Weather and Climate Pearson Plus Concept

Concept check 12.1 1)What role does the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) serve? maintains a constant vigil for severe weather, including thunderstorms and tornadoes, as well as heavy snowfall. 2)List the major steps involved in providing weather forecasts collecting and assimilating by the NECP (make predictions about the future state of the atmosphere -fine-tune the data by correcting as many errors and omissions as possible. -smoothing data -weather analysis. -the predictive, or forecast, phase. -predict the atmospheric conditions at the end of the forecast period -dissemination of a wide variety of forecasts. 3)How do broadcast meteorologists differ from meteorologists who prepare weather forecasts? Meteorologists work in offices, they research environments and collect/ analyze weather data. A weatherman just reports weather, alerts, conditions and shows it on weather channel/tv Concept check 12.2 1)What agency is responsible for gathering weather information on a global scale? The WMO World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) 2)List the main sources of surface weather data. NWS, NOAA, WMO, NCEP, NDBC, UTC, ASOS 3)What is the primary source of weather data used to plot upper-level weather charts? Automated Surface Observing Systems Concept check 12.3 1)What information can forecasters glean from 850-mb maps? 700-mb? 500-mb? 300- or 200mb? Shows conditions near the surface 2)Explain the difference between zonal and meridional airflow. Zonal flow follows a pattern along latitudinal lines, latitudinal circles (west to east). Meridional flow follows a pattern from north to south, or s to n Concept check 12.4 1)Briefly describe the basis of numerical weather prediction a technique that employs complex computer programs to make a weather forecast. 2)What are prognostic charts? Forecast charts that the NWS produces. (machine generated maps predict atmospheric condition) (depict surface weather features such as fronts, high-and low-pressure systems, and expected weather events,) 3)What additional information does an ensemble forecast provide over a traditional numerical weather prediction? provides a prior estimate of state-dependent predictability, allows meteorologists to assess uncertainty in a numerical forecast. Concept check 12.5 1)If it is snowing today, what weather might be predicted for tomorrow if the persistence forecasting method is employed? Snow again 2)What term is applied to the very short-range forecasting technique that relies heavily on weather radar and satellites? What type of weather phenomena are typically forecast using this technique? Nowcasting 3)Which technique predicts the weather based on average weather statistics accumulated over many years? climatology Concept check 12.6 1)How do satellites help identify clouds that are likely to produce precipitation? equipped with instruments that sense sunlight reflected from earth producing visible light images. Infrared images are received from radiation 2)What advantage do geostationary satellites have over polar-orbiting satellites? Name one disadvantage. Advantage is geostationary satellite moves at the same rate that Earth rotates and remains stationary over a fixed position on Earth’s surface dis- it has to be at an altitude of over 35,000 km, that's far, need a good signal 3)What advantages do infrared images have over visible light images? Name one disadvantage. used to monitor the weather in both day and night or 24 hrs a day (Vs daylight only) dis - resolution not as good Concept check 12.7 1)How is a quantitative forecast different from a qualitative forecast? Qualitative forecasting is based on opinion & intuition. - Quantitative forecasting uses mathematical models & historical data to make forecasts. 2)Explain the difference between a weather watch and a warning. Watch covers a broad region, and a warning is issued by NWS for a smaller area. 3)What two weather elements are predicted on long-range (monthly) weather charts? Temperature and precipitation. Concept check 12.8 1)Explain AWIPS and briefly describe how it aids forecasters at local Weather Forecast Offices AWIPS is an information processing/communication system that integrates model and observational data (in one place) 2)How are thermodynamic diagrams used to help forecasters? They provide a vertical profile of the dew-point temps and wind in the atmosphere for a certain time and a certain place 3)Describe how cloud cover affects minimum and maximum temperature forecasts. They absorb and redirect longwave radiation back to the surface of the Earth. Day clouds reduce heating. Concept check 12.9 1)What is meant by forecast skill? Give an example of why the percentage of correct forecasts is not always a good measure of forecast skill. It's the accuracy of a set of forecasts rather than forecasts based on just climatic data. It should be able to generate accurate forecasts. 2)Which weather element is forecast as a percentage probability? Precipitation 3)List two reasons why modern forecasting techniques do not accurately predict the weather beyond 7 days for most regions of the United States. network of observing stations and Erroneous data Eye of atmosphere 12.1 1)On which image (A or B) are the cloud shapes and patterns more easily recognized? B 2)Which one of these images was obtained using infrared imagery? How can you tell? B, contrast of white and black 3)What types of clouds are found in the western Great Plains (just east of the Rockies)? cirrus 4)Are the clouds over the eastern Pacific Ocean mainly high clouds or middle- to low-level clouds? High clouds