Exam 9: Weather Forecasting

A probability forecast that calls for a "40 percent chance of rain" means that ____.

Suppose that where you live the middle of January is typically several degrees warmer than the rest of the month. If you forecast this "January thaw" for the middle of next January, you would have made a ____.

High pressure systems tend to move toward the region of greatest ____.

Exhibit 9-1 The following questions refer to the above illustration of a mid-latitude cyclone (the dashed lines show the positions of the fronts 6 hours ago). Consider the accompanying figure. At which of the four positions would you expect to hear the following 12-hour forecast?

Predicting the weather by weather types employs which forecasting method?

Weather observations made by most countries of the world are shared and distributed globally by international agencies.

Smaller grid spacing ____ the resolution of computer forecasting models.

Geographical features on the earth such as mountain ranges do not have much effect on the weather because the features are small compared to the thickness of the atmosphere.

A persistence forecast could be quite accurate when ____.

Exhibit 9-1 The following questions refer to the above illustration of a mid-latitude cyclone (the dashed lines show the positions of the fronts 6 hours ago). Consider the accompanying figure. At which of the four positions would you expect to hear the following 12-hour forecast?

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. A WATCH | WARNING indicates that hazardous weather is either imminent or actually occurring within the specified forecast area.

Under what circumstances would the National Weather Service issue a tornado watch?

For a forecast to show ____, it should be better than one based solely on the current or the "normal" weather.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. A METEOGRAM | SOUNDING is a two-dimensional vertical profile of temperature, dew point, and winds.

A high pressure system that tends to persist in the same geographic location for many days is referred to as a ____.

A weather forecast that predicts that future weather will be the same as present weather is called ____.

Forecast models have a hard time predicting ____.

Most computer models produce forecasts for only one grid point.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Surface pressure systems tend to move in the same direction as the wind at 5500 m and at about THE SAME | HALF the speed.

The least accurate forecast method of predicting the weather two days into the future during changeable weather conditions is usually the ____.