57) Which of the following cloud types is associated with tornado development?
A) cumulus
B) nimbostratus
C) altocumulus
D) cumulonimbus
58) The highest frequency of tornadoes per 10,000 in the United States occurs in
A) Nebraska.
B) South Dakota.
C) Florida.
D) Oklahoma.
59) Tornadoes are ranked in terms of wind speed and related property damage using the
________ scale.
A) Beaufort
B) Enhanced Fujita
C) Mercalli
D) Richter
E) Saffir-Simpson
60) Between 1950 and 2010, approximately how many tornadoes were recorded in the United
States?
A) 5,000
B) 15,000
C) 33.000
D) 54.000
61) Tropical cyclones
A) are produced by the conflict between air masses and frontal activity.
B) originate entirely within tropical air masses.
C) usually form poleward of 23.5° latitude in either hemisphere.
D) are called hurricanes worldwide.
62) Which of the following is not a regional name for the most powerful tropical cyclones?
A) hurricane
B) easterly wave
C) typhoon
D) cyclone
63) Which is the correct order of tropical cyclone classification, from weakest to strongest?
A) tropical disturbance—tropical depression—tropical storm—hurricane
B) tropical depression—tropical disturbance—hurricane—tropical storm
C) tropical storm—tropical disturbance—tropical depression—hurricane
D) hurricane—tropical disturbance—tropical depression—tropical storm
64) Hurricanes derive their energy from
A) the latent heat of vaporization.
B) the latent heat of fusion.
C) the latent heat of condensation.
D) the latent heat of sublimation.
65) Before a hurricane forms, upper-level divergence above an easterly wave
A) weakens vertical convective circulation.
B) pulls moisture into the system.
C) causes the system to dissipate.
D) moves west to east.
66) Easterly waves travel from ________ in the ________ belt.
A) east to west; trade wind
B) west to east; trade wind
C) east to west; westerly
D) west to east; westerly
67) Uplift and storm development occur on the ________ side of an easterly wave.
A) northern
B) southern
C) eastern
D) western
68) Which of the following is true of hurricanes in the western Atlantic?
A) The peak months of occurrence are from August to October.
B) They are generally called cyclones or typhoons in this part of the world.
C) They are associated with the cool, southward-flowing Kuroshio current.
D) They occur in association with local monsoonal winds.
69) Which part of a hurricane consists of dry, subsiding air?
A) eye
B) spiral bands
C) eye wall (collar clouds)
D) easterly trade winds
70) Which of the following is not true regarding hurricanes and tornadoes?
A) The pressure gradient is strong.
B) The pressure at the center of the storm is very low.
C) Tremendous amounts of condensation occur in the center of the storm.
D) There is very limited wind shear.
71) Hurricanes die when they move over land because
A) the Coriolis force is not sufficient to sustain them over land.
B) the land temperature is not warm enough to sustain the low pressure system.
C) evaporation and subsequent condensation are no longer sufficient to sustain them.
D) anticyclonic forces overtake the cyclonic storm.
72) Cyclones in the southern Indian Ocean usually occur between
A) November and May.
B) April and December.
C) June and October.
D) August and December.
73) Which hurricane holds the western hemisphere records for lowest barometric pressure?
A) Hurricane Camille
B) Hurricane Hugo
C) Hurricane Agnes
D) Hurricane Wilma
74) The Saffir-Simpson scale estimates potential property damage from
A) hurricanes.
B) tornadoes.
C) tropical depressions.
D) storm surges.
75) Which of the following was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane of the last 100 years?
A) Hurricane Mitch
B) Hurricane Bonnie
C) Hurricane Andrew
D) Hurricane Camille
76) Prior to making landfall, Hurricane Sandy characteristics changed and it was classified as a
A) midlatitude anticyclone.
B) typhoon.
C) tropical depression.
D) post-tropical cyclone.
77) In which of the following areas will thunderstorms not develop?
A) in areas of orographic uplift
B) in areas of surface convergence
C) along frontal boundaries
D) under areas of strong high pressure
78) Which of the following “ingredients” is not associated with thunderstorm formation?
A) warm, moist air
B) rising, unstable air
C) a lifting mechanism
D) strong high pressure cell
79) Which is not true of Derechos?
A) They are caused by the same conditions that cause thunderstorms and tornadoes.
B) They occur mainly from May to August.
C) They have been measured at 57 m/s (128 mph).
D) The winds travel in a curved path.
E) They occur mainly in the Midwest and Southeast.
80) Scientists called the new phenomenon, witnessed in May 2009, of straight line, 100 mph
winds with an eyelike structure and a path of destruction 100 miles wide a
A) squall line.
B) supercell.
C) super derecho.
D) macroburst.
81) Which of the following is not associated with the development of a tornado?
A) squall lines and supercells
B) a strong updraft
C) a mesocyclone
D) minimal wind shear
82) A tornado classified as an EF-5 would have
A) windspeeds greater than 322 kmph (200 mph) with incredible damage.
B) windspeeds less than 137 kmph (85 mph) with light damage.
C) windspeeds between 218-26 kmph (136-165 mph) with severe damage.
D) windspeeds between 178-217 kmph (111-135 mph) with considerable damage.
83) Which of the following is false regarding tornados?
A) Wind speeds can exceed 322 kmph (200 mph).
B) Since 1990 the United States has averaged over 1000 per year.
C) The air pressure inside a tornado funnel is 10% greater than the surrounding air.
D) The peak months are May and June.
84) Which of the following is incorrect?
A) The most severe weather in a hurricane occurs in the spiral bands.
B) By definition, hurricanes have sustained winds that exceed 65 knots (119 kmph or 74 mph).
C) Mature hurricanes develop a central eye of calm conditions (in which it is often possible to
see the sky) that is surrounded by a swirling eyewall.
D) Tropical cyclones range in diameter from 160 km (100 mi. to 1,000 km (600 mi).
85) Which of the following is false of tropical cyclones?
A) Sea surface temperatures must exceed 26°C (79°F) for one to form.
B) They form around an intense high pressure center at the surface.
C) Storm surges often account for the greatest damage from tropical cyclones.
D) They have hit Brazil, France, and Oman.
86) Which of the following is predicted to occur in the 21st Century as a result of climate
change?
A) An increase in global snowfall due to an increase in atmospheric moisture.
B) Increased frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones due to increased ocean temperatures.
C) Less lake-effect snowfall due to warming waters.
D) Decrease in extreme snowfall events (blizzards).
8.2 True/False Questions
1) Weather is the long-term average conditions and extremes in a region.
2) Yearly weather-related damage costs have risen 500% since 1975.
3) An air mass is a mass of air that may extend through the lower half of the troposphere and is
homogenous in terms of temperature and humidity.
4) Cool, moist, and unstable mP air masses average 4.4 g/kg of specific humidity.
5) Air masses that migrate far from their source regions become modified in physical
characteristics and form secondary air masses.
6) Continental polar air masses of cold, dry air are more developed during the summer over
North America than in winter.
7) In terms of stability, mT air masses formed over the Gulf of Mexico are quite similar to the
mT air masses formed over the Pacific.
8) Along an advancing cold front, warm, moist air is abruptly lifted, often resulting in the
formation of cumulonimbus clouds.
9) Chinook winds form on the leeward side of mountains.
10) Chinook winds are cold, dry winds.
11) The term “rain shadow” is assigned to windward slopes.
12) A rainshadow is a zone of dark clouds and heavy rainfall.
13) Convergent lifting is common all along the equatorial region.
14) Convectional lifting results when air from different directions flows toward an area of low
pressure.
15) Urban heat islands can contribute to convectional lifting.
16) Urban heat islands can contribute to convectional lifting.
17) Orographic lifting produces the world’s highest precipitation amounts and averages.
18) A line on a weather map that is marked with small triangular spikes designates a warm front.
19) The direction of travel of midlatitude wave cyclones is controlled largely by the polar jet
stream.
20) The topography and latitudinal position of North America are important factors in air mass
interactions.
21) In the Southern Hemisphere, a migrating center of low pressure, with converging, ascending
air that spirals clockwise, is a wave cyclone.