Weather And Climate Test 4

Front 1

Cone of silence

Back 1

area above a radar that cannot see any precipitation
-only applicable when theres one radar only

Front 2

with range from radar there is _________ because of ____

Back 2

height; curve of earth

Front 3

Two modes of radar

Back 3

clear air vs. precipitation

Front 4

ASOS stands for and what is it part of; what does it do

Back 4

Automated Service Observation System; part of surface weather observation

Front 5

What is ASOS used for

Back 5

aviation and helps meteorologists study climate

Front 6

where/when is ASOS taken

Back 6

thousands of locations around world
airports, military bases, ships
hourly basis

Front 7

What are types of ASOS observations?

Back 7

automated, automated with manual augmentation, manual

Front 8

What are METARs/SPECIs

Back 8

coded weather observations transmitted globally

Front 9

What can ASOS/AWOS not measure

Back 9

hail, tornadoes, sleet, or show depth

Front 10

how can we observe thunderstorms

Back 10

human observers/sensors

Front 11

What are pieces of puzzle for weather observations

Back 11

surface weather observations, AWOS/ASOS, Upper Air/rawinsonde data, upper air/profiler data, NWS Cooperative climate data (CoCoRaHS), World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Front 12

What are two types of upper air measurers?

Back 12

rawinsondes and profilers

Front 13

How high do rawinsondes get carried up?

Back 13

75,000-100,000 feet

Front 14

what is the downside of rawinsondes

Back 14

only taken ever 12 hours and costly (200000-250,000/yr)

Front 15

What are profilers/where do they measure/what do they measure

Back 15

like a doppler weather radar facing upwards made to fill holes of doppler radars
-CONTINUALLY transmits
-measures wind direction/speed of UPPER AIR

Front 16

downside of profilers?

Back 16

not getting the full data set like a rawinsonde

Front 17

What is National Weather Service Cooperative Climate Data and what is an example

Back 17

CoCoRaHS- peoples individual data

Front 18

What does WMO stand for and what does it do

Back 18

World Meteorological Organization
-responsible for international exchange of weather data & certifies that observation process does not vary between nations since all weather observations must be comparable

Front 19

Where do people get forecasts from

Back 19

radio, tv, internet, newspaper
AMS/NWA (voluntary profession organizations)

Front 20

What is AMS

Back 20

certified broadcast meteorologist (on air meteorologist)

Front 21

What are AMS/NWA

Back 21

radio and tv "seal of approval" programs

Front 22

What led to end of weather bunny era/creation of AMS

Back 22

April 3&4, 1974- worst tornado outbreak at the time

Front 23

who has authority to issue weather watches/warnings/advisories

Back 23

National Weather Service

Front 24

Weather Watch

Back 24

atmospheric conditions are favorable for the type of weather specified (generally larger geographic area; generally longer time span of 4-6 hours)

Front 25

Weather warning

Back 25

type of weather specified is imminent or is occurring (smaller geographic area; generally shorter time spans 1/2-1 hour)
-immediate threat to life/property
ex: winter storm, flooding

Front 26

Advisory

Back 26

type of weather is imminent or occurring but not a threat to life or property
ex: fog, freezing rain, heat

Front 27

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP)

Back 27

computer atmospheric "models" that are mathematical in nature and run 1-4 times a day (00z, 06z, 12z, 18z)
-susceptible to data in/data out (mistakes result in outcome in mistakes entered initially)

Front 28

What are problems with NWP (numerical weather prediction)

Back 28

-bad data in/bad data out
-models dont handle very cold air very close to ground
-small disturbances/erros tend to be amplified with time (chaos)
-data sprase areas of the world
-cannot adequately interpret many of the factors that influence surface weather

Front 29

meteorological cancer

Back 29

over reliance of forecasting tools on computers and computer models

Front 30

Methods of forecasting

Back 30

persistence forecasting, stead state/trend forecastin, analogue method forecasting, ensemble forecastic, climatological forecasting, probability forecasting

Front 31

persistence forecasting

Back 31

VERY short term
-short time period in a stable weather pattern

Front 32

steady state/trend forecasting

Back 32

weather system coming at ___ mph, therefore front will arrive at _____
-noticing how quickly system is moving; assuming when it will arrive

Front 33

problem with steady state/trend forecasting

Back 33

fronts and weather does not stay same speed

Front 34

analogue method forecasting

Back 34

comparing weather systems to ones in the past

Front 35

danger of analogue method forecasting?

Back 35

no two weather systems have ever been the exact same; we can only compare the similarities

Front 36

climatological forecasting

Back 36

similar to persistence
-using known climate patterns to forecast future forecasting (temp, etc)
EX: predict that July 22 in texas the high wil be 101

Front 37

probability forecasting

Back 37

very misunderstood
forecaster certainty X areal coverage expected
-NOTHING TO DO WITH AREAL COVER OR TIME

Front 38

where is probability forecasting obtained from

Back 38

model data; purely statistical

Front 39

short term forecasting- how long/what is accuracy of predictions

Back 39

today, tonight-tomorrow
85-95% accuracy

Front 40

medium term forecasting- how long/accuracy???

Back 40

2-3 days
80-85% accuracy

Front 41

longer term forecasting- how long/accuracy???

Back 41

4-8 days
75% accuracy

Front 42

Where are thunderstorms common

Back 42

warmer, equatorial climates- maritime tropical

Front 43

what do you need for thunderstorms to occur (3 things)

Back 43

atmospheric lift, moisture, instability

Front 44

cumulus stage of thunderstorm

Back 44

entire systems updraft drive (no rain or lightening)

Front 45

mature stage of t-storm

Back 45

updrafts/downdrafts coexist (most inclement weather)

Front 46

dissipation stage

Back 46

downdraft oriented (downdraft shuts down updraft)
-storm dying

Front 47

how long does a thunderstorm last at most

Back 47

1 1/2 hours for everyday t-storm

Front 48

what determines how long t-storms last

Back 48

how long updraft can persist before being shut down by down draft

Front 49

what causes a major t-storm

Back 49

-LOTS of moisture, lift, instability
-strong winds aloft in upper level
-creates vacuum

Front 50

what are regular t-storms called

Back 50

single cell/air mass type storms

Front 51

what are long lasting storms called

Back 51

severe storms

Front 52

what percent of all t-storms are single cell/air mass type storms

Back 52

95%

Front 53

how many days a year is thunder recorded in ATX

Back 53

40-45 days

Front 54

why are there few t-storms on west coast

Back 54

cold moisture- stabilizing

Front 55

Characteristics of air mass thunderstorms

Back 55

greatest number of them worldwide
random
not well organized
short lived (1-1 1/2 hours)
over escarpments
within an airmass (MT)
beneficial (rain in summer)
downdraft cuts off updrafts & commits atmospheric suicide
heating related- topo/geographically/daytime

Front 56

describe atmospheric suicide

Back 56

"downdraft (colder dense air) cuts off updraft

Front 57

make makes tstorm severe

Back 57

-tornado presence
-1 in diameter or later hail (at SURFCE)
-convective wind gusts of 50 knots/58 mph

Front 58

what percent of tstorms are sever

Back 58

<5%

Front 59

what happens if updraft is separated from downdraft

Back 59

lasts longer

Front 60

why are t storms longer lasting

Back 60

well developed wind structure (2 hrs or longer)

Front 61

where do most severe t storms occur

Back 61

middle latitudes along cold fronts/dry lines
cP/mP/mT/cT boundaries

Front 62

ingredients needed for severe t storms

Back 62

marginally unstable air
strong lifting mechanisms
air flow aloft to encourage strong updrafts
presence of initial temp. inversion creates lid on atmosphere violently broken by strong lifting mechanism

Front 63

temperature inversion

Back 63

temp increases with height for short distance rather than decreased

Front 64

squall lines characteristics

Back 64

line of thunderstorms
density of t storms along line can determine severity of individual thunderstorms

Front 65

broken squall line characteristics

Back 65

weather threats
larger hail sizes;
weak tornadoes around breaks lines or in southernmost

Front 66

scattered density squall line characteristics

Back 66

weather threats
mesocyclones/supercells
stronger tornadoes
larger hail

Front 67

super cells characteristics

Back 67

tstorms that develop a strong internal wind structure (up/down drafts separated)
-long lasting that CONTROL environment
-always severe
-cause wind/hail damage often

Front 68

mesoscyclones characteristics

Back 68

rotating updraft with an intense cumulonimus cloud (severe t storm)
-3-7 miles across
-caused by strong wind speed/direction shear aloft
-less than 20% produce tornadoes (discovered from doppler weather radar)

Front 69

mesoscale convective complex (MCCs) characteristics

Back 69

number of individual t storms that grow in size and arrange/organize into large convective complex
-1000 X as large as average air mass t-storm
-common plains into Miss. valley
-blow NW to SE
-doesnt produce many tornadoes
-produces a lot of rain and lightening

Front 70

derecho

Back 70

"striaght ahead/direct"
widespread/usually fast moving convective windstorm
-damaging wind over areas hundreds of miles long and more than 100 miles across
-not as well organized as MCCs

Front 71

what is a step leader

Back 71

path of lightning is not always visible and lightning finds channel to get to found

Front 72

lightning discharge

Back 72

part of charge comes from ground and part comes from cloud

Front 73

steps of lightening

Back 73

1. step leader- finds channel to reach ground
2. lightning discharge- part of charge comes from ground/cloud
3. return stroke

Front 74

what creates charge

Back 74

abundant amounts of water, ice, updrafts

Front 75

name charges with upper, lower cloud and group

Back 75

upper cloud- positive
lower cloud-negative
group-positive

Front 76

thunder

Back 76

explosive heating of air molecules around lightning

Front 77

what causes lightning

Back 77

separation of charges created by ice and water in the up and down drafts

Front 78

how far can lightning be away and strike?

Back 78

10-20 miles away

Front 79

when do people get strikes most often

Back 79

not raining

Front 80

when does lightning most often occur

Back 80

within 20 min of beginning of cumulus stage (going into mature stage)

Front 81

how many lightning strikes per second in world & how much in damage every year

Back 81

100/ $25 million

Front 82

how big is lightening bolt

Back 82

diameter of pencil

Front 83

how hot is lightning bolt

Back 83

5X surface of sun (up to 54,000 degrees F)

Front 84

how fast can strikes occur

Back 84

less than 1/10th of second

Front 85

how can you tell how far away lightning is

Back 85

5 seconds between lightning and thunder=1 mile distance away from stroke

Front 86

if there is lightning there is what somewhere

Back 86

thunderstorm

Front 87

what is heat lightning

Back 87

storm is too far away to hear thunder

Front 88

name types of lightning

Back 88

cloud to ground (LTGCG)
cloud to cloud (LTGCC)
cloud to air (LTGCA)
cloud to water (LTGCW)
intracloud (LTGIC)

Front 89

considering all lightning- what percents of types of lightning make up

Back 89

60% intracloud or cloud to cloud
20% cloud to ground

Front 90

which is most dangerous type of lightning

Back 90

cloud to ground

Front 91

two most things that get hail damage

Back 91

cars and agriculture

Front 92

record hail size

Back 92

7 inches in diameter

Front 93

what determines hail size and storm severity

Back 93

storm's up/downdraft strength

Front 94

how fast an large hail travel

Back 94

100-125 mph

Front 95

what determines if hail is severe

Back 95

1 or greater in diameter

Front 96

largest hail falls what of tornadoes

Back 96

NE

Front 97

what is straightline thunderstorm wind

Back 97

mostly benign at around 30 mph, but occasinally can come to speeds of 100 mph

Front 98

what determines severe winds

Back 98

50 knots/58 mph

Front 99

what damage pattern do straightline winds have

Back 99

divergent

Front 100

what damage pattern do tornadoes have

Back 100

convergent

Front 101

what characterizes microburst

Back 101

2.5 miles or less in diameter

Front 102

macroburst

Back 102

greater than 2.5 miles in diameter

Front 103

where is danger in downbursts and who is most likely at danger

Back 103

aviation at lower levels (5oo miles) rather than 30,000 miles up

Front 104

flash flood

Back 104

leads to river flooding

Front 105

river flooding

Back 105

mainstream flooding

Front 106

flash flood capital of US

Back 106

south central TX

Front 107

why is South Central TX so prone to flash floods

Back 107

1. subsoil limestone rock layers
2. hilly nature of TX hill country
3. urbanization

Front 108

what is one of leading causes of flooding

Back 108

stalled out stationary fronts where tstorms are stationary

Front 109

tornadoes

Back 109

intesnse rotating column of air that portrudes from base of a cumulonimbus cloud in shape of a funnel that touches the ground

Front 110

what percent of all thunderstorms produce tornadoes

Back 110

<1%

Front 111

atmospheric pressure is about _____ percent less than standard atmospheric pressure in tornados

Back 111

10

Front 112

weak tornadoes characteristics and what percentage and storm damage category(s)

Back 112

thin, rope like
80% of all tornadoes
EF0, EF1 damage

Front 113

weak tornadoes lifetime/percentage of US tornado fatalities

Back 113

10 min or less
less than 5%

Front 114

weak tornado wind speed/path length/path width

Back 114

speed: 65-110 mph
path length 3 miles
path width 90 yards

Front 115

strong tornadoes characteristics/percentage/storm damage categorys

Back 115

classic, wider funnel
19% of all tornadoes
EF2, EF3

Front 116

strong tornadoes percent of US tornado fatalities, lifetime

Back 116

30%
20 min or more

Front 117

strong tornadoes wind speed/path length and path width

Back 117

wind speed- 111-165 mph
length 15+ miles
width 200 yards

Front 118

violent tornadoes characteristics, percentage of all tornadoes, damage categories

Back 118

very wide wedge funnel
<1% of all tornadoes
EF4, EF5

Front 119

violent tornadoes percent of all US tornado fatalities, lifetime

Back 119

70%; 60 + minutes

Front 120

violent tornadoes wind speed/path length and width

Back 120

166-318 mph
25+miles
600 yards width

Front 121

EF0 damage

Back 121

light

Front 122

EF1 damage

Back 122

moderate

Front 123

EF2 damage

Back 123

considerable

Front 124

EF3 damage

Back 124

severe

Front 125

EF4 damage

Back 125

devastating

Front 126

EF5

Back 126

incredible

Front 127

tornado definition

Back 127

rapidly rotating column of air
extends from cumulonimbus cloud
touches ground
may not always be visible
if DEBRIS CLOUD IS VISIBLE NEAR GROUND- IT IS TORNADO

Front 128

funnel cloud

Back 128

when debris cloud is not visible near ground but has all over characteristics of tornado

Front 129

two scales for tornados

Back 129

strength scale and damage fujita scale

Front 130

most tornados in northern hemisphere rotate ____

Back 130

counter clockwise

Front 131

temperature profile of tornadoes

Back 131

unknown

Front 132

tornadoes are more frequent in where than any other part of world

Back 132

north america

Front 133

where are tornadoes most common in US

Back 133

south/central US plains/mississippi valley

Front 134

when are tornadoes most frequent (what time of day)

Back 134

3-7 pm local time

Front 135

when do 50% of tornadoes happen

Back 135

april, may, june

Front 136

when do 75% of tornadoes occur

Back 136

march-july

Front 137

which month holds greatest number of tornadoes
which month holds most violent tornadoes

Back 137

may/april

Front 138

average US tornado movement is from ___ to ____
what is exception and direction

Back 138

southwest to northeast
exception is texas- direction is E/SE to W/NW

Front 139

average US tornado sped

Back 139

30 mph

Front 140

annually average amount of US tornadoes

Back 140

1300

Front 141

four types of thunderstorms

Back 141

single cells, multicell clusters, multicell lines, supercells

Front 142

non severe thunderstorms are found where in regards to airmass

severe tstorms??

Back 142

within mT airmass
severe- on boundary of MT airmass

Front 143

name frequencies of lightning and appropriate number of flashes

Back 143

occasional (OCNL) less than 1 flash/minute
Frequent (FQT) 1-6 flashes per minute
Continuous (CNS) more than 6 flashes per minute

Front 144

which charge is more frequent/dangerous regarding lightning

Back 144

positive is less frequent but more deadly

Front 145

how are aviation weather observations observed regarding thunderstorms

Back 145

begin when first thunder is heard and ends 15 minutes after last thunder is heard

Front 146

lightning capital of US

Back 146

florida

Front 147

which is more common- straight line thunderstorm winds or tornadoes

Back 147

straight line thunderstorm winds

Front 148

what are straight line thunderstorm winds also referred as

Back 148

downbursts

Front 149

number one weather killer in US

Back 149

summer heat

Front 150

what determines evaporative cooling?

Back 150

amount of environmental moisture present