CHAPTER 5 Concept Review

CHAPTER 5 Concept Review

5.1 Thunderstorms

Question 5.32

1. Describe the relationship between the duration of an atmospheric system and its spatial scale.

Question 5.33

2. What is an air mass? Describe the characteristics of an mT air mass. Where does it form?

Question 5.34

3. What is a thunderstorm? What kind of cloud produces a thunderstorm? What are the three types of thunderstorms?

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4. Describe the global geographic pattern of thunderstorms. Where are they most and least frequent, and why?

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5. Describe the life cycle of single-cell thunderstorms. How long do they last, and what causes them to dissipate?

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6. How are multicell thunderstorms different from single-cell thunderstorms in terms of where they form and their longevity?

Question 5.38

7. What is a squall line, and how does it relate to multicell thunderstorms?

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8. What is a supercell thunderstorm? How does it relate to a mesocyclone?

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9. Are all supercell thunderstorms classified as severe? What makes a thunderstorm severe?

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10. Explain how a supercell thunderstorm begins rotating and describe the general anatomy of this type of storm.

5.2 Thunderstorm Hazards: Lightning and Tornadoes

Question 5.42

11. What is lightning? What kind of cloud produces it?

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12. What is thunder? What causes it?

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13. What is a fulgurite?

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14. Review outdoor lightning safety. Is it safe to be in a car during a lightning storm? Is everywhere indoors safe from lightning?

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15. How does lightning form?

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16. What is a tornado? What system is used to rank tornado strength, and on what evidence is it based?

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17. Describe the typical characteristics of tornadoes.

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18. Where in the world are tornadoes most powerful and most frequent?

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19. Describe the specific air masses that converge in the Great Plains to create tornadoes.

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20. Compare a tornado watch with a tornado warning. Under what conditions is each issued?

5.3 Nature’s Deadliest Storms: Hurricanes

Question 5.52

21. What is the minimum wind speed required for a storm to be classified as a hurricane?

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22. What are the four major stages of hurricane development?

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23. What system is used to rank hurricane strength? What are the rankings based on?

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24. Draw and label the anatomy of a hurricane. Where are winds fastest? Where are they slowest? Describe air movement direction in a hurricane.

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25. Explain the role of the hurricane positive feedback in maintaining high wind speeds. Why is sea spray so important to this feedback?

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26. Describe and explain the global geographic pattern of hurricanes.

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27. What aspects of hurricanes are the most dangerous?

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28. What ocean basin has the most dangerous hurricanes? What makes this area so dangerous?

5.4 Midlatitude Cyclones

Question 5.60

29. What is a midlatitude cyclone? Where do midlatitude cyclones occur? How do cold fronts and warm fronts relate to them?

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30. Compare a cold front with a warm front in terms of how they form and the weather that is typically associated with each.

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31. Describe the life cycle of a midlatitude cyclone, beginning with a stationary front and ending with an occluded front.

5.5 El Niño’s Wide Reach

Question 5.63

32. What influences does El Niño have on global climate and weather?

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33. What is an El Niño event? Compare and contrast the ocean-atmosphere system in the equatorial Pacific in a normal year and in an El Niño year.

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34. What is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)?

5.6 Geographic Perspectives: Are Atlantic Hurricanes a Growing Threat?

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35. Which coastal states in the United States have the shortest hurricane return period?

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36. Except for New Orleans, which large U.S. metropolitan area is most vulnerable to hurricanes?

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37. In the context of climate change, why might a person reasonably expect that hurricanes should be getting more frequent and stronger?

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38. How would you characterize Atlantic hurricane activity since 1944?

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39. Are scientists certain how hurricane activity will change in the coming decades?