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Radar & Satellite Meteorology Flashcards

7 cards from real CBM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Radar & Satellite Meteorology flashcards as text

  1. The radar reflectivity factor Z for Rayleigh scattering is proportional to the drop diameter raised to which power?

    Answer: Sixth power (D^6)

    Z is the sum of D^6 over particles in a volume, so a few large drops dominate the return.

  2. Why do forecasters use storm-relative velocity (SRM) instead of base velocity when looking for mesocyclones?

    Answer: Removing the storm's motion makes rotational couplets easier to see

    Subtracting storm motion removes the bulk flow, revealing the rotation pattern within the storm.

  3. On a WSR-88D, the Clear Air Mode volume coverage patterns (such as VCP 31/32/35) are mainly designed to:

    Answer: Use slower scans to increase sensitivity for detecting light echoes and boundaries

    Clear Air VCPs use fewer elevation angles and longer dwell time to detect weak returns such as light snow and outflow boundaries.

  4. In GOES infrared imagery, which brightness temperature generally indicates the highest cloud tops?

    Answer: The coldest brightness temperatures

    Temperature usually decreases with height in the troposphere, so the coldest cloud tops are the highest.

  5. At night, which GOES product is commonly used to detect fog and low stratus?

    Answer: The difference between the 3.9 µm shortwave IR and 10.3 µm longwave IR bands

    Water droplets emit less efficiently at 3.9 µm than at 10.3 µm, so liquid cloud stands out in the difference.

  6. A negative split-window difference (about 10.3 µm minus 12.3 µm) in satellite imagery is a classic signature of:

    Answer: Volcanic ash

    Silicate ash particles absorb differently than ice or water, reversing the usual sign of the split-window difference.

  7. A broadcast meteorologist sees a strong velocity couplet only at the 0.5 degree slice far (about 120 miles) from the radar; what limitation should they consider?

    Answer: The beam is several thousand feet above ground and broadened, so low-level rotation may be missed or smoothed

    Beam height and beam width increase with range, so distant storms are sampled well above the surface at coarser resolution.