups or patches of clouds. Appear white to gray.
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Dark gray to pale blue. Usually produces light, continuous precipitation. Often precedes warm front passage.
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nimbostratus
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Fair weather cumulus?
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Pleasant weather conditions. Height similar to width. Common in summer from surface heating.
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Tall relative to width. Denotes deep unstable layer.
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towering cumulus
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Cumulonimbus
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Thunderstorm clouds. Anvil develops when updraft slows and spreads outward. Forms in unstable moist atmospheres.
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Winds shear cloud as they cross mountain barrier
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Lenticular
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Mammatus
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Sinking air near anvil shows strong vertical motion
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Fog is a ______ cloud at the surface
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stratus
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Long, clear, calm nights; valleys
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radiation fog
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Advection fog?
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coastal locations
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East coast Rockies; slopes
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upslope fog
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Evaporation fog
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Lakes, rivers in fall, early winter; exhaling in cold temperatures
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Precipitation is?
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liquid water or ice that falls to the earth
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Droplet must grow large enough to __________
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break suspension
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What determines if the precipitation makes it to the ground?
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droplet size and cloud height
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Growth---warm clouds
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Collision-coalescence
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Growth---cold clouds
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Bergeron process
accretion and aggregation |
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Embryo accumulates supercooled droplets
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Hail
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Atmospheric stability determines _______ movement
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vertical
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If air can rise, it will cool. If it cools, __________
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moisture could condense
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If moisture condenses, it could precipitate
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precipitate
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Atmospheric stability also determines. . .
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likelihood of clouds, storms
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If its unstable the parcel will continue to _____
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rise
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If stable the parcel will ?
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return to starting point
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An adiabatic process warms by ______
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compression
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Cooling occurs by _______
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expansion
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What is lifting condensation level?
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when Ta reaches Td
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first height where cloud forms
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Ta > Td equals
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dry parcel
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Wet parcel equals
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Ta = Td
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The actual change in temperature in the environment
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Environmental lapse rate
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Absolute stability
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Parcel is ALWAYS colder than ELR
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Absolute instability
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Parcel is ALWAYS warmer than ELR
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Parcel is COLDER than ELR, then WARMER than ELR
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conditionally unstable
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What are fronts?
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Boundaries between different air masses.
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They have different densities and lifting mechanisms
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What are the 4 types of fronts?
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Stationary
Occluded Cold Warm |
symbols point in direction the front is advancing
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Warm air ______?
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advances
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What is the weather around the warm front?
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There is warm air behind the front, steady pcp is well ahead front, and strong wind shear.
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What characteristics does large (synoptic) scale mass of air have?
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Homogeneous thermal and moisture
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Moist?
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maritime (m)
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Dry?
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continental (c)
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Hot?
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Tropical (T)
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Cold?
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Polar (P)
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Cold?
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Arctic (A)
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What is cT
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continental tropical (summer)
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What is cA
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continental arctic (winter)
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Hot?
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Tropical (T)
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Cold?
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Polar (P)
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Cold?
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Arctic (A)
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What is cT
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continental tropical (summer)
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What is cA
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continental arctic (winter)
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cP air mass plunges ____, not ______
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south; west
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cP air mass also produces?
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snow of the Great Lakes
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mP is?
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modified cP
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West coast has?
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mP
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What is mP air mass?
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usually unstable and has important moisture source annually
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cP air mass plunges ____, not ______
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south; west
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cP air mass also produces?
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snow of the Great Lakes
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mP is?
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modified cP
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West coast has?
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mP
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What is mP air mass?
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usually unstable and has important moisture source annually
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The desert SW has a thermal ______
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low
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Dryline is?
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boundary mT and cT
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What is a cold front?
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cold air behind front, and pcp is confined to frontal zone
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Occlusion is?
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maturation process, behind its similar to the cold front, ahead it's similar to warm front
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