atmosphere & climatology section 5 Practice Questions Answers Test with Solutions & More Shortcuts

Answer: (b)

1. Willy-willy is a name used by Australians to refer to a dust devil. In the past, it had been used to refer to tropical cyclones. A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone or severe tropical storm that forms in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
2. A typical cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms, and in the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds near the earth’s surface. All Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastal areas are subject to hurricanes. Parts of the Southwest United States and the Pacific Coast also experience heavy rains and floods each year from hurricanes spawned off Mexico.
3. A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean between 180° and 100°E. This region is referred to as the northwest Pacific basin. The United States and its adjacent territories such as the West Indies are threatened by typhoons each year.
4. The mistral is a strong, cold and usually dry regional wind in France, coming from the north or northwest, which accelerates when it passes through the valleys of the Rhone and the Durance Rivers to the coast of the Mediterranean around the Camargue region.

Answer: (d)

The polar easterlies are the dry, cold prevailing winds that blow from the high-pressure areas of the polar highs at the north and south poles towards low-pressure areas within the Westerlies at high latitudes.

Cold air subsides at the pole creating the high pressure, forcing an equatorward outflow of air; that outflow is then deflected westward by the Coriolis Effect.

Answer: (c)

Answer: (a)

The well known Polar-front theory was described by the Bergen school early 20th century. The theory explains the formation, development and life cycles of cyclones.

In short several stages of cyclone development can separately be identified. The polar front arises as a result of cold polar air meeting warm tropical air.

It is a stationary front as the air masses are not moving against each other. Off the coast of eastern North America, especially in winter, there is a sharp temperature gradient between the snow-covered land and the warm offshore currents.

Answer: (a)