Comprehensive Meteorology and Aviation Weather Systems

Comprehensive Meteorology and Aviation Weather Systems Exam A+ Pass Verified 2026 Latest Update Provides weather data, forecasts, and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas - Answer- NWS Provides analysis and forecast products specializing in multiday, quantitative precipitation forecasts, model diagnostics, and surface pressure and frontal analyses - Answer- WPC Conducts research and gathers data about the global oceans, atmosphere, space, and Sun - Answer- NOAA Issues aviation weather forecasts in support of the NAS, including AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Convective SIGMETs, and icing, turbulence, and convective products - Answer- AWC Is where virtually all global meteorological data is collected and analyzed for the United States - Answer- NCEP The Storm Prediction Center is located in __________, OK, and provides _________ and severe weather watches for the CONUS - Answer- Norman, tornado Center Weather Service Units (CWSU) are stationed at and support - Answer- Air Route Traffic Control Centers According to the Aviation Weather Handbook, the NWS has _____ Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) across the United States and select territories - Answer- 122 The NOAA from the reading is the National and Overseas Aviation Administration - Answer- False The NOAA is an agency of the - Answer- Department of Commerce _______________ instability is the state of a column of unsaturated air when the lapse rate is less than dry adiabatic but greater than moist adiabatic - Answer- Conditional If cold air advects at the surface and/or warm air advects aloft, what happens to stability? - Answer- It becomes more stable What two stability indices were covered in class? - Answer- Lifted Index (LI) and Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) Atmospheric _____________ determines whether vertical motion is enhanced or suppressed - Answer- Stability Changes in atmospheric stability are ____________ related to temperature changes with height - Answer- Inversely Absolute stability occurs when the environmental lapse rate is __________ the moist adiabatic lapse rate - Answer- Less than The Level of Free Convection (LFC) is associated with what type of instability? - Answer- Conditional instability Diurnal temperature variations can significantly impact atmospheric stability - Answer- True Which is not a unique type of atmospheric stability? - Answer- All of the above are unique types All clouds contain water, but only some produce precipitation - Answer- True __________ competes with turbulence as the greatest thunderstorm hazard to aircraft - Answer- Hail Hailstones 0.75 inches in diameter or larger can cause significant aircraft damage - Answer- True What are the two precipitation growth processes? - Answer- Collision-coalescence and ice crystal What precipitation occurs with a deep warm layer aloft and a shallow subfreezing layer at the surface - Answer- Freezing rain Collision-coalescence is the primary growth process in mid and high latitudes - Answer- False What precipitation occurs with a shallow warm layer aloft and a deep subfreezing layer at the surface - Answer- Ice pellets Which of the following is a form of precipitation? - Answer- All of the above Significant precipitation usually requires clouds to be at least ______ thick - Answer- 4000 ft Virtually all showers and thunderstorms form in what type of air mass? - Answer- Conditionally unstable What three ingredients are required for thunderstorm formation? - Answer- Uplift, moisture, unstable air Typical thunderstorm life cycle length - Answer- 30 minutes A thunderstorm reaches the __________ stage when precipitation reaches the surface - Answer- Mature What are the three principal thunderstorm types? - Answer- Single cell, multicell, supercell Single-cell thunderstorms are the most common type - Answer- False Maximum updraft speeds in supercell thunderstorms - Answer- 9,000 fpm What is a widespread, long-lived straight-line windstorm? - Answer- Derecho METAR wind direction and speed are averaged over what time period? - Answer- 2 minutes What are the two main automated observing systems in the U.S.? - Answer- AWOS and ASOS What does the METAR qualifier "MI" mean? - Answer- Shallow Automated sky condition is based on ___ minutes; other elements within ___ minutes - Answer- 30; 10 ASOS/AWOS one-minute observations provide instant ceiling and visibility - Answer- False METAR wind direction is coded relative to __________ north - Answer- True AWOS normally generates METARs at what interval? - Answer- 20 minutes A gust is defined as a wind speed fluctuation of ___ knots or more - Answer- 10 What observation type includes automated systems with human oversight? - Answer- Augmented Most aviation satellite imagery comes from which system? - Answer- GOES What are the different kinds of aircraft observations? - Answer- AIREPs and PIREPs AIREPs are normally given manually by pilots to ATC - Answer- False