WX 201 FINAL COMPREHENSIVE STUDY SHEET QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS GRADED A+

WX 201 FINAL COMPREHENSIVE STUDY
SHEET QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GRADED A+

●● Severe Thunderstorm criteria
Answer: Hail ≥ 1 inch, winds ≥ 58 mph, or tornado.


●● Ordinary Thunderstorm
Answer: Short-lived, weak storm with little wind shear.


●● Entrainment
Answer: Mixing of dry air into the storm → strengthens downdrafts via
evaporation cooling.


●● Gust Front
Answer: Cool air boundary spreading outward from storm downdraft.


●● Squall Line
Answer: Long line of thunderstorms ahead of a cold front.


●● Bow Echo

,Answer: Bow-shaped radar pattern → indicates strong straight-line
winds.


●● Derecho
Answer: Long-lasting, widespread damaging windstorm from a squall
line.


●● Mesoscale Convective Complex (MCC)
Answer: Large, long-lived cluster of thunderstorms.


●● Supercell Thunderstorm
Answer: Rotating thunderstorm with a persistent updraft (mesocyclone).


●● Shelf Cloud
Answer: Low, wedge-shaped cloud on storm front.


●● Roll Cloud
Answer: Detached, rolling horizontal cloud.


●● Outflow Boundary
Answer: Boundary between cool storm air and warm surrounding air.


●● Overshooting Top

, Answer: Dome above anvil showing strong updraft.


●● Mammatus Clouds
Answer: Pouch-like clouds under anvil.


●● Downbursts
Answer: Strong downdraft hitting ground and spreading outward.


●● Tornado
Answer: Violently rotating column of air touching ground.


●● Fujita Scale (EF Scale)
Answer: Rates tornado damage from EF0 to EF5.


●● Lightning
Answer: Electrical discharge caused by charge separation in clouds.


●● Thunder
Answer: Sound from rapid air expansion due to lightning heat.


●● Hurricane