Extreme Weather Climate 1st Edition By Ahrens Samson – Test Bank

Chapter 11

Thunderstorms

Multiple Choice Exam Questions

1. All thunderstorms require:
2. hot, humid air
3. divergence of the air aloft
4. lifting along some barrier such as a mountain or front
5. surface heating
6. rising air

ANSWER: e

2. Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when:
3. lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud
4. when all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice
5. when the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft
6. when solar heating at the ground begins to decrease

ANSWER: c

3. An ordinary cell thunderstorm is most intense during the __________ stage.
4. mature
5. multicell
6. cumulus
7. dissipating

ANSWER: a

4. The most likely time for an ordinary call thunderstorm to form is
5. just after sunrise
6. just before sunrise
7. around midnight
8. late afternoon
9. at noon

ANSWER: d

5. A supercell storm is:
6. a thunderstorm that produces several tornadoes
7. a thunderstorm that produces a category F-5 tornado
8. a thunderstorm with an extremely large downburst
9. an enormous thunderstorm that lasts for several hours

ANSWER: d

6. Severe thunderstorms are capable of producing:
7. large hail
8. tornadoes
9. flash floods
10. all of the above

ANSWER: d

7. A Mesoscale Convective Complex is actually:
8. a rapidly rotating tornado cyclone inside a massive thunderstorm
9. another name for a suction vortex
10. a complex display of lightning from distant thunderstorms
11. a family of tornadoes that do a great deal of damage
12. individual thunderstorms that grow into a large, long-lasting weather system

ANSWER: e

8. The downdraft in an ordinary thunderstorm is created mainly by:
9. the melting of snow in the anvil
10. electrical attraction between the cloud and ground
11. the release of latent heat as water in the cloud freezes
12. evaporating raindrops that make the air cold and heavy
13. upper level wind motions

ANSWER: d

9. A small thunderstorm cloud with virga falling out of its base and blowing dust at the ground could warn of a severe hazard to an airplane because:
10. this could be the first indication of a tornado
11. it is likely that hail will soon begin to fall
12. this could indicate an intense downdraft or microburst
13. the airplane could be struck by lightning

ANSWER: c

10. The wind shear associated with several major airline crashes is believed to have been caused by:
11. microbursts
12. dry lines
13. the jet stream
14. mesocyclones

ANSWER: a

11. Squall lines generally do not form:
12. behind a cold front
13. when the air aloft develops waves downwind from a cold front
14. along a dry line
15. in the warm sector where warm, dry air meets warm, humid air
16. ahead of an advancing cold front

ANSWER: a

12. Thunderstorms that move to the right of the winds aloft tend to:
13. form along warm fronts
14. cut off the supply of humid air to thunderstorms to the north of them
15. form in the northern United States and Canada where the Coriolis force is

greatest

1. form near mountains where upper-level winds develop into waves
2. form over water due to the reduced friction there

ANSWER: b

13. Many flash floods, including those that occurred in Rapid City, South Dakota, and in Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon, are the result of thunderstorms that:
14. contain no lightning
15. form in a dry air mass
16. move slowly
17. have weak or non-existent downdrafts

ANSWER: c

14. In the United States, dryline thunderstorms are most common
15. in the Rocky Mountains
16. in the desert southwest
17. in the Great Plains
18. in California
19. in Florida

ANSWER: c

15. Lightning may occur:
16. within a cloud
17. from a cloud to the ground
18. from one cloud to another cloud
19. all of the above

ANSWER: d