American Meteorological Society Certification Mesoscale Meteorology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A bow echo on Doppler radar is associated with what type of hazard?
- Extreme hail
- Damaging straight-line winds and bookend vortices (Correct answer)
- Tornado family outbreak
- Flash flooding only
Correct answer: Damaging straight-line winds and bookend vortices
Bow echoes are bow-shaped radar reflectivity features associated with strong rear-inflow jets and damaging straight-line winds.
Question 2: What causes the hook echo feature on radar associated with supercell thunderstorms?
- Heavy rain wrapping around a low-pressure center
- Rotation in the storm drawing precipitation around the mesocyclone (Correct answer)
- An outflow boundary intersecting a squall line
- Hail core wrapping around a clear air region
Correct answer: Rotation in the storm drawing precipitation around the mesocyclone
The hook echo forms when the supercell's rotating updraft wraps precipitation around the mesocyclone, creating the distinctive hook shape.
Question 3: Mountain waves and associated turbulence are detected most effectively with which tool?
- Surface METAR observations
- Pilot Reports (PIREPs) and upper-air wind analysis (Correct answer)
- Radiosonde humidity profiles
- Lightning detection networks
Correct answer: Pilot Reports (PIREPs) and upper-air wind analysis
PIREPs from aircraft combined with upper-air wind profiles are essential for identifying and forecasting mountain wave turbulence.
Question 4: An outflow boundary is a mesoscale boundary created by what?
- A cold front reaching the surface
- The spreading cool downdraft air from convective storms (Correct answer)
- Orographic flow splitting around mountains
- A sea breeze penetrating inland
Correct answer: The spreading cool downdraft air from convective storms
Outflow boundaries form at the leading edge of cold pool air from thunderstorm downdrafts and can trigger new convection.
Question 5: What is wind shear's primary role in supercell thunderstorm formation?
- It reduces moisture convergence
- It tilts the updraft, separating it from the downdraft and allowing rotation (Correct answer)
- It weakens the updraft over time
- It produces precipitation immediately
Correct answer: It tilts the updraft, separating it from the downdraft and allowing rotation
Wind shear tilts the updraft away from the downdraft, preventing the storm from choking itself and promoting sustained, rotating convection.
Question 6: What is a Mesoscale Convective System (MCS)?
- Any single severe thunderstorm
- A complex of thunderstorms organized on the mesoscale with a contiguous precipitation area (Correct answer)
- A synoptic-scale trough system
- A tropical wave system
Correct answer: A complex of thunderstorms organized on the mesoscale with a contiguous precipitation area
An MCS is a complex of convective storms that forms a large, contiguous precipitation area organized on the mesoscale (100–2000 km).
American Meteorological Society Certification Mesoscale Meteorology 2
A bow echo on Doppler radar is associated with what type of hazard?