Geog 115, Final Exam Study Guide Air masses, Fronts and Mid-Latitude Cyclones 1. A good source region for an air mass would be: a. mountains with deep valleys and strong surface winds. b. generally flat areas of uniform composition with light surface winds. c. hilly with deep valleys and light winds. d. generally flat area of uniform composition with strong surface winds. 2. Which of the following statements is most plausible? a. In winter, cP source regions have higher temperatures than mT source regions. b. In summer, mP source regions have higher temperatures than cT source regions. c. In winter, cA source regions have lower temperatures than cP source regions. d. In summer, mT source regions have lower temperatures than mP source regions. e. All the statements are equally plausible. 3. The greatest contrast in both temperature and moisture will occur along the boundary separating which air masses? a. cP and cT b. mP and mT c. mP and cT d. mT and cP e. cT and mT 4. One would expect a cP air mass to be: a. cold and dry. b. cold and moist. c. warm and dry. d. warm and moist. 5. Which air mass would show the most dramatic change in both temperature and moisture content as it moves over a large body of very warm water? a. cT in summer b. cP in winter c. mP in winter d. mT in summer 6. Before the passage of a cold front the pressure normally __________, and after the passage of a cold front the pressure normally __________. a. drops, drops b. drops, rises c. rises, rises d. rises, drops 7. Occluded fronts may form as: a. a cold front overtakes a warm front. b. a warm front overtakes a cold front. c. a cold front overtakes a squall line. d. overrunning occurs along a warm front. 8. What type of weather front would be responsible for the following weather forecast: "Increasing cloudiness and warm today with the possibility of showers by this evening. Turning much colder tonight. Winds southwesterly becoming gusty and shifting to northwesterly by tonight." a. cold front b. warm front c. cold-type occluded front d. stationary front 9. What type of weather front would be responsible for the following weather forecast: "Increasing high cloudiness and cold this morning. Clouds increasing and lowering this afternoon with a chance of snow or rain tonight. Precipitation ending tomorrow morning. Turning much warmer. Winds light easterly today becoming southeasterly tonight and southwesterly tomorrow." a. cold front b. warm front c. stationary front d. warm-type occluded front 10 The lake effect when ____ air mass moves over a ____ body of water. a. an mT; cold b. an mT; warm c. a cP; cold d. cP; warm 11. An airmass is defined as a body of air with: (a) at least two frontal zones. (b) very low pressure everywhere. (c) very low humidity in its lower layers. (d) slowly varying values of surface temperature and moisture content. 12. Why is a drop in pressure often a sign that weather will get worse in the coming hours or days? (a) Temperature decreases when pressure decreases. (b) Thunderstorms cause surface pressure to drop in their vicinity. (c) A decreasing surface pressure can indicate the approach of a cyclone or its cold front. (d) Pressure decreases with altitude and weather conditions usually get worse with altitude. (e) Condensation and precipitation take place when pressure decreases. 13. If you examine a surface map and discover that there is a region where cold air is retreating and warm air is advancing toward it, you would classify this as what meteorological feature? (a) an airmass (b) a cold front (c) a warm front (d) a stationary front (e) an extratropical cyclone 14. A warm front is defined as an airmass boundary where warm air is _________ and cold air is _________ . (a) retreating; retreating (b) retreating; advancing (c) advancing; advancing (d) advancing; retreating 15. Along a stationary front, air on the cold side of the front always moves in what direction? (a) upwards (b) to the west (c) to the south (d) parallel to the front (e) perpendicular to the front 16. A dry line is a boundary between airmasses with similar _______ characteristics and differing ________ characteristics. (a) wind; temperature (b) temperature; wind (c) temperature; moisture (d) temperature; pressure (e) moisture; temperature Extratropical Cyclones 17 Which of the following statements about extratropical cyclones is not true? a. They form along the jetstream. b. They form between approximately 5o and 60 oN. c. They often look like a comma on a satellite image. d. They attempt to balance temperature differences between the poles and the equator. e. They attempt to balance temperature differences between the upper and lower troposphere. 18. Which of the following regions is not a preferred area for cyclone formation? a. over of the Great Lakes b. near the North Carolina coast c. east of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado d. over the Pacific Ocean in the Gulf of Alaska e. along the Texas-Louisiana coastline of the Gulf of Mexico 19. If you were to view a fully developed extratropical cyclone on a satellite image, what punctuation mark would it look like? (a) colon (b) period (c) comma (d) semi-colon (e) question mark 20 Developing low-pressure areas generally have __________air near the surface and __________air aloft. (a) converging, diverging (b) diverging, converging (c) converging, converging (d) diverging, diverging 21. For an extratropical cyclone to intensify, the upper-level trough axis should be located to the __________of the surface low. (a) north (b) south (c) east (d) west 22 An extratropical cyclone will intensify as long as __________at the surface is __________than __________at the jetstream level. (a) convergence; stronger; divergence (b) divergence; stronger; convergence (c) convergence; weaker; divergence (d) divergence; weaker; convergence 23. The effect of changing flow curvature in the jetstream is to create ________ downstream of the ridge axis and ________ downstream of the trough axis. (a) divergence; divergence (b) divergence; convergence (c) convergence; divergence (d) convergence; convergence 24. The divergent quadrants of a jetstreak are its ________ and ________ quadrants. (a) left entrance; left exit (b) left entrance; right exit (c) right entrance; left exit (d) right entrance; right exit (e) right entrance; left entrance 25. Low pressure will develop at the surface below the region of strongest ________ . (a) jetstreak (b) curvature (c) divergence (d) convergence 26. On a surface weather map that shows an open wave cyclone, the warm sector can be observed: a. ahead of an advancing cold front; b. behind an advancing cold front. c. ahead of an advancing cold-occluded front; d. behind an advancing cold-occluded front. e. ahead of an advancing warm front. 27 If the flow of air into a surface low pressure area is greater than the divergence of air aloft, the surface pressure in the center of the low will: a. increase; b. decrease; c. remain the same; d. deepen. 28. Northeasters (or nor’easters) are midlatitude storms commonly found: a. along the Pacific coast of North America. b. along the Atlantic coast of North America. c. along the Gulf coast of North America. d. both a and b Thunderstorm and lightening 1. Hanging from the underbelly of the anvil of the thunderstorm, we sometimes observe: a. Mammatus clouds. b. Hanging clouds. c. Cumulus clouds. d. Cumulus congestus clouds. e. Stratospheric clouds. 2. A cold pool forms below the thunderstorm because: a. After they hit the ground, rain drops evaporate and cool the air down. b. The air rising by convection needs to be replaced by sinking air from inside the cloud. c. Cold and dense air forms and sinks when raindrops evaporate below cloud base. d. The air rising by convection cools down adiabatically and sinks. e. Although there is convection in the thunderstorm, there is also subsidence around it. 3. The leading edge of a thunderstorm’s cold pool is called: a. A downburst. b. A squall line. c. A gust front. d. A dry line. e. mesocyclone. f. microburst. 3. Lightning is the result of a build-up of electric charge difference caused by: a. Violent collision of raindrops. b. Rapid coalescence of cloud droplets. c. Riming due to sudden temperature changes. d. Freezing of supercooled liquid water droplets. e. Collision of graupel and ice crystals 4. In a thunderstorm, the upper part of the cloud usually contains _______, while the lower part usually contains _______. a. Positively charged ice particles, negatively charged graupel. b. Positively charged ice particles, positively charged graupel. c. Negatively charged ice particles, negatively charged graupel. d. Negatively charged ice particles, positively charged graupel. 5. When there is a lightning strike, we hear thunder because: a. The end of the lightning strike hits the ground at very high speed. b. The air is heated up to a very high temperature and expands violently. c. The hailstones and raindrops falling out of the cumulonimbus are hitting the ground at very high speed. d. The cloud explodes as positive and negative charges neutralize each other. e. The lightning strike hits the sound barrier and produces a sonic boom. 6. Ordinary thunderstorms are more likely to occur in the afternoon or evening because: a. Upper-level winds are too strong in the morning. b. Relative humidity decreases throughout the day. c. Warm surface conditions make the lower atmosphere unstable. d. It takes all day for vertical updrafts to reach the tropopause. e. Convection is initiated only when the sun is low on the horizon. 7. . An ordinary thunderstorm eventually dissipates because: a. The downdrafts overcome the updrafts. b. Lightning releases all the energy. c. All the cloud droplets and raindrops evaporate. d. It gets tilted by wind shear. e. It gets mixed with the surrounding air by entrainment. f. It cannot grow beyond the tropopause.(G) It moves from water to land. 8. Some thunderstorms are longer-lived than ordinary thunderstorms because: a. Lightning occurs. b. Ice crystals start to form and the Bergeron process starts. c. Entrainment of dry air occurs. d. The gust front triggers more convection. e. The downdrafts are separated from the updrafts due to vertical wind shear. 9. Thunderstorms that produce tornadoes a. have very little cloud-to-ground lightning. b. have updraft velocities that exceed 100 miles per hour. c. have rotating updrafts. d. will not produce hail. e. do not exist. 10. When caught in a thunderstorm in an open field, the best thing to do is to a. run for cover under the nearest tree. b. lie down flat on the ground. c. crouch down as low as possible while minimizing contact with the ground. d. remove all metallic objects from your pockets. e. climb up onto a hill. 11. Supercell thunderstorms differ from ordinary cell (air mass) thunderstorms because a. the updraft in a supercell thunderstorm is shorter-lasting and is stationary.. b. ordinary thunderstorms do not produce hail. c. supercell thunderstorms produce precipitation. d. the supercell thunderstorm is greater in size. e. the updraft in a supercell thunderstorm is longer-lasting and rotates. 12. Downdrafts tend to dominate during the ____ stage. a. cumulus b. dissipating c. precipitating d. developing e. growth 13. Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when a. lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud. b. when all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice. c. when the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft. d. when solar heating at the ground begins to decrease. e. when clouds scatter due to the microbursts within the storm system. 14. Squall line thunderstorms generally form a. along or ahead of a cold front. b. with a strong wave cyclone. c. behind a cold front. d. ahead of a warm front. e. along an occluded front. 15. An intense electrical storm has just formed overhead. In which of the following locations are you least prone to getting injured or killed by lightning? (a) in your car (b) on a tree-less golf course (c) sailing in the middle of a large lake (d) standing under the tallest tree you can find in order to get out of the rain (e) in your house, discussing the storm with your friend on a corded telephone 16. When viewing an infrared satellite image, a large, semi-circular or oblong region of high clouds covering the entire state of Missouri on a July evening is most likely what type of thunderstorm system? (a) frontal squall line (b) airmass thunderstorm (c) supercell thunderstorms (d) mesoscale convective system 17. What are the National Weather Service criteria for a severe thunderstorm? (a) hail with diameter > ¾ inch diameter; (b) wind damage or wind gusts > 58 mph (c) tornado ; (d) any of the above can be present for a thunderstorm to be considered severe. (e) All of the above (a, b and c) must be present for a thunderstorm to be severe. 18. Which of the following is (are) necessary for the formation of all thunderstorms? (a) a source of moisture (b) a mechanism to trigger an updraft (c) a vertical wind shear (d) (a) and (b) are both correct (e) (a), (b) and (c) are all correct. 19. What type(s) of thunderstorms commonly form along the tail of a comma cloud associated with an extratropical cyclone? (a) frontal squall line thunderstorms (b) airmass thunderstorms (c) supercell thunderstorms (d) mesoscale convective system thunderstorms (e) all thunderstorm types 20. What type(s) of thunderstorms is (are) responsible for much of the summer rainfall on the Central Plains? (a) frontal squall line thunderstorms (b) airmass thunderstorms (c) supercell thunderstorms (d) mesoscale convective system thunderstorms (e) all thunderstorm types 21. Which of the following is the most accurate description of the principle of a lightning rod? a. the lightning rod acts to discharge the thunderstorm b. the lightning rod intercepts the lightning and safely carries the lightning current around the object it protects c. lightning rods have been used since the 1700s, but the principle of their operation is not known. d. positive charge induced in the lightning rod repels the negative charge in an approaching step leader 22. You a generally safe inside an automobile during a lighting storm because: a. the car's radio antenna will act as a lightning rod b. the rubber tires insulate you from the ground c. metal cars do not become electrically charged d. the metal car body will carry the lightning current around the passengers inside 23. The upper part of a thunderstorm cloud is normally __________ charged, and the middle and lower parts are __________ charged. a. negatively, negatively b. negatively, positively c. positively, positively d. positively, negatively 24. The downdraft in an ordinary thunderstorm is created mainly by: a. the melting of snow in the anvil b. electrical attraction between the cloud and ground c. the release of latent heat as water in the cloud freezes d. evaporating raindrops that make the air cold and heavy e. upper level wind motions Tornadoes 1. The South-Central United States (“tornado alley”) is a favorable location for tornadoes to form because: a. It is very warm and dry, which increases the chances of rotating convection. b. t is a unique area of convergence of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico underneath dry air from the Mexican plateau. c. It is at low elevation and fl at, which provides a lot of fetch for tornadoes to develop. d. It is the so-called “graveyard of hurricanes”, where hurricanes make landfall and spawn tornadoes. e. Squall lines have built an “alley” over geological times into which thunderstorms are now channeled by the upper-level flow 2. Which of the following factors is most important in determining the strength of a tornado? a. diameter b. air temperature c. duration d. central pressure 3. The most frequent time of day for tornadoes to form is in the: a. early morning just after sunrise. b. late morning just before noon. c. evening just after sunset. d. afternoon. e. middle of the night. 4. In the United States, tornadoes are most frequent during the __________, and least frequent during the __________. a. summer, fall b. spring, winter c. spring, fall d. summer, winter e. winter, fall 5. At home, when confronted with an approaching tornado, you should: a. open the windows right away. b. grab a video camera and start filming. c. listen to see whether the tornado has an audible roar. d. seek shelter immediately. 6. Damage to structures inflicted by tornadoes can be caused by: a. flying debris. b. the tornadoes high winds. c. the drop in air pressure as a tornado moves overhead. d. all of the above e. none of the above 7. After a tornado is spotted: a. a tornado watch is issued. b. its direction of movement is carefully monitored by aircraft. c. a tornado warning is issued. d. hail begins to fall from the cloud. e. attempts may be made to change its direction of movement. 8. Most waterspouts: a. form in severe thunderstorms. b. draw water up into their core. c. have rotating winds of less than 45 knots. d. form in an area where winds are descending from a cloud. e. actually form over land. 9. The "Tornado Alley" region of the United States is located a. in Florida. b. in the Central Plains. c. in the Ohio Valley. d. in the mid-Atlantic states. e. along the Gulf Coast. 10. The National Weather Service issues a tornado watch when __________and tornado warning when __________. (a) conditions are favorable for tornado formation; a tornado is believed to be present in a waring area (b) a tornado is believed to be present in a warning area; conditions are favorable for tornado formation (c) emergency management personnel should warn the public to take cover immediately; emer gency management personnel should abandon the warning effort and take cover themselves. (d) debris from a tornado is expected to impact an area; the debris is actually observed and is an obstruction to traffic 11. Which statement about tornado safety is false? (a) During a tornado you should seek shelter in the lowest floor in the building in the most interior room. (b) If caught outdoors in your car, you should park under a highway overpass and seek shelter near the girders of the bridge. (c) If no shelter is available and you are in your car, abandon your car and find a low-lying area and lay flat. (d) Put as many walls between you and the tornado as possible. (e) Abandon mobile homes and find stronger shelter or lie in a ditch. 12. The National Weather Service has just issued a tornado warning that includes your city. You are the manager of a movie theater, and there is a show with 500 people attending. What should you do? (a) Let the show go on as planned but pay attention to weather reports for additional information. (b) Interrupt the show and take the crowd to the basement of the building or an interior room in an orderly manner. (c) Stop the show and send everybody home. (d) Grab your camcorder, go outside and film the impending tornado for the theater. (e) Scream and call your mother for advice. 13. When is a strong tornado most likely to occur? (a) 3:00 A.M., mid-May (b) 3:00 A.M., mid-October (c) 5:00 P.M., mid-October (d) 5:00 P.M., mid-May (e) 9:00 P.M., mid-June 14. A map of the distribution of tornadoes around the world would correspond to: (a) a map of the rural areas because urban areas do not have tornadoes. (b) a map of the world’s mobile home parks since these attract tornadoes. (c) a map showing hurricane origin areas because hurricanes are essentially large tornadoes. (d) a map of the central United States because other areas of the world do not have tornadoes. (e) a map of the world’s prime agricultural growing areas because thunderstorms provide the water necessary for growth of crops. 15. Most tornadoes in California are of this type. (a) gustnado (b) dust devil (c) landspout (d) waterspout (e) cold air funnel 16. A tornado rips through a college (luckily on a holiday when no one is on campus). The tornado destroys brick buildings and leaves no bricks or debris on the foundations. What is the EF-scale rating of this tornado? EF1; (b)EF2; (c) EF3; (d) EF4; (e) EF5 17. Which of the following was not a problem with the original Fujita scale? (a) Scale ranking was always based on damage only. (b) Rankings overestimated the wind speeds in more violent tornadoes. (c) The original damage assessment guidelines were not detailed and specific. (d) Damage assessment did not take into account structural integrity of buildings. 18. What is the maximum ranking of a tornado on the EF-scale? a. EF-3 b. EF-5 c. EF-7 d. EF-10 19. Which U.S. state has the most tornadoes per 10,000 square mile area? a. Texas b. Florida c. Illinois d. Nebraska e. Oklahoma 20. What region of the U.S. has the largest number of reported tornadoes? a. the Northeast b. the Great Lakes c. the Great Plains d. the Desert Southwest e. the central Atlantic Coast Hurricanes 1. The vertical structure of the hurricane shows an upper-level ____ of air, and a surface ____ of air. a. outflow; inflow b. outflow; outflow c. inflow; outflow d. inflow; inflow 2 .Which would you NOT expect to observe as the eye of a hurricane passes directly over your area? a. an increase in surface temperature b. a very low surface pressure reading c. high winds d. little or no precipitation 3. In a hurricane, the eye wall represents: a. the exact center of the storm. b. the area of broken cloudiness at the center. c. a region of light winds and low pressure. d. a zone of intense thunderstorms around the center. e. a layer of cirrus cloud in the center of the storm. 4. The strongest winds in a hurricane are found: a. at the center of the storm. b. in the eye wall. c. in the rain bands. d. at upper levels, above the center of the hurricane. e. near the periphery of the hurricane. 5. The main source of energy for a hurricane is the: a. upper-level jet stream. b. rising of warm air and sinking of cold air in the vicinity of weather fronts. c. warm ocean water and release of latent heat of condensation. d. ocean currents and tides. 6. Hurricanes dissipate when: a. they move over colder water. b. they move over land. c. surface inflow of air exceeds upper-level outflow of air. d. all of these 7. Which below is NOT an atmospheric condition conducive to the formation of hurricanes? a. a region of converging surface winds at the surface b. warm water c. strong upper-level winds d. cold air aloft e. moist, humid surface air 8. Just before a storm becomes a fully developed hurricane, it is in the ____ stage. a. tropical depression b. tropical disturbance c. tropical storm d. Cyclone e. Typhoon 9. The main difference between a hurricane and a tropical storm is that: a. hurricanes are larger. b. tropical storms are more than 500 miles from the U.S. mainland. c. winds speeds are greater in a hurricane. d. hurricanes have a clearly defined eye on satellite photographs. 10. The first three stages of a developing hurricane are (from first stage to third stage): a. tropical disturbance, tropical storm, and typhoon. b. tropical depression, tropical disturbance, and tropical storm. c. tropical disturbance, tropical depression, and tropical storm. d. cyclone, typhoon, and tropical storm. 11. Which method below describes how scientists have tried to modify hurricanes? a. putting an oil slick over the ocean water and igniting it b. seeding the hurricanes with silver iodide c. igniting huge smoke bombs in the eye of the storm d. seeding the hurricanes with hair-thin pieces of aluminum called chaff. 12. The strongest winds in a hurricane heading westward toward Florida would most likely be found on the ____ side. a. Northern b. Southern c. Eastern d. Western 13. Most of the destruction caused by a hurricane is due to: a. high winds. b. flooding. c. tornadoes. d. hail. 14. A hurricane warning: a. gives the exact location where a hurricane will make landfall. b. is usually issued several days ahead of a hurricane's arrival. c. gives the percent chance of a hurricane's center passing within 65 miles of a community. d. is issued when a hurricane approaches to within 500 miles of the U.S. mainland. e. is issued whenever surface wind speeds exceed 74 mi/hr. 15. The ____ is a measure of hurricane strength based on hurricane winds and central pressure. a. Fujita scale b. Richter scale c. Saffir-Simpson scale d. Beaufort scale 16. Hurricanes can't form along the equator because: a. there isn't much water along the equator, it's mostly land. b. the Coriolis force is too small along the equator. c. there are no feedback mechanisms along the equator. d. it's too humid for the ocean water to evaporate. 17. A tropical forecaster sees a cluster of thunderstorms over the tropical Atlantic Ocean and predicts that it will not develop into a hurricane. What factor led the forecaster to come to this conclusion? (a) The satellite derived sea surface temperature was 30 o C. (b) There was very strong wind shear in the vicinity of the thunderstorms. (c) The cluster of thunderstorms was located at 15 oN. (d) None of the above would help the forecaster in the decision. 18. Which statement related to the name list for tropical cyclones that form in the Atlantic Ocean is not correct? a. The list is alphabetical; b. The list alternates male and female names. c. Names originate from the English, Spanish and French languages. d. Letters of the alphabet that have few names that start with that letter are omitted from the list. e. If there are so many cyclones that the list is exhausted the list is started over but a “2” appended after the name to indicate the second use of the list. 19. At what stage is a tropical weather system assigned a name? a. tropical disturbance b. tropical depression c. tropical storm d. hurricane 20. Suppose the eye of a hurricane passed directly over you, and you survived the experience. If winds were from the northeast as the eyewall first approached you, from what direction did the winds blow when the eyewall reached you the second time? a. NW b. NE c. SE d. SW 21. Which of the following is not a necessary ingredient for the formation of tropical cyclones? a. The temperature of the ocean is more than 27°C. b. There is a deep layer of warm water below the surface of the ocean. c. There are strong upper-level winds and enough vertical shear to tilt the tropical cyclone. d. The cluster of thunderstorms forms at least 5° of latitude away from the equator. e. The cluster of thunderstorms forms away from the subsidence in the subtropical highs. 22.. Which of the following statements about the eye of a tropical cyclone is incorrect? a. It is mostly cloud-free. b. It is typically less than 100 km in diameter. c. It is characterized by subsidence. d. Due to subsidence, its central pressure is typically more than 1000 hPa. e. It is surrounded by a wall of strong winds and heavy rain. 23. Over the North Atlantic Ocean, tropical disturbances typically appear: a. In the troughs of the jet stream. b. In the troughs of the subtropical easterly fl ow. c. In the ridges of the subtropical high. d. In the troughs of the ITCZ. e. In the ridges of the trade winds. Weather Forecasting 1. Numerical weather prediction models use equations based on the laws of physics to calculate variables at: a. Airport locations. b. Surface weather station locations. c. Grid points. d. Random points. e. Upper-air measurement locations. 2. The ability of computer models to correctly forecast the weather decreases beyond 2 or 3 days because: a. The weather changes too fast and computers cannot keep up. b. The life cycle of midlatitude cyclones is about 2 or 3 days. c. The atmosphere is completely chaotic and cannot be described with mathematical equations. d. Human forecasters are ultimately better at forecasting the weather than computers. e. Small errors in the initialization of the models grow rapidly and can be very large beyond 2 or 3 days. 3. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the limited ability of computer models to forecast the weather accurately: a. Instrumental errors are introduced in the models because the measurements used to initialize the models are made with instruments that are not perfect. b. Human errors are possible when the initialization data is reported by human observers. c. When interpolating observations to provide initialization data at a grid point, interpolation errors are introduced. d. Direct observations over the ocean are scarce. e. The evolution of weather can only be predicted for the duration of the life cycle of weather systems, which is about three to five days. f. Due to the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, small errors can grow large beyond several days of computer forecasting. g. Resolution errors are introduced when small-scale weather phenomena are smaller than the size of a grid cell in the computer model. 4. The analysis of upper-level charts is an important part of the weather forecasting process because: a. Upper-level patterns infl uence the development of surface storms. b. Surface pressure determines upperlevel winds. c. Precipitation tends to occur all along the jet stream. d. Precipitation is associated with westerly fl ow at upper level. e. Upper-level ridges and troughs have a life time of more than two weeks. 5. Ensemble forecasting consists in : a. Running a number of different computer models at exactly the same time to compare their speed. b. Running a numerical weather prediction model a number of times with slight variations in initial conditions to compare the different outputs. c. Running the same numerical weather prediction model a number of times to verify that it yields exactly the same results. d. Running several numerical weather prediction models over different geographical areas and combining the results into a single global output. e. Running several numerical weather prediction models for different variables and combining the results into a single output. 6. Statistical post-processing is used to: a. b. c. d. e. Extend the prediction range of numerical weather prediction models. Provide weather forecasters with a range of predictions to choose from. Remove systematic errors in numerical weather prediction models. Provide long-term statistics of weather to inform climate anaylsis. Compute average values of relevant variables out of chaotic model outputs. 7. In the context of numerical weather prediction models, a bias is: a. A tendency for weather forecasters to interpret model outputs in a subjective way. b. A long-term forecast obtained by extending a short-term forecast. c. The mean value of an ensemble forecast. d. A systematic error in computer model outputs. e. The steady increase or decrease of a variable over the forecasting period. 8. The forecasting technique that produces several versions of a forecast model, each beginning with slightly different weather information to reflect errors in the measurements, is called: a. climatology forecasting b. redundancy analysis c. persistence forecasting d. ensemble forecasting e. probability forecasting 7. A weather warning indicates that: a. the atmospheric conditions are favorable for hazardous weather over a particular region. b. hazardous weather is either imminent or occurring within the forecast area. c. hazardous weather is likely to occur within the forecast area during the next 24 hours. d. hazardous weather is frequently observed in a particular region. 9. The period over which the rates of change of variables are evaluated is known as ___________ and is usually _______________ a. Timestring, 10 minutes b. Timestep, 10 minutes c. Timestep, 5 minutes d. Timestep, 20 minutes 10. The least accurate forecast method of predicting the weather two days into the future during changeable weather conditions is usually the: a. trend method. b. persistence forecast. c. analogue method. d. prediction by weather types. e. numerical weather prediction. 11. A persistence forecast could be quite accurate when: a. a frontal system approaches your location at constant speed. b. you are positioned in the middle of a large, stationary air mass. c. the weather has been unusually cold for several days. d. upper level winds blow straight from west to east. 12. Suppose that where you live the middle of January is typically several degrees warmer than the rest of the month. If you forecast this "January thaw" for the middle of next January, you would have made a: a. forecast based on the analogue method. b. persistence forecast. c. forecast based on weather types. d. probability forecast. e. climatological forecast. 13. A probability forecast that calls for a "40 percent chance of rain" means that: a. there is a 40 percent chance that it will not rain within the forecast area. b. there is a 40 percent chance that any random place in the forecast area will receive measurable rain. c. it will rain on 40 percent of the forecast area. d. it will rain during 40 percent of the time over the forecast area. 14. Which of the following is presently a problem with modern-day weather predictions? a. computer forecast models make assumptions about the atmosphere that are not always correct. b. there are regions of the world where only space observations are available. c. computer models do not always adequately interpret the surface's influence on the weather. d. the distance between grid points on some models is too large to pick up smaller-scale weather features such as thunderstorms. e. all of the above 15. When making a forecast, a meteorologist typically examines: a. surface charts. b. upper-air charts. c. radar displays. d. satellite imagery. e. all of the above 16. When several numerical weather prediction models produce similar progs, a. a forecaster has little faith in the model predictions. b. more confidence can be placed in the forecast. c. the forecast is considered robust. d. both b and c 17. A forecast method that compares past weather maps and weather patterns to those of the present is: a. persistence forecasting. b. the analogue method. c. the trend method. d. nowcasting. 18. The numerical models consist of these set of equations (a) forecasting and diagnostic equations (b) forecasting and prognostic equations (c) prognostic and diagnostic equations (d) mesoscale and prognostic equations 
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