Chapter #11 Solutions - Understanding Weather and Climate - James E Burt, Edward Aguado - 7th Edition

1c. What role do leaders play in the formation of lightning? Get solution

1ct. Is charge separation necessary for sheet lightning and/or ball lightning? Get solution

1. Compare the map of annual hailstorms (Figure 7–20) to the map depicting the distribution of lightning flashes (Figure 11-25). Identify the regions where both are frequent, and those (if any) where only hail or thunderstorms frequently occur. Get solution

1rq. How common is cloud-to-ground lightning relative to cloud-to-cloud lightning? Get solution

1va. These maps show tornado concentration (the number of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles of area) over the 20-year period from 1991 to 2001. Map (a) shows the concentration of all tornadoes over the period. Map (b) plots only the larger tornadoes—EF-3 and above....Compare the patterns for Tornado Alley and Dixie Alley in maps (a) and (b). Do the states that have the greatest concentration of all tornadoes also have the highest concentration of EF-3 to EF-5 tornadoes? Which states, if any, stand out? Explain your answers. Get solution

2c. Why do lightning flashes often appear to be single bolts of electricity that move around, when in fact they are not? Get solution

2ct. Why does the environmental lapse rate affect the distance at which “heat lightning” can be observed? Get solution

2. A tornado has a ring of uniform winds of 200 km/hr (120 mph) around the vortex 20 m (66 ft) away from its center. If the tornado moves to the northeast at 50 km/hr (30 mph), what is the effective wind speed on the northwestern and southeastern portions of the tornado? Get solution

2rq. Describe the current theories regarding the formation of charge separation. Get solution

2va. These maps show tornado concentration (the number of tornadoes per 10,000 square miles of area) over the 20-year period from 1991 to 2001. Map (a) shows the concentration of all tornadoes over the period. Map (b) plots only the larger tornadoes—EF-3 and above....Why do you think Florida’s incidence of strong torna-does is so different from its incidence of all tornadoes?(Hint: Think of the conditions in which waterspouts form.) Get solution

3c. Describe four types of electrification that occur in the atmosphere other than lightning. Get solution

3ct. You are outside on a sunny afternoon and observe a thunderstorm far to the west. An hour later, the storm passes over you. Is this more likely to have been an air mass thunderstorm or some sort of mesoscale convective system? Get solution

3. On a regular basis, go to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) website at www.spc.noaa.gov and note the location of all current severe thunderstorm or tornado watches. Then go to one of the web pages mentioned in this book’s website to observe surface weather maps, satellite images, and radar return maps. Describe the position of the watch area relative to what the maps and images depict. Get solution

3rq. What is the difference between a lightning stroke and a lightning flash? Get solution

4c. Explain how measuring the elapsed time between the appearance of lightning and hearing thunder can provide information on the distance to the lightning. Get solution

4ct. In what fundamental ways are gust fronts different from passing cold fronts? Get solution

4rq. Describe the sequence by which electrical imbalances lead to lightning strokes. Get solution

5c. Describe the best safety measures to take during lightning storms. Get solution

5ct. Why is the incidence of thunderstorms much lower near the Pacific coast than at the Atlantic coast? Get solution

5rq. Briefly describe the following phenomena:a. ball lightningb. St. Elmo’s firec. spritesd. blue jets Get solution

6c. Why do automobiles provide relative safety in thunderstorms? Get solution

6ct. What conditions east of the Rocky Mountains promote a much greater incidence of tornadoes than exists in western North America? Get solution

6rq. What causes thunder? Get solution

7c. What are the necessary conditions for the formation of an air mass thunderstorm? Get solution

7ct. Why is it not possible for a mesocyclone to occur within an air mass thunderstorm? Get solution

7rq. Why is the term beat lightning misleading? Get solution

8c. What is the series of steps that leads to the formation of a mature air mass thunderstorm? Get solution

8ct. Why is it extremely unlikely that a tornado will move from east to west? Get solution

8rq. What are the three stages of an air mass thunderstorm? Get solution

9c. Identify the two types of mesoscale convective systems and explain how they differ from each other and from supercells Get solution

9ct. Other than their location with respect to land versus water, how do waterspouts differ from tornadoes? Get solution

9rq. How big are air mass thunderstorms and how long do they usually persist? Get solution

10c. What are drylines and why are they important? Get solution

10rq. Explain why some thunderstorms have short life spans and yield little damage and others are able to develop into severe thunderstorms. Get solution

11c. Briefly define each of the following terms in your own words: MCCs, squall line, supercell. Get solution

11rq. Describe the following types of storm systems:a. mesoscale convective systemsb. squall linesc. mesoscale convective complexesd. super/cells Get solution

12c. How are downbursts, derechos, microbursts, and haboobs similar? How are they different? Get solution

12rq. How are outflow boundaries formed, and what effect do they have? Get solution

13c. What are flash floods and how are they different from other floods? Get solution

13rq. Describe the processes that lead to tornado development in supercell and nonsupercell storms. Get solution

14c. Describe why flash floods and other floods are potentially dangerous, and how humans can minimize their risk from these events. Get solution

14rq. What features of Doppler radar make it an effective tool for severe storm forecasting? Get solution

15c. From a global perspective, where are the conditions necessary for the formation of a thunderstorm most commonly found? Explain. Get solution

15rq. What are hook echoes and vaults, and why are they important? Get solution

16c. Look at Figure 11-26. What can you infer about climate in the United States from the distribution of annual mean number of days with thunder? Get solution

16rq. Explain how microbursts form and why they present a serious threat to aviation. Get solution

17c. What type of weather situation most often leads to the formation of a large, destructive tornado? Get solution

17rq. Describe the location and timing of tornadoes in North America. Get solution

18c. In what way are mesocyclones associated with tornadoes? Get solution

18rq. Describe the process of tornado formation from supercell storms. Get solution

19c. What factors account for the distribution of tornadoes in Figure 11-34? Get solution

19rq. What are wall clouds, and why is their appearance a cause for concern? Get solution

20c. In your own words, describe the level of damage associated with each level of the enhanced Fujita scale. Get solution

20rq. What is the leading threat to human safely when tornadoes hit? Get solution

21c. Look at the map in Figure 11–42. What factors might account for the state-to-state differences in tornado fatalities per year? Explain. Get solution

21rq. Describe the enhanced Fujita scale for classifying tornadoes. Which category is most common? What is the highest EF-value that can actually occur in nature? Get solution

22c. In terms of assessing the risk of a tornado, what is the difference between a severe thunderstorm watch and a tornado warning? Get solution

22rq. What is the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning? Get solution

23c. What is the value of convective outlook maps in predicting the risk of tornadoes for an area on a given day? Explain. Get solution

23rq. How do waterspouts compare to tornadoes, on average, in terms of intensity? Get solution

24c. What differentiates waterspouts from tornadoes? Get solution

25c. How do waterspouts form? Get solution