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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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In what direction do winds turn around a high pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere?
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Clockwise
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Do winds diverge or converge around a high pressure system?
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Diverge
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What is a cut-off low?
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When an upper level low breaks away entirely from the main flow, producing a cut off low, which often appears as a single contour line on an upper-level chart
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What balances the vertical pressure gradient force?
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Gravity
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Explain how thermal circulation works.
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9. At the surface you need one region that is significantly warmer than an adjacent region, this will create a surface low over the warm region and a surface high over the cold. The warm air rises above the surface low and at upper levels circulates towards the cool region, where it sinks… completing the circulation
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During the day, when sea breeze occurs over a coastal region, where would you expect thunderstorms?
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Over the land when the land is hot and the ocean is cold. Warm air rises causing convection then precipitation
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During the night, when land breeze occurs over a coastal region, where would you expect thunderstorms?
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Over the ocean.
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Thunderstorm formation over the mountains of Tucson would be related to mountain breeze or valley breeze?
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Valley breeze because Tucson is surrounded by mountains.
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Elevated plateaus with snow surrounded by mountains with an opening that slopes rapidly are prime candidate regions for what type of winds?
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Katabatic winds
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Why are Chinook Winds so much warmer and drier on the leeward side of the Rockies than the windward?
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14. Chinook winds are warmer and drier on the leeward side because latent heat released during condensation heats the rising air, and precipitation removes moisture from it.
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Santa Ana Winds in California are associated with what type of temperature and humidity conditions?
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Warm and dry weather conditions
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Name 6 places in the world that experience monsoons
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Southwest U.S., India, China, Australia, South America, and Africa. India has the biggest.
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Explain how winds and moisture in the Asian Monsoon region behave during the winter and during the summer season.
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nter: land is cold; wind moves from land to ocean and circulates clockwise around the high. Summer: land is warm; wind moves from ocean to land and circulates counterclockwise around surface low
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Name one similarity and one difference between the Asian and North American monsoons
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Both have plateaus and winds from from ocean to land.
Asian monsoon is much stronger |
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During the North American monsoon, the winds shift from ____________ direction to ___________ direction.
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winds shift from Westerly direction to Easterly direction.
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Name the three cells in the Three-Cell Model and the latitudes they are located in.
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Hadley 0-30
Ferrel 30-60 Polar 60-90 |
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Which of the three cells incorrectly predicts the upper level winds?
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Ferrel cell
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Subtropical highs are associated with what type of weather?
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Dry and Clear weather
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Why is it that in the real world there are not really "bands" of pressure, but semi-permanent pressure cells that move north and south?
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The real world has land and has a tilt.
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Name the two most important semi-permanent highs and two lows that affect the climate in North America
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Bermuda high, Pacific high; Aleutian Low, Icelandic Low
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Describe how the global circulation shifts from January to July
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Shift NORTH in JULY - Shift SOUTH in JANUARY
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Why does the Southern Hemisphere look more like the idealized three-cell model?
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The Southern Hemisphere has less land.
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Why are winds in the upper atmosphere predominantly westerly?
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29. Winds in the upper atmosphere are predominantly westerly because in the lower troposphere there is a general decrease in temperature from the equator to the poles that corresponds in upper levels to high pressure/heights at the equator and lower pressure/heights at the poles. This pressure gradient AND the Coriolis act together to generate westerly winds parallel o the isobars
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Explain why Deserts are usually located at 30 degrees N and S
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The subtropical high is around 30 and causes descending air and clear skies.
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Why do Tropospheric jet streams form?
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Sharp temperature and pressure gradients when the different cells meet that cause high wind velocities.
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Why are temperatures in Northern Europe much warmer than they should be according to their latitude?
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The North Atlantic Drift current brings warm ocean water to the Western Coast of Northern Europe.
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Explain the Walker Circulation
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33. The Walker Circulation: The easterly trade winds move warm surface waters westward, causing higher temperatures, and even an increase in sea-level height in the western Pacific. The air overlying this warm water is in turn heated and rises to high levels of the atmosphere, diverges outwards, east and west, and finally sinks over the eastern Pacific.
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What happens during El Niño?
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The easterly trade winds weaken or even reverse and flow eastward. The warm water normally found in the western Pacific moves eastward. The upward branch of the Walker circulation (and thus the associated rainfall shifts eastward to the central Pacific and even the Eastern Pacific. The sinking air branch shifts to Indonesia and eastern Australia (drought conditions).
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How is the Southwestern US affected by El Nino/La Nina conditions?
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The SW usually receives more rainfall and is cooler than average during El Nino and warmer and drier during La Nina
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How is the Northwestern US affected by El Nino/La Nina conditions?
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The NW usually receives more rainfall and is cooler than average during La Nina and warmer and drier during El Nino
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Name two other oscillatory circulation patterns that affect climate over the US.
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PDO and NAO
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Classify the air masses originating in the following regions as cP, cT, mP, mT, or cA
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North Pacific - mP
Alaska - cP Gulf of Mexico - mT Tropical Pacific - mT Northern Mexico - cT |
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When a maritime tropical air mass reaches the continent, what type of weather does it bring?
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Warm moist precipitation
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When do fronts form?
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Air masses of different characteristics meet.
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What is the best character trait of Kelly Rafferty?
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She is fucking COOL!!!
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