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Camas MiniSO Invitational — Meteorology

Meteorology · Division B · Camas MiniSO Invitational · 2021

72 questions · 110 points · 50 min· 2 questions from the original omitted

Original test source

Welcome all! This test is designed to test your knowledge on Meteorology, with a focus on severe storms. This test may be more difficult than the Meteorology test I wrote last year. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of questions for people at every study level. I'm so glad that I can write this test, and that you can take it, so be sure not to waste this opportunity and do your best. Be sure to follow the instructions below and within the test closely.

Part-I General Knowledge

FigureFor questions 1–10

Cloud identification image (A-H).

Question 1

1 pt

Lets start with something simple, cloud types. Identify each of these clouds, starting with A:

Question 2

1 pt

Now B,

Question 3

1 pt

Identify the part labeled C in the figure.

Question 4

1 pt

Identify the part labeled D in the figure.

Question 5

1 pt

Identify the part labeled E in the figure.

Question 6

1 pt

Identify the part labeled F in the figure.

Question 7

1 pt

Identify the part labeled G in the figure.

Question 8

1 pt

And finally, H:

Question 9

1 pt · select all that apply

Which of these is the most likely to be associated with severe weather? (hint: it's not G)

Question 10

3 pts

As you can see if you look at the graphic a bit more closely, the shape of the clouds seems to commomly make a line at 600 ft. You have probably seen this effect where clouds have flat bottoms at a common elevation in real life as well. Why does this happen?

Question 11

1 pt

Which of these atmospheric layers is closest to the ground (lowest elevation)?

Question 12

1 pt

Which of these is the farthest away from earth (highest elevation)?

Question 13

1 pt

How many stages are there in a thunderstorm's life cycle

Question 14

3 pts

List these stages, in order:

Question 15

1 pt

Which of these stages has the heaviest period of rainfall?

Question 16

1 pt

In which of these stages are tornadoes most likely to occur?

Question 17

1 pt

Define Wind Shear (sometimes known as Wind Gradient).

Question 18

1 pt

Define a hook echo:

Question 19

1 pt

How is hail formed?

Question 20

1 pt

A tornado has torn the roofs off of houses, destroyed mobile homes, snapped and uprooted trees, and tossed cars. However, most stories of houses are intact, and no building that had a foundation was uprooted. What EF rating does this tornado warrant?

Question 21

1 pt

A tornado in has wind speeds of 156 MPH. What EF rating does this tornado receive?

Question 22

1 pt

What does EF stand for?

Question 23

1 pt

The first cloud formation of a tornado is called what?

Question 24

1 pt

How long does a microburst last?

Question 25

1 pt

What direction do microbursts travel?

Question 26

1 pt

How large does a microburst have to be to become a Macroburst?

Question 27

1 pt

You see lightning, but hear no thunder. What is this called, and why?

Question 28

1 pt · select all that apply

What are the most dangerous things about a haboob?

Question 29

1.5 pts

You are driving, when you realize you are stuck in a supercell storm. Your friend in the backseat says that you should try and find the eye of the storm in order to be safe. Why is this bad advice?

Question 30

2 pts

If a hurricane is coming to a shore, what is the first danger that the people living there will experience?

Question 31

1 pt

True or false: a tornado can occur during a hurricane.

Question 32

1 pt

What is the leading cause of death that is an effect from tropical cyclones?

Question 33

1 pt

True or False: A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when it begins to develop circulation.

Question 34

1 pt · select all that apply

In what year did hurricane Jerry make landfall?

Question 35

1 pt

Which category 5 hurricane that formed in august 28th and reached the southwestern US and Northwestern Bahamas, was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record?

Question 36

1 pt

Which year's hurricane season is the most active on record?

Question 37

1 pt

Why does wind occur?

Question 38

1 pt

What type of front is created when a warm front and a cold front combine in mid-latitude cyclone.

Question 39

1 pt

What type of warning is this flag?

Question 40

1 pt

What about this flag?

Question 41

1 pt

What about this flag?

Question 42

1 pt

What about this flag?

You've got to know this one . . .

Question 43

1 pt

If you see someone trapped in a mudslide, it is important to save them as soon as possible.

Question 44

1 pt

How does doppler radar work?

Question 45

1 pt

People fly planes into hurricanes to get data on them.

Question 46

1 pt

How far ahead is should a weather forecast be to be considered a long-range forecast?

Question 47

1 pt

What direction does the jet stream flow?

Question 48

1 pt

How wide is a mesocyclone?

Question 49

1 pt

Does sitting under a tree help protect you from lighting strikes?

Question 50

1 pt

Tornados can form without a supercell storm.

Question 51

5 pts

Describe the formation of a tornado in as much detail as you can.

Part-II Meteorology Data Analysis

FigureFor questions 52–54

Download the image set from this LINK. Following questions may refer to image sets in this file.

[Image set 1] In March, 2018, there were flooding and strong precipitation in Southwest California driven by a phenomenon called "Atmospheric Rivers." Image set 1 shows the IR images at three different wave lengths (A-C). air mass RGB with overlay of 500 mb contour (D), and IR image at 10.35 micron (E) where strong water vapor and precipitation is marked by the Arrow. Answer the following three questions

Question 52

3 pts

The three wavelengths used in A-C are 6.2um, 7.0um, and 7.3um, respectively. In box below, list the image label that corresponds to 6.2um, 7.0um, and 7.3um, in order.

Question 53

3 pts

Normally the atmospheric river is formed from moisture from west following the Pineapple Express. This particular event was particular strong as it combined with intrusion of moisture from tropical (ITCZ) region.

Compare the level of moisture from Pineapple Express vs. that from ITCZ and explain your reasoning based on the IR band signatures in A-C image.

Question 54

1 pt

In the 500mb airmass map (D), the atmospheric river is on ____ .

Question 56

6 pts

Describe the top three key characteristic differences between tropical Cyclones and extratropical cyclones.

FigureFor questions 57–58

[Image set 3] Tropical cyclones form from unstable disturbances, and are often preceded by cyclonic circulation generation, or cyclogenesis. This image set was captured at an early stage of cyclogenesis. Answering the following two questions.

Question 57

3 pts

Describe parcels shown in red (A), and that shown in blue/green (C). What does the Green signature represents in RGB map at point D?

Question 58

3 pts

Where is the surface low most likely develop among A, B, C? What is the name for the cloud edge that formed a cusp shape between A and C? What is the direction of vertical motion on the west side of the edge?

PassageFor questions 60–62

[Image set 4] Satellite images of different wavelengths can be used to contrast different depth of water vapor as shown in this image set, along with mesonet data at two different locations in Northern Texas. Answer the following questions about observation techniques and weather phenomena.

Question 60

2 pts

The GEOS-16 images are corroborated with mesonet data below at two different sites. Describe how mesonet data are consistent with the bulge features in satellite image.

Question 61

3 pts

Describe briefly what cloud and circulation patterns that can develop from such budge features.

Question 62

2 pts

List major potential severe weather outcomes associated with such features.

FigureFor questions 63–64

[Image set 5] This is an illustration of a meso-convective structure that can be long lived and can cause long swath of damaging winds and occasionally tornadoes. Answer the following three questions.

Question 63

3 pts

What is the name for the feature E? What is feature E likely initiated from?

Question 64

3 pts

Box A points to the strong wind (B) and weaker wind (C) that combine to form the "arrow"-shaped instability region. (1) Which side bring the dry air, B or C? (2) What drives the formation of the cold pool (D) behind feature E? (3) What final shape will feature E typically evolve into?

FigureFor questions 65–70

[Image set 6] Answer the following five questions using the radiosondes data.

Question 65

1 pt

First, which region does this chart most likely represent: inland or oceanic?

Question 66

1 pt

The data show precipitable water of 56.9mm. This is not sufficient to form a supercell storm.

Question 67

1 pt

The CAPE level is 3362 J/kg. This level is sufficient to create condition for convective instability and thunderstorm formation.

Question 68

1 pt

The combined precipitable water and CAPE levels can lead to storm that produce abundant amount of lightning and flash flooding.

Question 69

1 pt

The level of Precipitable water and lowering of dew point at mid-altitude strengthen the updraft and increase hail size.

Question 70

1 pt

Such a sounding profile in a tropical environment will lead to stronger wind gust due to more saturated troposphere.

FigureFor questions 71–73

[Image set 7] The velocity potential anomaly is shown here for a period from May 9 till Aug 7th, plotted vs the longitude. The red/brown color indicates positive anomaly, or higher potential (more subsidence and weaker convection), while the blue colors are where/when the convection is stronger and more rising air motion and rainfall. It also shows as pink dots where tropical cyclones are believed to be initiated in the Atlantics. Answer the following three questions regarding the climatology of hurricanes and Cyclones.

Question 71

2 pts

What is the full name for this Eastward movement that repeat in about 30 days?

Question 72

3 pts

If the lower velocity potential at 200 mb level represents a divergence of flow, how does this enhance the cyclone formation?

Question 73

3 pts

Why is this effect more important for Tropical cyclone formation?

Question 74

3.5 pts

[Final question] Recent studies showed that over the last 50 years, hurricanes in North Atlantic have decayed much more slowly after landfall. And the decay time has a strong positive correlation to global sea surface temperature rise. Based on hurricane formation mechanism, give a physical explanation for the slowdown of decay.