Rain In Kentucky

Front 1

What is humidity?

Back 1

The general amount of water vapor in the air

Front 2

What is saturation?

Back 2

The maximum quantity of water vapor that the air can hold at any given temperature and pressure

Front 3

What happens to air that gets cooled below saturation level?

Back 3

some of water vapor condenses to make clouds

Front 4

What is dew-point?

Back 4

measure of its actual moisture content

Front 5

What kind of air would produce rain?

Back 5

High dew-point temperatures correlate with moist air

Front 6

What is a warm front?

Back 6

when the surface position of a front moves so that warm air occupies a territory formerly covered by cooler air

Front 7

where does the warm tropical air in KY come from?

Back 7

enters the US east of the rockies from the Gulf of Mexico and overruns receding cool air

Front 8

What happens in a warm front when warm air ascends?

Back 8

the retreating wedge of cold air cools adiabatically to produce clouds, and often precipitation

Front 9

How can you tell if a warm front is approaching?

Back 9

the appearance of cirrus clouds

Front 10

What happens to the cirrus clouds as the front nears?

Back 10

they turn into cirrostratus

Front 11

What happens about 300 km ahead of the warm front?

Back 11

thicker stratus and nimbostratus clouds appear and rain begins

Front 12

what type of rain do warm fronts make?

Back 12

they produce light-to-moderate precipiation over a large area because of their slow rate of advance and very low slope

Front 13

what type of weather are warm fronts generally associated with?

Back 13

cumulonimbus clouds and thunderstorms

Front 14

What is a cold front?

Back 14

when cold air actively advances into a region occupied by warmer air

Front 15

What major differences are there between cold and warm fronts?

Back 15

cold fronts advance more rapidly than do warm fronts, and have a much more steeper slope

Front 16

'what happens to the latent heat in a cold front?

Back 16

the forceful lifting is so rapid that the latent heat will increase the air's buoyancy

Front 17

What type of precipitation occurs in a cold front?

Back 17

heavy downpour, vigorous winds, preciptation intensity is greater, but shorter

Front 18

How can you tell a cold front is approaching?

Back 18

generally from the W/NW, towering clouds often can be seen at the distance

Front 19

What is a frontal wedging?

Back 19

warm and cold air collide, the cooler, denser air acts as a barrier over which warmer, less denser air rises

Front 20

What are midlatitude cyclones?

Back 20

Centers of low pressure that generally travel from west to east, last about a few days to maybe a week

Front 21

Where do midlatitude cyclones form?

Back 21

in the temperate climates around a low pressure system

Front 22

What kind of circulation do the midlatitude cyclones have?

Back 22

counterclockwise, travel from west to east

Front 23

What is the airflow like in the midlatitude cyclones?

Back 23

Flows inward toward the center

Front 24

Where are the fronts in the midlatitude cyclones that produce rain?

Back 24

The cold front externds from the central area of low pressure

Front 25

what causes cloud development and precicipation in the MLCyclones?

Back 25

convergence and forceful lifting

Front 26

Where do cyclones from?

Back 26

along fronts and are started when two air masses of different densities move fairly parallel to the front, but go in opposite directions

Front 27

What happens as a wave begins to develop in a cyclone?

Back 27

warm air advances poleward invading area formerly occupied by cool air, while cold air moves toward the equator

Front 28

What happens due to the change in direction?

Back 28

there is a readjustment in pressure patterns

Front 29

What happens as the warm air begins to overrun cold air in a cyclone?

Back 29

convergence results in vertical lifting

Front 30

What weather phenomenon do cyclones produce?

Back 30

Thunderstorms which give us rain in KY

Front 31

Where do midlatitude cyclones form?

Back 31

in the temperate climates around a low pressure system

Front 32

What kind of circulation do the midlatitude cyclones have?

Back 32

counterclockwise, travel from west to east

Front 33

What is the airflow like in the midlatitude cyclones?

Back 33

Flows inward toward the center

Front 34

Where are the fronts in the midlatitude cyclones that produce rain?

Back 34

The cold front externds from the central area of low pressure

Front 35

what causes cloud development and precicipation in the MLCyclones?

Back 35

convergence and forceful lifting

Front 36

Where do cyclones from?

Back 36

along fronts and are started when two air masses of different densities move fairly parallel to the front, but go in opposite directions

Front 37

What happens as a wave begins to develop in a cyclone?

Back 37

warm air advances poleward invading area formerly occupied by cool air, while cold air moves toward the equator

Front 38

What happens due to the change in direction?

Back 38

there is a readjustment in pressure patterns

Front 39

What happens as the warm air begins to overrun cold air in a cyclone?

Back 39

convergence results in vertical lifting

Front 40

What weather phenomenon do cyclones produce?

Back 40

Thunderstorms

Front 41

define thunderstorms.

Back 41

Storms that produce lightning and thunder, sometimes heavy rain

Front 42

How could we tell in KY that a thunderstorm is approaching?

Back 42

If there are a lot of cumulonimbus clouds in the skies

Front 43

When do thunderstorms form?

Back 43

When warm, humid air rises in an unstable environment.

Front 44

What contributes to this instability?

Back 44

Unequal heating of earth's surface,the lifting of warm air and diverging winds draw air from lower levels upward beneath them

Front 45

What do thunderstorms require?

Back 45

warm moist air to set off the heat needed for upward lift

Front 46

What does the instability of heat and moist air cause?

Back 46

AS they begin to group together in a cumulonimbus cloud, the height of the cloud gets bigger

Front 47

What happens as the cumulonimbus cloud gets bigger?

Back 47

the amount and size of precipitation is to big for the cloud to contain, producing precipitation.

Front 48

why is instability essential for precipitation?

Back 48

clouds will not form in stable conditions, because stable air resists upward movement

Front 49

How is air deemed unstable?

Back 49

when air near the bottom of this layer is significantly warmer than the air aloft, indicating a steep environmental lapse rate.

Front 50

Which clouds generate thunderstorms?

Back 50

clouds associated with the lifting of unstable air