| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| An electron stream that jerkily travels from a cloud during a thunderstorm is a | stepped leader |
| What forms the brilliant flash of a lightning bolt | return stroke |
| Drops of liquid water that have a diameter of less than 0.5 millimeter and fall from clouds to Earth are | drizzle |
| Atmospheric pressure at sea level is ? pounds per square inch | 14.7 |
| Measures high-altitude weather conditions | weather balloon |
| Front that forms when two air masses push against each other but neither one advances | stationary front |
| The change in the direction of winds caused by Earth's rotation is the ? effect | Coriolis |
| Which type of clouds are thunderstorm clouds | cumulonimbus |
| A tropical cyclone with wind speeds of 74 miles per hour or more is a | hurricane |
| A wind that reverses its direction from season to season is a | monsoon |
| The thunderstorm stage marked by the arrival of precipitation is the ? stage | mature |
| What is a large, rotating updraft in a supercell thunderstorm | mesocyclone |
| When the relative humidity of 100%, the air is | saturated |
| The water that falls to the earth, including rain, sleet, hail and snow is | precipitation |
| What phenomenon occurs when an area receives an abnormally low amount of atmospheric water over a long period | drought |
| Which air mass brings hot, dry weather | continental tropical |
| What is water vapor in the air that touches the cooler ground and turns to a liquid | dew |
| A tropical cyclone with wind speeds between 39 miles per hour and 74 miles per hour is a | tropical storm |
| a fierce, single updraft thunderstorm is a | supercell |
| a narrow funnel of powerful, rapidly whirling wind that stretches from a cloud to the ground is a | tornado |
| the farthest distance at which objects can be distinguished is the | visibility |
| The elevated water level caused by a hurricane's winds is the | storm surge |
| the most intense type of downburst is a | microburst |
| The shock wave produced as lightning heats the air is | thunder |
| What is considered the outermost layer of the atmosphere | exosphere |
| the boundary between two air masses is a | front |
| What is the most abundant gas in the homosphere | nitrogen |
| heat transfer by electromagnetic waves is | radiation |
| Which type of cloud is characteristically almond shaped | lenticular |
| Which type of ultraviolet radiation is the least harmful | UVA |
| Surface winds that blow from high-pressure regions toward the equator are | trade winds |
| The convection cell that exists between the equator and latitude 30 degrees is the | Hadley Cell |
| A thick, brownish haze that results from complex molecules released into the air by vehicles and some factories and plants is | photochemical smog |
| The boundary formed when a cold air mass moves into the territory of a warm air mass is a | cold front |
| What is the coldest point in the atmosphere | mesopause |
| What is the movement of water form the earth's surface, into the air, and back to the surface | water cycle |
| In clouds with temperatures above the freezing point, rain forms by the | collision-coalescence process |
| The extremely powerful radiation that comes from deep space is called | cosmic rays |
| Air flowing down a mountain's slope die to differences in temperature and pressure is a ? wind | katabatic |
| a circulating spiral of wind around a low pressure system is a | cyclone |
| Tornadoes are classified using the Enhanced ? scale | Fujita |
| Hurricanes are ranked on the ? Hurricane Wind Scale | Saffir-Simpson |
| The rapidly swirling cloud that is the most distinctive visual feature o fa tornado is a | condensation funnel |
| A single updraft system in a thunderstorm is a | cell |
| Air that is warm near the ground but very cold at higher altitudes is | unstable |
| "Lines of equal heat" are known as | isotherms |
| Maps that give a summary of the weather conditions throughout the entire country at a single point in time are | surface weather charts |
| A tornado that forms over water is called a | waterspout |
| The center of a hurricane is the | eye |
| A weather instrument that simultaneously measures and transmits meteorological data from weather balloons to weather stations is a | radiosonde |
| measures relative humidity | hygrometer |
| measures air temperature | thermometer |
| measures atmospheric pressure | barometer |
| measures wind speed | anemometer |
| uses radio waves to detect objects and measure their distance | radar |
| measures the amount of precipitation | rain gauge |
| indicates the direction of wind | weather vane |
| measures the distance from the ground to the base of clouds | ceilometer |
| a rotating column of air that starts on the ground and is not associated with a cloud | dust devil |
| lines of equal pressure on a weather map | isobars |
| a long line of advancing thunderstorms, usually moving ahead of a cold front | squall line |
| a concentrated downward blast of wind | downburst |
| a localized storm involving lighting, thunder, strong winds and heavy rain | thunderstorm |
| the long, narrow lines of thunderstorms in a hurricane | rain bands |
| state of the atmosphere at a certain time and place | weather |
| an abrupt discharge of electricity through the air | lightning |
