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Date of Test_____________ HRT______________________
WEATHER UNIT STUDY GUIDE
1. What are clouds?
Clouds are water vapor that has condensed back to liquid water and join up
with dust or smoke.
2. What is fog (cloud type and water cycle stage)?
Fog is a stratus cloud at ground level. It is the condensation part of the water
cycle.
3. What are condensation and precipitation? How do they influence weather?
Condensation is water vapor that has cooled and turned back into liquid
water.
Precipitation is water in any form falling from a cloud.
These are both important because they move water around our world and
cause clouds that affect temperature.
4. List the tools used to measure temperature, air pressure, wind speed, wind direction and
precipitation.
Temperature – thermometer
Air pressure – barometer
Wind speed – anemometer
Humidity – hygrometer
Wind direction – wind vane
Precipitation – rain gauge
5. What is the person called who studies and forecasts weather?
Meteorologist
6. Describe the four types of fronts and draw the symbol for each:
Warm Front
Cold Front
Occluded Front
Stationary Front
Cold Front- The front of a cold air mass that brings severe storms and drier cooler
weather once it has passed.
Warm Front- The Front of a warm air mass that brings light rain or snow over long
periods of time and warmer moist air once it has passed.
Stationary Front – when a cold front and warm front meet moving in opposite
directions and neither has the force to push the other out of the way.
Occluded Front – When a fast moving cold front overtakes another cold front
pushing the warm air between them upwards.
7. What would the weather most likely be when a cold air mass meets a warm air mass?
Thunderstorms and cooler weather
8. What would the weather most likely be when a warm air mass meets a cold air mass?
light rain or snow and warmer weather
9. Define weather and climate and explain the difference between them.
Weather is what the lower atmosphere is like hourly or daily.
Climate is the average weather in a specific location over a long period of time.
10. What is air pressure? What can influence air pressure?
Air pressure is the force put on an object or area by the air weight of the air above
it. Temperature, humidity and altitude influence air pressure.
11. What is a jet stream and how does it influence global weather?
The jet stream is a strong upper level wind about 5 to 7 miles above the earth that
is the boundary between cold arctic air and warmer equatorial air. This helps move
weather from west to east in the US.
12. What is the Coriolis Effect? What type of winds does the Coriolis Effect influence?
The Coriolis Effect is the apparent curving of wind caused by the spinning of the
Earth. It affects Trade winds, Mid-latitude westerlies and polar easterlies. In the
northern hemisphere winds curve to the right.
13. What does an “H” and an “L” symbolize on a weather map? What weather does each system
bring?
H is the symbol for a High Pressure system that brings clear weather.
L is the symbol for Low Pressure Systems that bring clouds and sometimes
precipitation.
14. What direction does a high-pressure system move?
High Pressure systems spin clockwise in the northern hemisphere. They Move
west to east in North America.
15. What direction does a low-pressure system move?
Low Pressure Systems rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
They Move west to east in North America.
16. What is El Nino and how does it affect weather?
El Nino is abnormally warm Pacific Ocean water that is poor in nutrients and
causes low pressure and storms on the west coast of South and North America. It
also causes droughts in Indonesia and Australia.
17. What is La Nina and how does it affect weather?
La Nina is abnormally cold Pacific Ocean water that causes droughts on the west
coast of South and North America. It also causes flooding in Indonesia and
Australia.
18. What is the Gulf Stream and how does it affect weather patterns?
The gulf stream is a current of very warm water flowing up from the equator
through the Gulf of Mexico and along the eastern Florida coast. It passes the
southern coast of the US and travels across the Atlantic Ocean once it leaves
the coast of North Carolina. It warms the climate the Southern US and Europe.
19. Describe a sea breeze and how it is formed. Include a diagram.
A Sea Breese is a breeze that flows from the sea to land. It is caused by low
pressure over land and high pressure over the water. This is caused by the land
becoming hotter that the sea during the day.
20. Describe a land breeze and how it is formed. Include a diagram.
A Land Breeze is a breeze that flows from the land to the sea. It is caused by low
pressure over the sea and high pressure over the land. This is caused by the sea
becoming hotter that the land during the night.
21. List the corresponding seasons in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres below:
Northern Hemisphere
Summer
Spring
Winter
Fall
Southern Hemisphere
Winter
Fall
Summer
Spring
22. Describe each of the following types of clouds and include a picture: cumulonimbus, cirrus,
cumulus, and stratus.
Cumulonimbus is also called a thunderhead and brings severe weather and
heavy rain.
Cirrus is a high wispy cloud in the upper troposphere made of ice crystals.
Cumulus are Puffy “cotton ball” looking clouds that are associated with nice
weather.
Stratus are blanket like clouds that are in the lower troposphere that bring light
rain or snow.