Science Olympiad Meteorology 2020

What is a jet stream?

• A stream of air made by aircraft in the atmosphere

• A narrow variable band of very strong predominantly westerly air currents encircling the globe several miles above the earth

• a measure of the atmosphere's tendency to discourage or deter vertical motion

• a line of thunderstorms forming along or ahead of a cold front

What are atmospheric waves?

• Lines across a continent that separate moist air and dry air

• Geological phenomenon in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented rock rush down mountainsides

• Wind that comes out of a thunderstorm

• Periodic disturbances in the fields of variables, like surface pressure or temperature.

What is atmospheric stability?

• A line across a continent that separates moist air and dry air

• The easiest way to identify clouds

• A measure of the tendency to discourage or deter vertical motion

• A unique kind of mesoscale convective system which is defined by characteristics observed in infrared satellite imagery

What is a front/dry line?

• The air masses separating two masses of air of different densities

• The air masses between two air masses of the same densities

• A type of cloud

• A localized column of sinking air within a thunderstorm and is usually less than or equal to 2.5 miles in diameter

What is the technical definition of a thunderstorm?

• A storm that is characterized by strong winds and much precipitation

• A storm that is characterized by an increase in snowfall

• A storm known for being long-lived, often form nocturnally, and commonly contain heavy rainfall, wind, hail, and lightning

• A storm that is characterized by the presence of lightning

What is the most common form of solid precipitation?

• Rain

• Hail

• Freezing Rain

• Sleet

What may occur after the collapse of a natural ice or debris dam or human structure such as a man-made dam?

• A squall line may form

• A mesoscale convective system may form

• A flash flood may form

• A debris flow may form

What is a tornado?

• An intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water. Some are connected to a cumulus congestus cloud, some to a cumuliform cloud and some to a cumulonimbus cloud

• A violently rotating column of air between a cloud and Earth, touching both. When conditions are right, a thunderstorm can spin out one or more of these

• A rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain or squalls

• It has maximum sustained surface winds ranging from 39-73 mph