ATSC 201 - Meteorology of Storms - Fall 2007

Quizzes

Quizzes cover only the readings in textbook Rauber, Walsh and Charlevoix, 2005: Severe and Hazardous Weather, 2nd Ed. Kendall/Hunt Publ Co.

QUIZ 1 - Atmospheric Structure, Thunderstorms, Radar

If using a clicker, wait until Prof. Stull activates the PRS receiver, then join the class. Next, wait until he starts the quiz timer, then scroll to the different questions, type your response, and hit the enter (send) key after each question.

If using paper, write your name and student number at top.

1. Almost all weather happens in which one layer of the atmosphere?   1) stratopause  2) mesosphere  3) mesopause    4) thermosphere   5) tropopause   6) (none of the above)
2. During the course of a typical day with clear skies, air temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) near the ground vary    1) together   2) oppositely  3) not much   4) T varies while RH is more steady   5) RH varies while T is more steady
3. Which meteorological variable(s) are NOT usually measured at a surface weather station:  1) temperature  2) pressure  3) wind    4) precipitation  5) humidity  6) (they all are usually measured)
4. Two main types of weather-satellite orbits are geostationary (GOES) and low-earth orbit (LEO).    1) True    2) False
5. The most common Tstorms are called __ thunderstorms.  1) air-mass   2) supercell   3) MCS   4) multicell   5) squall-line    6) orographic    7) bow-echo

QUIZ 2 - Forces, Winds, Vorticity, Tornadoes

1. Tornadoes in N. America are most frequent at about what time of day?  
   A) 5 am    B) noon    C) 5 pm    D) midnight     E) (roughly equally frequent at all times of day)
2. Vortex breakdown can lead to:  
   A) tornado dissipation        B) multi-vortex tornadoes     C) increased lightning 
   D) heavier rain         E) creation of a mesocyclone
3. To create a mesocyclone requires one or more of the following:        
   A) tilting     B) convection     C) wind shear       D) drag       E) stretching
4. For horizontal winds, the two forces that balance to produce geostrophic winds are.    
   A) Coriolis     B) Centrifugal       C) Turbulent drag     D) Pressure Gradient     E) Advection
5. A measure of the local rotation of atmospheric flow is:
    A) helicity      B) swirl ratio     C) spin        D) polarity       E) vorticity
   

QUIZ 3 - Lightning & Thunder

1. The electrical charging of thunderstorms is initially created by ____ charging.  
   A) induction   B) conduction       C) high-frequency       D) interface           E) image
2. The large accumulation of negative charge is found mostly in the ____ half of a thunderstorm.  
   A) top         B) bottom       C) (negligible accumulation of negative charge)
3. When lightning from the side of a thunderstorm cloud strikes the ground away from the thunderstorm, it is called:  
   A) St. Elmo's fire      B) Bead lightning    C) Heat lightning     D) Sheet lightning    E) A bolt from the blue
4. Thunder is a sound wave caused by
   A) explosive expansion of air heated by lightning
   B) millions of raindrops colliding
   C) the thunderstorm-top hitting the base of the stratosphere
   D) tornadoes forming inside the storm
   

QUIZ 4 - Hail

1. Ice particles of diameter greater than 5 mm are called ___ .     A) embryos        B) graupel        C) hail
              D) hailstones         E) hail streaks
2. What is one broad type of damage caused by hail?
       A) industrial           B) commercial        C) societal   D) agricultural       E) residential
3. The region where hailstones fall just north or northeast of the supercell updraft is called a/an ___.
       A) hail cascade            B) hail curtain
       C) hailswath                D) hailstreak
       E) vault region
4. Which statement is FALSE?
       A) Soft white layers in hail form during dry growth.
       B) Clear hard layers in hail form during wet growth.
       C) Relatively large amounts of liquid water exist in the
           echo-free vault region as viewed by radar.
       D) One of the Canadian provinces with many
           damaging hail storms is Alberta.
       E) Hail is less damaging if horizontal winds are faster.
   

QUIZ 5 - Downbursts & Gust Fronts

1. At the ground near the center of a downburst is a/an
   A) runaway vortex roll        B) stretching vortex ring    C) gust front     D) stagnation cone    E) curl
2. "Microburst" is another name for an intense downburst.  (T True / F False).
3. Which of the following represent a Doppler radar image of the surface effects of a downburst?   (Pretend the following symbols are plotted on a radar display with their relative locations as given below.  R = red,   O = radar location,   G = green)
       A) ROG     B) GOR     C) GRO     D)  RGO     E) ORG
4. Downbursts are formed by what mechanism(s)? (Indicate all that are true.)
   A) Falling precipitation drags the air downward.
   B) Strong jet-stream winds near the tropopause hit the thunderstorm anvil and are forced downward.
   C) Evaporation of precipitation cools the air below cloud base, causing it to sink.
   D) Horizontal divergence of winds near the surface lowers the pressure there, and sucks the air downward.
   E) Cold environmental air near the thunderstorm top has negative buoyancy and sinks to the surface.
   

QUIZ 6 - Global Circulation, Rossby Waves, Forecasting, Air Masses, Fronts

1. For numerical weather prediction (NWP), the continuous equations of motion, thermodynamics, continuity, moisture conservation, and other equations are approximated to apply to finite-size grid cells over finite size time steps.  Namely, the equations are discretized. ( T / F ) 

2. Frictional drag in the boundary layer contributes to strengthening of both surface high-pressure centers and low-pressure centers.   ( T / F )

3. Even though the jet stream fills the top part of the troposphere, its meanders (Rossby waves) and regions of fast wind (jet streaks) are important for creating surface high- and low-pressure centers.   ( T / F )

4. A front that doesn't move very much is called a/an
   A) warm front      B) occluded front    C) upper-level front   
   D) dry line   E) stationary front

QUIZ 7 - Mid-latitude Cyclones and Hurricanes.

1. The lifetime of a typical extratropical cyclone is:
   A) a few seconds to about a minute
   B) a few minutes to about an hour
   C) a few hours to about a day
   D) a few days to about a week
   E) a few weeks to about a month

2. During the occlusion process, cold air wraps completely around the cyclone.  This often causes the jet stream to form a/an:
   A) hairpin turn        B) warm core        C) omega block
   D) digging trough        E) cutoff low

3. The intensity scale for hurricanes is called the ____ scale.
   A) Fujita            B) Torro        C) Saffir-Simpson   
   D) Beaufort        E) dBZ

4. It is possible for hurricanes to develop multiple eye walls?
   A) True        B) False

5. Hurricanes need the following conditions to grow:
   A) wind shear in the environment, and a warm ocean
   B) weak or no shear in the environment, and a cool ocean
   C) wind shear in the environment, and a cool ocean
   D) weak or no shear in the environment, and a warm ocean

written by Roland Stull, 2007.
UBC
.