EXAM 1 How does the average speed of air molecules influence the atmosphere It determines the air temperature In general where in the troposphere is the temperature the coldest At the tropopause The altitude of the tropopause varies with latitude As a result the deepest storms are likely to develop where In the tropics In the troposphere pressure DECREASES with height and temperature DECREASES with height Which of the following is a typical range of sea level pressure values found in mis latitude 980mb to 1045mb What are clouds composed of Liquid water and Ice crystals What term describes the pressure at which the air contains the max amount of water vapor possible for the observed temperature and pressure Saturation vapor pressure What term describes the amount of water in the atmosphere compared to the atmospheric capacity for moisture at a given temperature Relative humidity What term described the lowest temperature to which air can be cooled at a constant pressure before saturation occurs Dewpoint temperature What are two absolute measures of the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere Dew point temperature and vapor pressure If the vapor pressure is equal to the saturation vapor pressure which of the following is true 1 The air is saturated 2 The relative humidity is 100 As the air temperature increases and the actual amount of water vapor in the air remain constant the saturation vapor pressure will Increase As the air temperature increases and the actual amount of water vapor in the air remain constant the relative humidity will Decrease As the air temperature increases and the actual amount of water vapor in the air remain constant the vapor pressure will Remain constant When water changes from liquid to gas latent heat is absorbed from the surroundings cooling the surroundings Which location has the most water vapor in the air New York Which location has the higher saturation vapor pressure Both have the same Winds in the station model would be Northeasterly The significant weather is Snow The temperature and dew point are 14 Deg F 12 Deg F What term is used to describe a layer in the atmosphere where atmospheric temperature increases with height Inversion If you want to determine the extent of cloud cover over the US at noon Central daylight savings time mid summer which weather product would you examine Visible satellite image The brightest regions on an INFRARED satellite image are associated with the coldest clouds on the surface The brightest regions on a VISIBLE satellite image are associates with snow cover and clouds The brightest region on a WATER VAPOR satellite are associated with moist air A cloud appears bright on a visible satellite image and dark on an infrared Where is the top of this cloud likely to be located Near the surface In the lower troposphere If you wanted to determine the amount of precipitation associated with a specific storm which weather product would you examine Doppler radar Imagine that you are a radar meteorologist using the WS 88D display at the National Weather Forecast office What information can you obtain 1 You can use the radial velocity to determine is a thunderstorm is rotating 2 you can use radar reflectivity to determine the location of thunderstorms 3 you can examine the storm total precipitation to identify where a flash flood may occur You notice that the radar reflectivity over Boulder is 60 dBZ and the radar reflectivity over Denver is 25dBZ What can you say about the precipitation occurring at these two locations The intensity of precipitation is greater in Boulder than it is in Denver Which of the following properties is measured by both a radiosonde rawinsonde sounding and a wind profiler that has a Radio Acoustic Sounding System RASS Temperature Which instrument collection system has the network with the highest density in the US ASOS If a map is created using data collection at 0500 UTC Sept 20 what is the date and time in MDT 2300 MDT Sept 19 Could data collected at 0500 UTC have been collected by the radiosonde rawinsonde sounding network NO ASOS measure atmospheric properties such as temperature visibility wind direction precipitation type and precipitation rate TRUE A surface station model directly shows all of the following except Relative humidity What is the term used to describe contours of pressure Isobars On a surface weather map a strong temperature gradient exists in a location where ISOTHERMS are packed closely together On a surface weather map in a region where ISOBARS are pack closely together the winds will be strong Which statement about upper air weather is NOT correct Upper air weather maps are updated each hour What map would you examine to locate the polar jet stream 300mb A front is typically most distinct on which map 850mb Upper air weather maps are the 700mb level are the best maps to identify short waves and long waves in the flow pattern FALSE The location and intensity of waves in the flow can be measured using a quantity called vorticity which is a measure of the rotation in a flow TRUE Looking at the upper air map what pattern does the solid like highlight Trough Computer forecast models are systems of mathematical equations that describe the behavior of the atmosphere Which statement is true 1 Data in computer models are organized on a grid 2 to accurately forecast the weather numerical forecast models must take into account snow cover topography ocean land and other physical features MODEL DOAIN describes the area of coverage of a computer model which MODEL RESOLUTION describes the horizontal spacing of grid points within a computer model In general which forecasts would you expect to be the most accurate Short range Which of the following is NOT considered to be a factor that contributes to the degradation of forecast made with numerical weather predictions Climate change due to global warming EXAM 2 If an air parcel is stable for a small displacement it accelerates away from its original position FALSE If you want to evaluate the stability of the atmosphere which weather product would you consult Radiosonde rawinsonde data If an air parcel is displaced vertically in a stable environment it will return to its original position If an air parcel is SATURATED it will EXPAND AND COOL at the moist adiabatic lapse rate How can the atmosphere s stability as a particular location be changed Change in the vertical temperature structure What is the atmospheric stability in a thunderstorm