Weather Analysis and Forecasting Question
Bank
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the principles and techniques used in modern weather analysis and forecasting. Students will learn to interpret meteorological data, analyze atmospheric phenomena, and utilize computer models for predicting weather patterns. Key topics include atmospheric dynamics, synoptic meteorology, the structure and development of weather systems, and the application of forecast tools such as satellite imagery, radar, and numerical weather prediction models. Emphasis is placed on practical skills in weather observation, data analysis, and the critical evaluation of forecast accuracy, preparing students for careers in meteorology and related fields.
Recommended Textbook
Meteorology Today 11th Edition by C. Donald Ahrens
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20 Chapters
1997 Verified Questions
1997 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Earth and Its Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) The unit of pressure most commonly found on a surface weather map is
A)inches of mercury (Hg).
B)millibars or hectopascals.
C)pounds per square inch.
D)millimeters of mercury (Hg).
E)kilograms per square meter.
Answer: B
Q2) Describe the various types of storms found in Earth's atmosphere.
Answer: Students need to list at least the four main storm types: tornadoes,thunderstorms,hurricanes,and middle-latitude cyclonic storm systems (or extratropical cyclones).
Q3) On weather maps cold fronts are drawn
A)in blue,with arrowheads showing the front's general direction of movement.
B)in red,with arrowheads showing the front's general direction of movement.
C)in blue,with arrowheads pointing away from the front's general direction of movement.
D)in black,with arrowheads showing the front's general direction of movement.
E)in red,with arrowheads pointing away from the front's general direction of movement.
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Energy - Warming the Earth and the Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the amount of energy lost by Earth to space each year were not approximately equal to that received,
A)the atmosphere's average temperature would change.
B)the length of the year would change.
C)the Sun's output would change.
D)the mass of the atmosphere would change.
E)nothing would change.
Answer: A
Q2) Many people will blow on a bowl of hot soup to try to cool it.In your view,what are the two most important heat transport processes being used to cool the soup?
Answer: The most important heat transport processes are likely conduction and convection.Conduction warms the air close to the soup's surface and convection moves the warm air upward.In turn,cooler air flows downward.
Q3) Occasionally,the aurora can be observed in the United States.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Seasonal and Daily Temperatures
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Sample Questions
Q1) Data loggers are gradually replacing ____.
A)radiosondes
B)mechanical thermographs
C)electrical thermometers
D)mercury thermometers
E)wind-chill measurement devices
Answer: B
Q2) Incoming solar radiation in middle latitudes is less in winter than in summer because the Sun's rays slant more and spread their energy over a larger area.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) In the Northern Hemisphere,which day has the fewest hours of daylight?
A)summer solstice
B)winter solstice
C)vernal equinox
D)autumnal equinox
E)spring solstice
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Atmospheric Humidity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Condensation differs from precipitation,because during precipitation water vapor is removed from the atmosphere,whereas during condensation solid or liquid water is removed from the atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What physiological effects might you experience during very humid and very dry conditions?
Q3) During the great Chicago heat wave of July 1995 the afternoon air temperature reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit at Midway Airport,followed by an overnight low temperature of only 84 degrees Fahrenheit.Many residents either had no air conditioning or could not afford to use it.More than ____ deaths occurred over five days.
A)35
B)70
C)350
D)700
E)3500
Q4) The ____________________ temperature is the temperature to which air would have to be cooled (with no change in air pressure or moisture content)for saturation to occur.
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Chapter 5: Condensation Dew Fog and Clouds
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose it is raining lightly from a deck of nimbostratus clouds.Beneath the clouds are small,ragged,puffy clouds that are moving rapidly with the wind.These clouds would be called ____________________.
Q2) With which cloud type would each of the following phenomena be associated? \( \begin{array}{lll}\text { lightning } & \text { hail } & \text { tornadoes } \\ \text { brief heavy rain } & \text { steady rain } & \text { watery sun } \\ \text { halo } & \text { mackerel sky } & \end{array} \)
Q3) Hail is usually associated with ____ clouds.
A)stratus
B)cumulus
C)stratocumulus
D)altocumulus
E)cumulonimbus
Q4) The dew point is the temperature at which
A)water starts to boil.
B)fog changes into haze.
C)high clouds form.
D)freezing occurs.
E)saturation occurs.
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Chapter 6: Stability and Cloud Development
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which condition would be described as the most \(\underline{stable}\)?
A)environmental lapse rate is 13°C per kilometer
B)environmental lapse rate is 3°C per kilometer
C)isothermal conditions
D)an inversion
E)superadiabatic conditions
Q2) How do castellanus clouds form,and what do they indicate?
Q3) The best time of day for a farmer to burn agricultural debris for least polluted conditions is
A)first thing in the morning
B)at noon.
C)at sunset.
D)during the night.
E)during the afternoon.
Q4) Suppose you observe lenticular clouds that appear to be motionless.Is the air in the vicinity of the cloud motionless? Explain.
Q5) Unlike the dry adiabatic rate,the moist adiabatic rate is not constant,but varies greatly with ____________________ and,hence,with moisture content.
Q6) Rain shadows form on the ____________________ side of mountains.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Precipitation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Dry ice has a temperature of
A)-28 degrees Celsius (-18 degrees Fahrenheit).
B)-48 degrees Celsius (-54 degrees Fahrenheit).
C)-58 degrees Celsius (-72 degrees Fahrenheit).
D)-78 degrees Celsius (-108 degrees Fahrenheit).
E)-98 degrees Celsius (-144 degrees Fahrenheit).
Q2) A Doppler radar is used to detect ____ and to measure ____.
A)cloud droplets;nucleus types
B)storm systems;wind speed
C)snow covers;snow cover thickness
D)precipitation type;cloud coverage
E)areas of precipitation;rainfall intensity
Q3) A common term used for saturation vapor pressure when referring to cloud droplets is ____________________ vapor pressure.
Q4) In the beginning of a rain storm you might experience large,heavy raindrops.Explain why these occur first,and where they originated.
Q5) An instrument that can collect and measure rainfall is called a(n)____________________.
Q6) How is precipitation measured using Doppler radar?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Air Pressure and Winds
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Sample Questions
Q1) Because of friction,surface winds move ____ winds aloft with the same pressure gradient.
A)more slowly than B)at the same speed as C)faster than D)twice as fast as E)at half the speed as
Q2) Lines connecting points of equal pressure are called A)isobars.
B)millibars.
C)contours.
D)isotherms.
E)a coordinate grid.
Q3) If Earth were not rotating,how would the path of a satellite traveling from north to south around Earth be observed from the surface.
Q4) The Coriolis force deflects winds to the ____________________ in the Northern Hemisphere and to the ____________________ in the Southern Hemisphere.
Q5) Explain why obtaining the correct air pressure of a mercury barometer is not simple.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Wind Small Scale and Local Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Summertime weather forecasts for cities on the shores of the Great Lakes often contain the phrase "cooler near the lake." Explain the relevance of this phrase.
Q2) The amount of energy transferred to the water (and thus the height to which a wave can build)depends upon four factors:1.wind speed 2.length of time that the wind blows over the water 3.the fetch 4.wind direction.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Coastal areas can have heavy waves on a clear,nonstormy day.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The synoptic scale describes circulations on the ____ scale.
A)micro
B)global
C)meso
D)macro
E)weather-map
Q5) Will a valley breeze or a mountain breeze produce clouds? Explain.
Q6) Mesoscale circulations have a(n)____________________ (longer/shorter)duration than microscale circulations.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Wind Global Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) The reversal of the positions of surface high and low pressure at opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean is called
A)El Niño.
B)the Southern Oscillation.
C)upwelling.
D)La Niña.
E)the Ekman Spiral.
Q2) On a surface weather map during the month of July,one would expect to find what type of pressure system over the desert southwest of the United States?
A)monsoon low
B)Pacific high
C)thermal low
D)Aleutian low
E)Bermuda high
Q3) Most of the United States is located within the prevailing____________________ wind belt.
Q4) How does El Niño change the weather where you live?
Q5) Explain why the semipermanent lows in the Southern Hemisphere are weaker than those in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Chapter 11: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Wintertime mP air masses are less common along the Atlantic coast of North America than along the Pacific coast mainly because the
A)water is colder along the Pacific coast.
B)prevailing winds aloft are westerly.
C)source region for mP air on the Atlantic coast is western Europe.
D)water is warmer along the Atlantic coast.
E)land is colder along the Atlantic coast.
Q2) Which air mass would show the most dramatic change in both temperature and moisture content as it moves over a large body of very warm water?
A)cT in summer
B)cP in winter
C)mP in winter
D)mT in summer
E)mA in winter.
Q3) Explain why the observation of a halo around the Moon or Sun could forewarn of the arrival of a warm front.
Q4) What type of weather would you expect to see form when a cP air mass moves across warm water? Would conditions be any different when mP air moves across a cold land surface?
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Chapter 12: Middle Latitude Cyclones
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Sample Questions
Q1) Divergence (or convergence)is a difficult task to measure with any degree of accuracy using upper-level wind information.Therefore,meteorologists must look for something else that can be measured and,at the same time,can be related to regions of diverging (and converging)air.That something is called
A)curvature.
B)baroclinicity.
C)cold advection.
D)warm advection.
E)vorticity.
Q2) Like hurricanes,polar lows normally have a warmer central core,strong winds (often gale force or higher),and heavy showery precipitation that unlike a hurricane,is in the form of snow.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In the conveyor belt model,directly below a warm conveyor belt,a cold airstream,known as the ____________________,is located.
Q4) Describe or illustrate the various phases in the life cycle of a middle latitude storm according to the polar front theory.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Weather Forecasting
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Sample Questions
Q1) A forecast that extends beyond three days is often called an outlook.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Probably the easiest weather forecast to make is a statistical forecast.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A forecast of "chance of precipitation" means the probability of precipitation is
A)between 0 and 20 percent.
B)between 30 and 50 percent.
C)between 50 and 60 percent.
D)between 60 and 70 percent.
E)greater than 80 percent.
Q4) Predicting the weather by weather types employs the ____________________.
Q5) Explain how observed teleconnection patterns can help in the preparation of a seasonal weather forecast.
Q6) Because of the atmosphere's chaotic nature,meteorologists are turning to a technique called ____________________,an approach based on running several forecast models,to improve short- and medium-range forecasts.
Q7) List some of the factors that affect the accuracy of atmospheric models.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Thunderstorms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Thunderstorms that produce tornadoes
A)have very little cloud-to-ground lightning.
B)have updraft velocities that exceed 100 miles per hour.
C)have rotating updrafts.
D)will not produce hail.
E)do not exist.
Q2) Which of the following is the least likely during the passage of a gust front?
A)gusty winds
B)rising surface pressures
C)increase in temperatures
D)enhanced updraft
E)winds rapidly changing direction and speed.
Q3) Sinking air warms,yet the downdrafts in a thunderstorm are usually cold. A)True
B)False
Q4) What is a squall line? Where would you expect squall lines to form?
Q5) Left-moving supercell thunderstorms are uncommon in the Northern Hemisphere,yet are very common in the Southern Hemisphere.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15:Tornadoes
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Sample Questions
Q1) If you are driving in a car and a tornado is still at some distance,you should drive
A)into a ditch and cover your head
B)under a freeway overpass
C)at a right angle to the tornado's path
D)parallel to the tornado's path
E)toward the tornado
Q2) The tornado alley of the United States ____.
A)stretches from North Dakota to southern Texas
B)stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River
C)stretches from central Texas to Nebraska
D)occurs over Mississippi and Alabama
E)occurs over the Gulf Coast states
Q3) About 70 percent of all tornadoes in the United States develop from ____.
A)May to June
B)March to July
C)March to May
D)April to August
E)April to June
Q4) Give a basic description of a tornado outbreak.
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Chapter 16: Hurricanes
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Sample Questions
Q1) The main source of energy for a hurricane is the
A)upper-level jet stream.
B)rising of warm air and sinking of cold air in the vicinity of weather fronts.
C)warm ocean water and release of latent heat of condensation.
D)ocean currents and tides.
E)solar radiation.
Q2) Suppose,in the North Atlantic,an eastward-moving ocean vessel is directly in the path of a westward-moving hurricane.What would be the ship's wisest course? To veer to the ____ of the storm.
A)north.
B)east.
C)southeast.
D)south.
E)west.
Q3) Surface winds in hurricanes typically reach a maximum in the A)eye.
B)eyewall.
C)anvils.
D)spiral bands.
E)very outskirts of the storm.
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Chapter 17: Earths Changing Climate
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Mediterranean climate is also called the ____.
A)humid subtropical (Cfa)
B)marine (Cfb)
C)humid continental with hot summers (Dfa)
D)dry-summer subtropical (Cs)
E)semi-arid (BS)
Q2) The average temperature of the Antarctic is higher than that of the Arctic.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which climate type normally has the largest annual range in temperature?
A)tropical climates
B)humid-subtropical climates
C)polar ice cap climates
D)subpolar climates
E)dry climates
Q4) In tropical wet climates,high humidity and ____________________ tend to keep maximum temperatures from reaching extremely high values.
Q5) Why might you hear the remark that winter comes to the tropics at night?
Q6) Discuss the general winter and summer precipitation patterns of polar regions.
Q7) Briefly describe criticisms of the Köppen climatic classification system.
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Chapter 18: Global Climate
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Q1) Everything else being equal,the more CO in the atmosphere,the ____________________the surface air.
Q2) Thick sheets of ice advanced over North America as far south as New York as recently as ____.
A)1816 ("the year without a summer")
B)1550
C)18,000 to 22,000 years ago
D)1,000 to 2,000 years ago
E)2 million years ago
Q3) Why might geoengineering proposals pose complex political,financial,and technological challenges?
Q4) ____ may be the most important weather element in terms of the impact on humans.
A)Volcanoes
B)Temperature
C)Precipitation
D)Tornadoes
E)Clouds
Q5) ____________________ are huge magnetic storms on the Sun that show up as cooler (darker)regions on the Sun's surface.
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Chapter 19: Air Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sulfur-rich aerosols have the net effect of warming Earth's surface.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Atmospheric stagnation is a condition normally brought on by ____.
A)gusty winds behind a cold front
B)light winds and poor vertical mixing
C)overcast skies
D)tall buildings in a city
E)movement of an upper level trough overhead
Q3) Certain pollutants that enter the atmosphere directly,such as from smokestacks and tail pipes,are called ____.
A)criteria pollutants
B)noxious pollutants
C)primary air pollutants
D)secondary air pollutants
E)reactive pollutants
Q4) Air pollutants can come from both natural sources and human activities.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe what VOCs are.What are some examples of VOCs?
Page 21
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Chapter 20: Light Color and Atmospheric Optics
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Q1) The sky will begin to turn milky white ____.
A)when the concentration of ozone begins to reach dangerous levels
B)when small particles such as dust and salt become suspended in the air
C)when the relative humidity decreases below about ten percent
D)on an oppressively hot day of the year
E)when an inferior mirage occurs
Q2) Without the atmosphere,there would be no refraction or scattering,and the Sun would rise later and set earlier than it now does.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When an aircraft flies above a cloud layer composed of water droplets less than 50 µm in diameter,a set of colored rings,called the ____________________,may appear around the shadow of the aircraft.
Q4) Which statement is true about rainbows?
A)The rainbow will be seen in the west when the Sun is setting.
B)Rainbows form when rays from the Sun are scattered.
C)The brightest rainbows are seen around noon.
D)To see a rainbow at sunrise,you should look toward the west.
E)The rainbow will be seen in the east during sunrise.
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