Atmosphere and Pressure
This layer of the atmosphere is where all weather occurs
What is the troposphere?
This is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated.
What is dew point?
This type of air mass is characterized by warm temperatures.
What is a tropical air mass?
This type of thunderstorm forms from warm, moist air and is often isolated or scattered.
This is a sudden change in wind direction or velocity.
What is wind shear?
These lines on a weather chart connect areas of equal pressure.
What are isobars?
This type of cloud is associated with strong vertical development and can produce severe turbulence, hail, lightning, and tornadoes.
What are cumulonimbus clouds?
This type of air mass is moist because it forms over water.
What is a maritime airmass?
This thunderstorm hazard can occur several miles away from the storm and even when none is present at the surface.
What is hail?
This type of ice is white, rough, and forms when small supercooled drops freeze quickly
What is rime icing?
The closer these lines are together, the stronger the pressure gradient and wind.
What are isobars?
These clouds have a blanket-like appearance with little vertical development.
What are stratus clouds?
This front occurs when opposing air masses are balanced and neither is advancing.
What is a stationary front?
The FAA recommends staying at least this far from a thunderstorm.
What is 20 nm?
This type of turbulence occurs when air flows over mountains and is especially significant on the lee side.
What is mountain wave turbulence?
In the Northern Hemisphere, this force causes moving objects to be deflected to the right.
What is the Coriolis Force?
This type of fog forms when warm, moist air moves over a cooler surface and is common along coastlines.
What is advection fog?
This type of front typically produces widespread, steady precipitation ahead of the front and occurs when warm air advances and replaces colder air.
What is a warm front?
These three conditions are necessary for a thunderstorm to form.
What is sufficient water vapor, unstable air, and a lifting mechanism?
This is the most dangerous type of structural ice because it is hard, heavy, and difficult to remove.
What is clear ice?
This phenomenon occurs when temperature increases with altitude instead of decreasing, creating very stable air.
What is a temperature inversion?
This term describes the amount of water vapor actually present in the air compared with the maximum amount the air could hold at that temperature.
What is relative humidity?
This boundary forms when a cold, dense air mass advances and forces a warmer air mass to rise rapidly, often producing a narrow band of intense weather.
What is a cold front?
During a microburst, describe what happens to an aircraft’s performance as it transitions from an initial headwind to a tailwind.
What is an initial increase in performance from headwind followed by decrease in performance due to downdraft and then a further decrease in performance due to transition to tailwind?
This is icing that decreases engine performance.
What is induction icing?