test

Practice Test Questions Ch 14

____ 1. Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when:

a.	lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud
b.	when all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice
c.	when the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft
d.	when solar heating at the ground begins to decrease

____ 2. A supercell storm is:

a.	a thunderstorm that produces several tornadoes
b.	a thunderstorm that produces a category F-5 tornado
c.	a thunderstorm with an extremely large downburst
d.	an enormous thunderstorm that lasts for several hours

____ 3. A Mesoscale Convective Complex is actually:

a.	a rapidly rotating tornado cyclone inside a massive thunderstorm
b.	another name for a suction vortex
c.	a complex display of lightning from distant thunderstorms
d.	a family of tornadoes that do a great deal of damage
e.	individual thunderstorms that grow into a large, long-lasting weather system

____ 4. The downdraft in an ordinary thunderstorm is created mainly by:

a.	the melting of snow in the anvil
b.	electrical attraction between the cloud and ground
c.	the release of latent heat as water in the cloud freezes
d.	evaporating raindrops that make the air cold and heavy
e.	upper level wind motions

____ 5. The wind shear associated with several major airline crashes is believed to have been caused by:

____ 6. Squall lines generally do not form:

a.	behind a cold front
b.	when the air aloft develops waves downwind from a cold front
c.	along a dry line
d.	in the warm sector where warm, dry air meets warm, humid air
e.	ahead of an advancing cold front

____ 7. In cloud-to-ground lightning, the stepped leader travels ____ and the return stroke travels ____ .

____ 8. The upper part of a thunderstorm cloud is normally ____ charged, and the middle and lower parts are ____ charged.

____ 9. If you see a lightning stroke and then, 15 seconds later, hear the thunder, the lightning is about ____ miles away.

____ 10. A funnel cloud is composed primarily of:

____ 11. Which below is the best indication that a severe thunderstorm is about to produce a tornado?