MET 101 – Introduction to Meteorology Homework # 3

MET 101 – Introduction to Meteorology Homework # 3 Fall Semester 2014 Name:_______________________________ Student ID #: _______________________ Due: Thursday, November 13th at the end of class Total Points Attainable: 25 Mid‐Latitude Cyclones 1. (3 points) Common Characteristics of Cyclones: a) (0.5 point) Complete the following sentence: A cyclone is also is known as a ___________________. b) (0.5 point) How is the center of a cyclone identified on a weather map? ______________________. c) (2 points) Describe, in the space to the right, the weather conditions that you would experience if drove from Point A  B  C  D  E in the figure shown below: MET 101 Griswold
1
2) (2 points) Associated Air Masses and Fronts: The diagram on the next page depicts a model cyclone with associated fronts and air masses. Answer the following questions by labeling the diagram itself. 

Label air mass #1 and air mass #2 (as was done for air mass #0) (0.5 point each) Label the types of fronts represented by front #3 and front #4 (0.5 point each) #1 = ______________________________ #2 = ______________________________ #3 = ______________________________ #4 = _______________________________ 3) (5 points) Wind Patterns (2.5 points) a) Describe the general wind pattern (in words) associated with cyclones. (2.5 points) b) Sketch the wind pattern of a typical Mid‐latitude cyclone on the diagram below: MET 101 Griswold
2
4) (5 points) Thunderstorms a) (1 point) What kind of environment is favorable for thunderstorm formation? Be sure to comment on airmass type and stability. b) (3 points) What characteristics are observed during each of the three stages of an air mass thunderstorm? Sketch the wind pattern in each diagram below. Provide the verbal explanation of what is going on during that stage. c) (1 point) How are overshooting tops generated AND what do they look like in satellite imagery? MET 101 Griswold
3
5) (5 points) Lightning and Thunder (gasp! a tiny bit of math) a) (2 points) If we know that sound travels at 1000 ft per second, how far away is a storm who’s thunder is heard 10 seconds after the lightning flash? b) (1 point) What is heat lightning? c) (2 points) Fill in the blanks: There are different kinds of lightning. _____________________________ lightning occurs when lightning connects from the cloud to the surface. Lightning from one cloud to another is called ________________________ , while lightning within the same cloud is known as _______________. The flash of light that we see and recognize as lightning is actually the ________________________ since the initial step leader is invisible. 5) (5 points) Tornadoes Based on the description of damages provided below, rate each event according to the traditional (not modified) Fujita Scale (there can be more than one or none of each type): Fujita Rating Damage Description In Joplin, Mississippi in 2011 ~25% of the town was destroyed including the complete destruction of 7,000 homes and 2,000 buildings (including steel). In 2005 a tornado touched down in Aiea, Oahu breaking only a few tree branches and signs. A tornado passes, flipping cards, tearing off roofs but not destroying frame houses. The estimated maximum wind speed was 180 mph. In 1967 during the Oak Lawn outbreak, several tornadoes damaged frame houses but left steel‐reinforced structures standing. In Brooklyn, in 2007, a tornado uprooted several trees and damaged weak structures like sheds, but did not damage any houses. MET 101 Griswold
4