Weather

Question 0

Latent heat

Answer 0

• Heat added or subtracted to a substance without a change in temperature
• absorbed or released during a change in state

Question 1

Water vapor

Answer 1

• Only 0-4% of atmosphere
• Holds most of the heat in the atmosphere
• Odorless and colorless

Question 2

Latent heat of vaporization /Condensation

Answer 2

• 1 g liquid H2O》1 g gas H2O absorbs 600 cal (cooling)

* 1 g gas H2O》1 g liquid H2O releases 600 cal (warming)

Question 3

Humidity

Answer 3

Amount of water vapor in air

Question 4

Specific humidity

Answer 4

• Mass of water vapor per mass of air

* Usually grams H2O per kilograms air

Question 5

Saturation

Answer 5

• Air can only hold so much moisture at a certain temperature
• Air can hold more H2O at higher temperatures

Question 6

Relative humidity

Answer 6

Ratio of the airs actual water vapor content to it’s potential water vapor capacity at a given temperature

Question 7

Two things change relative humidity

Answer 7

One: amount of H2O in the air
(H2O goes up, humidity goes up, if temperature is constant)

Two: temperature
(Temperature goes up, humidity goes down, if H2O is constant)

Question 8

Dewpoint

Answer 8

Temperature to which air would have to be cooled to reach saturation

Question 9

Ingredients for a cloud

Answer 9

• Drop in temperature/pressure
• moisture
• Dust particles

Question 10

Adiabatic cooling

Answer 10

• as pressure of the air goes down, the temperature also goes down
• No heat is subtracted from the air
• Air pressure goes down with altitude

Question 11

Ways to lift air to a higher altitude

Answer 11

One: lifting air
-orographic lifting: Elevated terrain pushes air up (mountains)

Two:frontal wedging
-warm air rises up over cold air

Three: convection
-warm air rises

Four: Convergence
-two air masses come together and rise

Question 12

Types of clouds

Answer 12

Fog: cloud near the ground
Stratus: sheets or layers, cover sky, no individual units
cirrus: High altitude, white, thin and wispy
Cumulus: globular, rising, puffy, maybe large or small

Question 13

Precipitation

Answer 13

• Small particles eventually condense and become heavy enough to fall
• One raindrop equals millions of cloud particles
• most precipitation starts out as snow
• Temp below clouds dictates form of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sleet, freezing rain)

Question 14

Air pressure

Answer 14

• Mass of air induces a pressure

* Barometric pressure measured in millibars or mmHg

Question 15

Wind

Answer 15

• The result of horizontal differences in air pressure
• Caused by unequal heating of earths surface
• Wind is named after direction it comes from

Question 16

Three factors that affect the wind

Answer 16

One: pressure gradient
-bigger the difference between the high and low the stronger the wind
two: Coriolis effect
-change in wind direction do to spin of the earth
-as wind travels north/south, it is deflected to the right (North hemisphere only)
Creates counterclockwise flow to most large storms
3.friction
-upper airflow(Jetstream) is much faster than surface airflow
-Wind travels faster over lakes and planes then mountains, Hills or forests

Question 17

Cyclones

Answer 17

• surface wind counterclockwise into a low-pressure center
• upper air is forced out of a low-pressure center at the top
• low equals rising air can cause cloud formation, could generate a storm

Question 18

Anti-cyclones

Answer 18

• surface when flow clockwise out of a high-pressure center
• upper air wind flows into a high-pressure center
• high equals fair weather approaching
• upper air currents must support both high and low pressure centers for them to be sustained

Question 19

Local winds

Answer 19

Winds created on a small scale by mountains or large bodies of water

Question 20

Lakes and local temperatures

Answer 20

-Lakes absorbency tremendous amounts of heat during the summer
– Keeps areas cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter

Question 21

Lake effect snow

Answer 21

– Cold dry air passes over a warm open lake and absorbs moisture
– Air warms, hits the land and deposits moisture in the form of snow
Like affects no belts form on the downwind edge of large lakes

Question 22

Fronts

Answer 22

– Division of warm and cold air

Question 23

Warm front

Answer 23

– Warm air rises over cold air
-Forms Stratus and cirrus clouds
– Moderate precipitation
-Affects a large area (up to 200 km)

Question 24

Cold front

Answer 24

– Cold air runs into warm air
– Forms cumulus clouds
– Heavy precipitation and thunderstorms
– Affects a small area (10 km)

Question 25

Westerly winter storm

Answer 25

– Huge glass of cold air from Canada or the Dakotas
– Move fast in the last 6 to 12 hours
– 1 to 3 inches of snow

Question 26

Mid latitude cyclone storm system

Answer 26

– Severe storm possible with up to 20 inches of snow, lasting several days
– Low-pressure center forms in south central United States
– Air spins in word and upward to the low pressure
– Upper air currents supports low-pressure
–comma Shaped storm created
– If low-pressure passes over Chicago, Green Bay will receive worst of the storm

Question 27

Severity of mid latitude cyclone storm is dependent on…

Answer 27

One: Upper air support
Two: moisture content
Three: temperature difference

Question 28

Thunderstorms (summer)

Answer 28

– Warm humid air is lifted upward by convection or a cold front
-rising air expands and cools creating precipitation (cumulonimbus clouds)
– Precipitation creates downdrafts that work against updrafts

Question 29

Tornadoes

Answer 29

– US experiences more tornadoes then anywhere else in the world
– Most tornadoes are F0 and F1
-most tornado fatalities are the result of f4 and f5

Question 30

When do most tornadoes commonly occur and where?

Answer 30

• Occur most commonly in the spring in central United States when cold dry northern wind and warm moist southern wind collide
• most occur in the evening

Question 31

Hurricanes

Answer 31

-Biggest storm in the world
-Energy is derived from very warm late-summer water
-Hurricane season is June through October
– Hurricanes dissipate over Coldwater, land or when upper air weakens