Ch10 Verified Test Bank Tornadoes, Lightning, Heat, And Cold

Natural Disasters, 11e (Abbott)

Chapter 10 Tornadoes, Lightning, Heat, and Cold

1) Which of the following types of severe weather results in the highest average annual death toll in the United States?

A) heat

B) cold

C) tornado

D) hurricane

E) lightning

2) In the United States, severe weather events kill ________ the combined total killed by earthquakes, volcanoes, and mass movements.

A) less people per year than

B) about the same number of people as

C) more people per year than

3) Severe weather causes about ________ of the yearly deaths and damages from natural disasters.

A) 5%

B) 19%

C) 50%

D) 90%

E) 75%

4) Adiabatic cooling occurs when an air mass ________.

A) rises and expands

B) falls and expands

C) rises and contracts

D) falls and contracts

5) In the Northern Hemisphere, severe winter weather in the midlatitudes is driven mostly by ________; these are air masses rotating counterclockwise about a low-pressure core.

A) tornadoes

B) cyclones

C) derechos

D) anticyclones

E) fronts

6) In March, 1993, an immense cyclone called the "Storm of the Century" wreaked havoc all along the eastern part of North America. This storm was so powerful because ________.

A) there was an unusually cold mass of surface water in the Gulf of Mexico fueling it

B) three air masses collided and were carried along by the jet stream

C) there was an ongoing La Niña event in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

D) an early season heat wave hit the southeastern portion of the United States

E) the Coriolis force was abnormally high that year

7) Thunderstorms occur where warm, moist air has absorbed enough heat and moisture to be significantly ________ than the surrounding air.

A) less dense

B) denser

C) less energetic

D) less electrically charged

E) more electrically charged

8) Thunderstorms wreak havoc with ________.

A) their heavy rains and sometimes flash floods

B) hail

C) lightning-caused deaths and fires

D) high-speed winds

E) All of these choices are correct.

9) The state in the United States with the most days of thunderstorms in a typical year is ________.

A) Texas

B) Florida

C) Illinois

D) Indiana

E) Ohio

10) Many of the United States' and world record rainfalls in the 1- to 24-hour range were established during thunderstorms in ________.

A) Texas

B) Florida

C) Illinois

D) Indiana

E) Ohio

11) Important requirements for hail to form are ________.

A) large thunderstorms with buoyant hot air rising from heated ground

B) upper-level cold air creating maximum temperature contrasts

C) strong updrafts to keep hailstones suspended while adding coatings of ice onto ever-growing cores

D) All of these choices are correct.

E) None of these choices are correct.

12) In the United States, more lightning deaths occur in ________ than any other state. 

A) Texas

B) Florida

C) Illinois

D) Hawaii

E) Ohio

13) In the United States, total deaths from lightning per decade have ________ since the 1940s.

A) been increasing steadily

B) been decreasing steadily

C) remained about the same

D) fluctuated widely

E) been insignificant

14) The basic sequence within a lightning flash includes all but which of the following?

A) Static electricity builds up within the lower thundercloud and induces identical-polarity charges on the ground.

B) Discharge begins within the cloud and initiates a dimly visible, negatively charged stream of electrons propagating downward.

C) The conductive stream moves earthward in 50-meter jumps as a stepped leader; as the stepped leader nears the ground, the electric field at the surface increases greatly, shooting streamers of positive sparks upward and connecting with the stepped leader about 50 meters above ground.

D) The connection initiates the return stroke, sending positive charges up to the cloud with a brilliant flash; more lightning strokes occur as charges flow between the cloud and the ground.

15) Thunder is caused by ________.

A) the compression of free neutrons in the lightning bolt

B) the compression of free photons in the lightning bolt

C) the compression of free electrons in the lightning bolt

D) the combustion of flammable atmospheric gases by the lightning bolt

E) high temperatures of lightning that flash heat the surrounding air, causing it to expand explosively

16) A widespread, powerful windstorm with straight-line winds is referred to as a ________.

A) tornado

B) hurricane

C) typhoon

D) cyclone

E) derecho

17) The highest wind speeds of any weather phenomenon occur in ________.

A) tornadoes

B) hurricanes

C) typhoons

D) cyclones

E) derechos

18) The Great Plains region of the Central United States plays host to about ________ percent of the tornadoes that occur on Earth.

A) 70

B) 10

C) 95

D) 50

E) 25

19) Conditions necessary to turn an ordinary thunderstorm into a tornado-spinning monster include ________.

A) a low-altitude, northerly flow of warm, humid, tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico

B) a cold, dry air mass moving down from Canada or out of the Rocky Mountains at > 50 mph

C) jet-stream winds racing east at speeds in excess of 150 mph

D) All of these choices are correct.

E) a low-altitude, northerly flow of warm, humid, tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico and a cold, dry air mass moving down from Canada or out of the Rocky Mountains at > 50 mph only

20) As rotating winds pull into a tighter and tighter spiral, wind speeds increase due to the conservation of ________.

A) linear momentum

B) kinetic energy

C) potential energy

D) angular momentum

E) conservation of mass

21) Which of the following statements is true regarding the formation of tornadoes?

A) Tornadoes typically form in large single-cell thunderstorms.

B) Supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes about 90% of the time.

C) Powerful tornadoes emerge from wall clouds after developing in the mesocyclone.

D) The release of latent heat is not important in the formation of tornadoes.

E) Cloud masses rotating around downdrafts typically produce tornadoes.

22) The main destructive actions of tornadoes include all but which of the following?

A) High-wind speeds blow away buildings and trees.

B) Winds rushing up the funnel have a lifting force in the updraft.

C) Winds lift off the roof of a house, allowing exposed walls to be knocked over.

D) A strong high-pressure zone in the center blows buildings apart.

23) Tornadoes preferentially kill all but which of the following?

A) teenagers

B) old people

C) mobile-home residents

D) occupants of exterior rooms with windows

E) those unaware of broadcast tornado alerts

24) If you see a tornado or hear a tornado warning, you should take immediate action. Which of the following actions would be a bad choice?

A) Go to a designated shelter.

B) Get under a heavy piece of furniture.

C) Get under an overpass or bridge.

D) Stay away from windows and doors.

E) Cover your head.

25) The Enhanced Fujita Scale ________.

A) ranks tornadoes by their lowest achieved internal pressure

B) quantifies tornado magnitude on an open-ended scale, similar to earthquake magnitude

C) quantifies tornado magnitude based on estimated maximum wind speed

D) quantifies nor'easters based on maximum measured wind speed

E) assesses the severity of lightning strikes based on the electrical current between ground and cloud

26) Tornado outbreaks typically occur when a lengthy collision zone forms between ________ results in the formation of many supercell thunderstorms.

A) a cold front and a high-energy warm air mass

B) warm high-pressure air mass and a cold high-pressure air mass

C) three or more warm fronts

D) a single-cell thunderstorm and a snowstorm

E) three or more hook echos

27) Three tornado outbreaks in the United States during 2011 from 14–16 April, 25–28 April, and 21–27 May each produced tornadoes numbering in the ________.

A) high single digits

B) high double digits

C) low triple digits

D) tens of thousands

28) Tornadoes can and do hit big cities. However, they are hit less often than other areas because big cities are less common in the central part of the United States and ________.

A) cities are relatively small targets relative to the rest of the region

B) the heat island effect limits tornado development

C) cities are often built in areas sheltered from tornadoes by geography

D) the electromagnetic energy they emit creates a partially effective tornado shield

E) unusually good luck

29) High humidity during a heat wave is particularly bad because ________.

A) it causes a slow unraveling of DNA strands

B) the heat capacity of water increases

C) latent heat is absorbed from the skin as dew forms on it

D) there is less cooling moisture in the air

E) the evaporation of sweat is slowed

30) Warning signs of hyperthermia include high body temperature, mental confusion, fainting, and dry skin with a rapid or slow pulse.

31) The urban heat island effect creates a high-pressure cell over a city.

32) Descending warm air increases the fire risk in an area by drying potential fuel for the fire since the air has a low relative humidity.

33) If you are caught outside in a lightning storm, it is better to lie down flat on the ground with your arms extended than it is to squat down on the balls of your feet while covering your ears with your hands.

34) Lightning can move between clouds and within a single cloud; it does not have to move between the clouds and the ground.

35) A building destroyed by a tornado likely lost its roof before the walls were knocked over.

36) A hook echo in the radar imagery of a supercell thunderstorm indicates the storm is no longer capable of producing tornadoes.

37) A difference between a single-cell thunderstorm and a supercell thunderstorm is the latter is tilted.

38) From 1977-2016, ________ of severe weather deaths can be tied to winter storms/cold.

A) 50%

B) 17%

C) 7%

D) 34%

39) In the last 10 years (2007-2016), there has been an increase in the average tornado related deaths compared to the average of the previous 30 years (1987-2016).

40) The average number of billion dollar weather events increased almost ________ during the last 7 years (2011-2016) as compared to the previous 40 years (1980-2010).

A) 10 times

B) 2 times

C) 7 times

D) 3 times

41) The year 2005 holds the record for the most dollar losses at $215 billion.

42) From 1980-2017, there were ________ billion dollar loses due to weather and climate related disasters.

A) 190

B) 19

C) 1900

D) 109

43) Which of the following can be related to deaths during the January 1998 ice storm in Canada?

A) carbon monoxide poisoning

B) house fires

C) falling ice

D) hypothermia

E) All the options are correct.

44) In 2011 alone, ________ EF-5 tornadoes were documented.

A) 1

B) 2

C) 4

D) 6

45) From 1950-2016, Texas recorded the most tornado-related deaths.

46) During the tornado outbreak of 14-16 April 2011, Alabama reported the most tornado-related deaths.

47) During 25-28 April 2011, the largest ever tornado outbreak occurred, producing ________ tornadoes in 21 states.

A) 35

B) 156

C) 294

D) 358

48) Tornado damages from the 25-28 April 2011 tornado outbreak reached $11 billion.

49) During the 21-27 May 2011 tornado outbreak, 160 people died in ________.

A) Piedmont, OK

B) Joplin, MO

C) Manhattan, KS

D) Cape Girardeau, MO