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Weather Test Study Guide
1. Two conditions are required for cloud formation are cooling of the air and presence of particles in
the air
2. Large clouds that often produce thunderstorms are called cumulonimbus clouds.
3. Any form of water that falls from clouds is called precipitation.
4. Cold, dry air affecting the northern United States in winter often comes from what type of air mass?
continental polar
5. What kind of weather would a continental tropical air mass that formed over northern Mexico bring to
the southwestern United States? hot and dry
6. The prevailing westerlies, the major wind belts over the continental United States, generally push air
masses in what direction? from west to east
7. When a rapidly moving cold air mass overtakes a slow-moving warm air mass, the result is a(an) cold
front.
8. When a warm air mass and a cold air mass meet and neither can move the other, the result is a(an)
stationary front.
9. When a warm air mass overtakes a cold air mass, it forms a(an) warm front.
10. What is the major difference between cyclones and anticyclone? the direction of their winds
11. Describe the weather associated with an anticyclone. dry and clear
12. A funnel-shaped cloud that originates from thunderstorms and touches Earth’s surface is called a
tornado.
13. Lines on a weather map that join areas of the same temperature are called isotherms.
14. Tornado Alley includes the 6 states of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Texas
15. Hurricanes typically form over what type of area? warm ocean water
16. A “dome” of water that sweeps across the coast where a hurricane lands is called a(an) storm surge.
17. What is one of the best places to seek protection during a tornado? in the basement of a well-built
building
18. Scientists who study weather and try to predict what it will do are called meteorologists.
19. The average, year-after-year conditions of temperature, precipitation, winds, and cloud in an area are
known as its climate.
20. The farther you live from an ocean, the more likely your climate will be a continental climate?
21. Summers are caused by a combination of longer days and more direct rays from the sun.
22. The seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis as Earth revolves around the sun.
23. Climates are classified according to the area’s average precipitation and temperature.
24. The climate on the leeward side of a mountain differs from that on the windward side mostly in the
amount of precipitation.
Be able to identify each air mass.