Severe Weather

Thunderstorms form in what type of environment?

• warm and stable
• cold and stable
• warm and unstable
• cold and unstable

During the day the island heats faster than the water. This uneven heating creates a pressure gradient and causes the wind to blow. Which of these describes how the wind blows?

• Land to water
• water to land
• no wind
• across the land 

An air that can be described as continental polar is defined as?

• dry and cold
• dry and warm
• humid and warm
• humid and cold

Centers of low pressure are called ____.

• cyclones
• anti-cyclones
• jet stream
• air masses

An immense body of air characterized by a similarity of temperature and moisture at any given altitude is referred to as a/an

• air front
• air mass
• hurricane
• tornado

What happens to a moist air mass as it moves upward in the atmosphere?

• Warms up, no cloud formation
• Cools down and produces precipitation
• Keeps moving, no change
• Keeps moving and warms up, forms clouds

Why do clouds usually form at the leading edge of a cold air mass?

• Cold air contains more water vapor than warm air does
•  Cold air contains more dust than warm air does.
• Cold air flows under warm air, causing the warm air to rise and cool.
• Cold air flows over warm air, causing the warm air to descend and cool.

What causes a hurricane to lose energy when it moves onto land?

• Heating below land
• lack of warm, moist air
• lack of cold, dry air
• none of the above

How do the conditions for a tornado differ from the conditions for a hurricane?

• Tornadoes never form when there is rain, while hurricanes always form with rain.
• Tornadoes form under low pressure, while hurricanes form under high pressure
• Tornadoes form in a stable atmosphere, while hurricanes form in an unstable atmosphere 
• Tornadoes form over land, while hurricanes form over bodies of water

What would a warm air mass over the ocean most likely cause?

• earthquake
• snowfall
• tsunami 
• rainfall