The highest frequency of tornadoes in the United States occurs in

• Nebraska

• South Dakota.

• Florida

• Oklahoma

In the United States, mid-latitude cyclone development is usually the result of

• hurricanes becoming extra-tropical cyclones.

• heavy rainfall in the southern Pacific Ocean.

• orographic lifting.

• the interaction of cP and mT air masses.

The scale that correlates wind speed and structural damage in a tornado is the

• Mercator scale.

• enhanced Fujita scale.

• Saffir-Simpson scale.

• Mercali scale.

Tropical cyclones do not form exactly on the Equator because

• the surface water temperatures are too warm.

• there is not enough ocean to provide moisture for the storm.

• there is no Coriolis force at the Equator.

• there is not enough cold air at the Equator.

An air mass that forms over the southernmost portions of the Pacific ocean (near Antarctica) would be a ​[?] air mass:

• mP (maritime Polar)

• cP (continental Polar)

• cA (continental Arctic)

• mT (maritime Tropical)

Answer explanation

This air mass is forming over water, and so it is a maritime air mass. Antarctica is located in the highest latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, and so this would be a polar air mass. The correct answer therefore is maritime Polar (mP).

Which part of a hurricane consists of dry, descending air?

• Eye

• Spiral bands

• Eye wall

• There are no dry conditions in a hurricane.

Global circulation patterns of winds and ocean currents, which drive weather systems and, ultimately, climate patterns are created by?

• the Coriolis force.

• frictional force caused by the Earth's spinning on its axis.

• latitudinal energy imbalance between tropical and polar regions.

• the differential heating properties of land and water.

• differential cloud cover over Earth's surface.

Wave cyclones are most common

• in the mid-latitudes.

• in the tropics.

• near the Equator.

• near the North Pole.

• near the South Pole.

A rainshadow is most often associated with which atmospheric lifting mechanism?

• Frontal

• Orographic

• Convectional

• Convergence

Which location experiences greater temperature variability over a year?

• Houston, Texas

• Mangalore, India