Meteorology
Study Guide
Exam 3

Read Chapters 8-15, study the vocabulary terms, and review your lecture notes.

ADDITIONAL HINTS:

• What direction do mid-latitude cyclones move across North America?
• Define a hurricane by wind speed.
• Know the characteristics of an occluded front, a cold front, and a warm front.
• What are air mass source regions?
• What is the sequence of clouds you experience as a warm front approaches?
• What conditions are necessary to form a tropical cyclone?
• What forecasting method is best suited for predicting the weather more than one month in advance?
• Know the letter codes for describing air masses (i.e. cP, mP, cT, etc.)
• If an air mass is warmer than the surface over which it passes, is it stable or unstable? What if it is colder than the surface over which it passes?
• What time of the year do tornados occur most frequently? Where are they most common in our country?
• What is a typhoon?
• What occurs in the eye of a hurricane?
• What time of the year are hurricanes most common in the Northern Hemisphere? Are they generally larger or smaller than mid-latitude cyclones?
• Understand the general characteristics of the Astronomical Theory of climate change.       
• What are the two major variables in the Koppen Climate System?   
• Of the major climate groups in the Koppen System, which one is not humid?
• Why are there so many deserts at 30º latitude?
• Even though subarctic and tundra climates generally have small precipitation totals, why are they still considered to be humid climates?
• What factors increase the concentration in of air pollution in the atmosphere?
• What are waterspouts?
• What latitudes are geostationary weather satellites best suited for observing atmospheric conditions?       
• Does the Theory of Plate Tectonics offer a possible explanation for the discovery of tropical fossils that currently lie in colder climates?         
• What happens to ocean currents during an El Nino?
• Can lightning occur within the same cloud?
• What happens in the cumulus stage of thunderstorm development?
• What is a squall line?
• Understand the difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch.
• Define the term acid precipitation in terms of pH value.
• Know the characteristics of all the climate types discussed in class. (i.e. Mediterranean, desert, tundra, etc.)
• You will have a matching section on the hypothetical continent.
• You will have five questions on climate classification using monthly data.
• You will have a matching section on the weather in various locations in a mid-latitude cyclone.
• There will be no essay question on this final.