FUN WEATHER WOOOOOOOOO Flashcards
(109 cards)
1
Q
characteristics of low pressure air
A
movement inwards, upward, and counterclockwise
2
Q
characteristics of high pressure air
A
movement outward, downward, and clockwise
3
Q
what weather can you expect in a low pressure area
A
rising air which conducts cloudiness, precipitation, and bad weather
4
Q
what weather can you expect in a high pressure area
A
descending air which favors dissipation of clouds and good weather
5
Q
cold front definition
A
a mass of cold, dense, and stable air replaces a body of warmer air
6
Q
warm front
A
a mass of warm air overtakes a body of cold air
7
Q
occluded front
A
when a fast moving cold front catches up with a slow-moving warm front
8
Q
stationery front
A
forces of 2 air masses are relatively equal, the boundary that separates them remains stationary. weather is a mixture of both a warm and cold front
9
Q
characteristics of a cold front
A
cumulus/cumulonimbus clouds, better visibility (when no rain), variable/gusting winds, unstable air, dew/temp point and barometric pressure drop rapidly
10
Q
characteristics of a warm front
A
stratiform clouds, poor visibility, stable air
11
Q
what is a trough
A
an elongated area of relatively low pressure
12
Q
how does air flow in a trough
A
since it cannot go down or out, it must go up, meaning rising air
13
Q
what is a ridge
A
an elongated area of relatively high pressure
14
Q
how does air flow in a ridge
A
the air moving out depletes the quantity of air, creating areas of descending air
15
Q
standard temp and pressure values
A
15 C/59 F and 29.92” Hg or 1013.2 millibars
16
Q
what are isobars
A
line on a weather chart that connects areas of equal or constant barometric pressure
17
Q
what do the spacing of isobars show
A
how steep or shallow the pressure gradient is
18
Q
what does it mean when isobars are very spaced out
A
a shallow pressure gradient and less wind speed
19
Q
what does it mean when isobars are spaced very closely
A
a steep pressure gradient and higher wind speed
20
Q
name of the force of wind that deflects wind to the right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern
A
Coriolis force - at a right angle to wind direction and is directly proportional to wind speed
21
Q
why do surface winds generally flow across the isobars at an angle
A
surface friction
22
Q
atmospheric pressure lapse rate
A
1” Hg per 1000 ft
23
Q
what is dew point
A
temp at which a sample of air must be cooled gain a state of saturation
24
Q
what weather is likely when temperature and dew point are close (within 5 C)
A
visible moisture like clouds, dew, or fog. Ideal conditions for carb icing
25
what factor primarily determines type and vertical extent of clouds
the stability of the atmosphere
26
what is a stable atmosphere
a stable atmosphere makes vertical movement difficult and small vertical disturbances dampen and disappear
27
what is an unstable atmosphere
small, vertical air movements become larger, resulting in turbulent airflow and convective activity
28
effects of stable air
clouds - stratiform, turbulence - small/smooth, precipitation - steady, visibility - ok/poor
29
effects of unstable air
| what clouds, turblence, precipitation, and visibility
clouds - cumuliform, turbulence - rough, precipitation - showery, visibility - good
30
when significant precipitation is occurring at the surface, how thick can you expect the clouds to be
at least 4,000. the heavier the precipitation, the thicker the clouds are likely
31
important meteorological information to take during preflight planning
location of fronts, cloud layers, freezing levels, and air temp and pressure
32
definition of freezing level
lowest altitude over a given location at which the air temp reaches 0 C.
33
how can you determine where freezing level is (10)
current icing products (CIP), forecast icing products (FIP), freezing level graphic chart, as well as GFAs, PIREPs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, surface analysis charts, low-level significant weather charts, and winds and temp aloft
34
conditions necessary for structural icing to occur
visible moisture and below freezing temperatures at the point the moisture hits the aircraft
35
2 main categories of aircraft icing
structural icing and induction icing
36
what is structural icing
ice that forms on aircraft surfaces and components
37
what is induction icing
ice that forms in the engines induction system
38
3 types of structural icing
clear, rime, and mixed ice
39
what is clear ice
ice that forms after impact when remaining liquid flows over the aircraft surface and freezes as a smooth sheet
40
what is rime ice
the liquid portion remaining after initial impact freezes rapidly before the drop spreads
41
what is mixed ice
drops vary in size and ice particles become imbedded in clear ice building rough accumulation
42
what action is recommended if you encounter icing
leave area of visible moisture either by climbing or turning to a different course
43
is frost considered hazardous
yes
44
why is frost considered hazardous
while it doesn't change the basic aerodynamics, the roughness spoils the smooth flow of air
45
what factors must be present for a thunderstorm to form
water vapor, an unstable lapse rate, and an initial upward lifting action
46
three stages of a thunder storm are
mature, cumulus, dissipating
47
characteristics of the mature stage
updrafts and clouds begin to form with water vapor increasing in size
48
characteristics of the cumulus stage
rain at surface, it falls through or immediately beside the updrafts, lightning and maybe roll clouds
49
characteristics of the dissipating stage
downdrafts and rain begins to fall
50
what is a temp inversion
an increase in temperature with height which can allow warm rain to fall through cold air below. critical to icing.
51
characteristics of a ground-based temperature inversion
poor visibility by trapping fog, smoke and other restrictions into low levels. the air is stable with little to no turbulence
52
how does fog form
when temperature and dew point of air become close by 5 C or less
53
5 types of fog
radiation, advection, upslope, precipitation-induced, and steam fog
54
what is radiation fog
warm ground is cooled by the colder airmass and the warmth moves up from the surface
55
what is advection fog
movement of warm humid air over a cold surface. primarily in costal areas during winter
56
what is upslope fog
moist stable air being cooled as it moves up sloping terrain
57
what is precipitation fog
fog that is produced as the air becomes too saturated with water
58
what is wind shear
the rate of change in wind velocity per unit distance
59
where is wind shear likely to occur
in a low-level temp inversion, in a frontal zone/thunderstorm, and clear air turbulence at high levels associated with a jet stream
60
why is wind shear an operational concern
unexpected change in wind speed/direction can be very hazardous to aircraft at low altitudes on approach to and departing airports
61
what types of weather info will you examine to determine if wind shear conditions might affect your flight
terminal forecasts, meters, severe weather watch reports, sigmets/convective sigmet, LLWAS, and pireps
62
what is the primary means of obtaining weather
A Flight Service Station (FSS) is the primary source for preflight info
63
examples of other sources of weather info
1. information from numerous private industry sources
2. Flight Information Services (FIS-B with ADS-B In)
3. aviation weather cams (in alaska)
64
does weather provided by an entity other than FAA, NWS, or their contractors meet preflight action required by 91.103
no
65
what are the 4 types of weather briefings
standard, abbreviated, outlook, and inflight briefing
66
standard briefing is
a request when planning a flight and have not already received a previous brief
67
an abbreviated briefing is
a request when you need update a previous briefing or when you only need 1 or 2 items
68
an outlook briefing is
a request when departure time is six or more hours from the time of the briefing
69
an inflight briefing is
a request when you need to update a preflight briefing
70
what info should a weather briefing have? (AIM 7-1-5)
1. adverse conditions
2. VFR not recommended
3. synopsis
4. current conditions
5. enroute forecast
6. destination forecast
7. winds aloft
8. NOTAMs
9. ATC delays
71
what is FIS-B
a ground based broadcast service through ADS-B UAT network and allows properly equipped aircraft with a 978 MHz data link to receive and display a suite of broadcast weather and aeronautical info
72
can FIS-B be useful in navigating an aircraft around an area of thunderstorms and why/why not
no because it is not real-time info since it is updated either 5-15 minutes apart
73
how can a pilot gain updated weather info
1. FSS on 122.2 and appropriate RCO frequencies
2. ATIS/AWOS/ASAS broadcasts along route
3. listen to ARTCC broadcasts
4. datalink weather - cockpit display of FIS-B info
5. ATC (workload permitting)
74
what is a metar
an hourly surface observation of conditions at the airport
75
what are the 2 types of metars
a routine METAR report every hour and an aviation selected special weather report (SPECI) for anytime updates
76
know how to decode a metar (no answer)
look some up for practice if feeling iffy
77
what are different weather observing programs
manual observations, AWOS, AWOS Broadcasts, ASOS/AWOS
78
What is a manual observation
reports from airport with FAA personal who manually observe and perform calculation
79
what is AWOS
Automated Weather Observing System
80
what is AWOS/ASOS
Automated Surface Observing System/Automated Weather Observing System which are the primary surface weather observing the systems
81
what is a pirep and where are they found
a pilot report regarding the conditions as they actually exist in the air and are told to the ground facility which communications are established
82
what is a TAF (terminal aerodrome forecast)
a concise statement of EXPECTED meteorological conditions for a specified time period within 5 SM
83
decode a TAF (no answer)
look up some for practice
84
what is an aviation area forecast (FA)
issued for the gulf, Caribbean Sea, and Alaska, its an abbreviated plain language forecast concerning occurrence of specified weather
85
describe the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (GFA)
a set of web-based graphics that provide observations, forecasts, and warnings that can be viewed 14 hrs in the past and 15 hrs in the future
86
what does a GFA cover
the continental us from surface to FL480 with wind and turbulence in 3,000 ft increments up to 30,000 MSL
87
what are the four types of inflight aviation weather advisories
SIGMET, convective SIGMET, AIRMET, and the center weather advisory
88
what is a convective SIGMET
implies severe/greater turbulence, icing, and low-level wind shear that the forecaster feels is hazardous for all aircraft
89
what is a SIGMET and its effects
weather advisories that are potentially hazardous to all aircraft, all associated with no thunderstorms
1. severe icing and turbulence not associated with thunderstorms,
2. dust storms/sandstorms lowering surface visibility to below 3 miles
3. volcanic ash
90
what is an airmet
advisory of significant weather with conditions at intensities lower than required by a SIGMET
91
what are the different types of airmets
airmet Sierra, tango, and zulu
92
what is an airmet sierra
ifr conditions and/or extensive mountain obscurations
93
what is an airmet tango
moderate turbulence, sustained surface winds of 30 knots or greater, and/or non-convective low-level wind sheer
94
what is an airmet zulu
moderate icing and provides freezing level heights
95
what is a g-airmet
a graphical advisory of weather that is hazardous to aircraft but less severe than sigmets. identifies the weather more precisely than text products
96
describe a winds and temp aloft
computer prepped forecasts of wind direction, speed, and temperature at a specified time, altitude, and location
97
valuable info in a winds aloft (inflight information)
most favorable altitude- based on winds and direction of flight
temp inversions
turbulence
98
what is a center weather advisory (CWA)
an aviation warning for use by aircrews to anticipate/avoid adverse weather conditions in route and terminal environments
99
what is a surface analysis chart
analyzed charts of surface weather observations that show several things like highs, lows, ridges, troughs, and fronts
100
how often is a surface analysis chart produced
8 times daily
101
what is a ceiling and visibility analysis
real-time analysis of current ceiling and visibility conditions
102
ceiling and visibility for LIFR
ceiling less than 500ft and/or visibility less than 1 mile
103
ceiling and visibility for IFR
ceiling 500 - 1000ft and/or visibility 1 - less than 3 miles
104
ceiling and visibility for MVFR
ceiling 1000 - 3000ft and/or visibility 3 - 5 miles inclusive
105
ceiling and visibility for VFR
ceiling greater than 3000ft and visibility greater than 5 miles
106
what is a short-range prog chart
provides forecast of surface pressure systems, fronts, and precipitation for 2-1/2 day period, with conditions given in 12 hour increments
107
describe a low-level significant weather prog chart
provides a forecast of aviation weather hazards primarily intended to be used as guidance for pre-flight briefings for altitudes FL240 and below
108
describe a mid-level significant weather chart
provides a forecast and overview of significant en route weather phenomena from flight levels 10,000MSL to FL450
109
what is a convective outlook chart
depicts areas forecast to have the potential for severe and non-severe convection and specific severe weather threats during the following 3 days
