Ch11 Test Questions & Answers Hurricanes

Natural Disasters, 11e (Abbott)

Chapter 11 Hurricanes

1) The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season broke many all-time records, including all but which of the following?

A) greatest number of named storms in one season

B) greatest number of tropical storms before August 1

C) greatest number of hurricanes in one season

D) greatest number of major hurricanes making landfall in U.S.

E) greatest number of deaths in one season

2) The deadliest hurricane in U.S. history struck ________ in 1900 killing 8,000 people. 

A) New Orleans, Louisiana,

B) Galveston, Texas,

C) Charleston, South Carolina,

D) Palm Beach, Florida,

E) Key Largo, Florida,

3) As of early 2016, Hurricane Katrina (2005) is the most costly and third most deadly natural disaster in the United States since 1900. Scientists thought a hurricane strike causing a disaster like this one in New Orleans ________.

A) was impossible

B) would happen if preparation for the coming disaster did not occur

C) was only a remote possibility and not worth worrying about

D) was preventable by steering the hurricane away from populated areas

4) Requirements for a hurricane to develop include all but which of the following?

A) seawater with a temperature of at least 27°C in the upper 60 m of the ocean

B) Air must be unstable, warm, and humid.

C) weak upper-level winds, preferably blowing in the same direction the developing storm is moving

D) The storm must be at least 200 km from the equator.

5) Hurricanes rotate in a ________ around a central core in the Northern Hemisphere. 

A) clockwise direction

B) counterclockwise direction

C) back-forth motion

D) vertical pattern

E) zigzag pattern

6) Rank the following in order of increasing strength.

A) tropical depression, tropical storm, tropical disturbance, and hurricane

B) hurricane, tropical depression, tropical storm, and tropical disturbance

C) tropical disturbance, tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane

D) hurricane, tropical depression, tropical disturbance, and tropical storm

E) tropical storm, tropical depression, tropical disturbance, and hurricane

7) As a hurricane forms, converging surface winds meet at the central core, which acts like a chimney sending ________.

A) warm, moist air flowing rapidly upward

B) warm, moist air flowing rapidly downward

C) cool, dry air flowing rapidly upward

D) cool, dry air flowing rapidly downward

8) As a hurricane forms, the air ________.

A) rises, cools, and releases latent heat, cooling down the hurricane's core

B) rises, cools, and releases latent heat, further heating up the hurricane's core

C) rises, warms, and releases latent heat, further heating up the hurricane's core

D) falls, cools, and releases latent heat, further heating the underlying water

9) A hurricane acts as a heat engine, transferring heat from the ________.

A) warm, moist air above tropical seas into the core of the hurricane

B) core of the hurricane into the warm, moist air above tropical seas

C) warm, moist air above tropical seas into the bottom of the sea, where it stirs up turbulence

D) core of the hurricane into the tropical seas, where additional energy is picked up from water depths below 200 feet, amplifying the strength of the storm

E) low-pressure zones in the core to low-pressure zones on the periphery

10) A hurricane is defined as a large area of sustained winds greater than 119 km/hr this is the wind speed at which ________.

A) canvas sails on sailboats start to rip

B) storm surge starts to be a problem

C) Saffir and Simpson agreed to compromise 

D) the center of the storm develops a calm area known as the eye

E) atmospheric particles collide and coalesce

11) Inside the eye of a well-developed hurricane ________.

A) air rises

B) there is heavy rain

C) there is a near-perfect vacuum

D) air sinks and adiabatically warms

E) there are strong winds

12) The air in the eye of a hurricane ________, leaving the core clear and cloud-free.

A) sinks, warms, and absorbs moisture

B) rises, cools, and absorbs moisture

C) rises, cools, and expels moisture

D) sinks, warms, and expels moisture

E) is stable

13) The strongest winds in a hurricane are ________.

A) in the eye

B) in the eye wall

C) typically about 100 miles away from the eye

D) on the left-hand side of the storm (looking in the direction the hurricane is moving)

14) At the top of a hurricane, upper-level air is ________ outside of the eye wall.

A) diverging

B) descending

C) converging

D) stationary

15) Which of the following is a rotating, low-pressure weather system with a warm core that generally forms over warm seawater between 5° and 20° latitude and then travels off to deliver its heat to higher latitudes?

A) hurricanes

B) typhoons

C) southern Hemisphere cyclones

D) All of these choices are correct.

16) The Saffir-Simpson Scale is used to measure the intensity of ________.

A) tropospheric jet streams

B) hurricanes

C) high-pressure zones

D) dust storms

E) tornadoes

17) The Saffir-Simpson Scale is numbered 1 to 5 with ________ wind speeds.

A) smaller numbers indicating lower pressure and higher

B) larger numbers indicating lower pressure and higher

C) larger numbers indicating higher pressure and lower

D) smaller numbers indicating higher pressure and lower

18) Hurricanes are called major hurricanes if ________.

A) they make landfall at high tide

B) are classified as category 3 or above on the Saffir-Simpson Scale

C) the wind speeds are at least 120 km/hr

D) last more than 4 days

E) they have air pressures greater than 980 millibars

19) The main influences on tropical cyclone paths include all but which of the following?

A) Trade winds blow the tropical cyclone toward the west.

B) The Coriolis effect adds a curve to the right that progressively increases in strength with increasing distance to the equator.

C) Hurricane paths vary depending on the size and position of the Bermuda High.

D) the presence or absence of large cargo ships in their paths

E) They adjust to high- and low-pressure systems they encounter.

20) As they approach North America, hurricanes commonly move north on clockwise-curving paths due to the ________.

A) Coriolis effect

B) conservation of angular momentum

C) Hadley cell's pattern of air circulation

D) Bermuda High

E) pressure-gradient force

21) Which of the following conditions leads to a prediction for a greater number of named storms in the Atlantic Ocean?

A) when storms in the western Sahel region of Africa provide more nuclei for hurricanes

B) abnormally warm sea-surface temperatures in hurricane forming areas

C) la Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean

D) low atmospheric pressure in the Caribbean region

E) All of these choices are correct.

22) Based on the historic record, ________ is month in which a deadly hurricane is most likely to make landfall in the United States. 

A) October

B) July

C) August

D) September

E) November

23) Most deaths in tropical cyclones (hurricanes, typhoons, etc.) are the result of ________.

A) wind-blown debris

B) direct hit by tornadoes

C) inland flooding

D) sea surges

E) coastal subsidence

24) If you are on the "right-hand side" of the tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere you experience the ________.

A) speed of the storm body plus the wind speed

B) wind speed minus the storm motion

C) storm motion only

D) wind speed but not the storm motion

E) lowest storm surge

25) The danger of (Northern Hemisphere) storm surge is most extreme ________ of a hurricane, due to the forward motion of the storm motion and the direction of rotating winds. 

A) on the front-left side

B) on the front-right side

C) on the rear-left side

D) on the rear-right side

E) in the center

26) The deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history was ________which killed more than 8,000 people. 

A) Hurricane Katrina in 2005

B) the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980

C) the Great Flood of 1993 on the Mississippi River

D) the San Francisco earthquake of 1906

E) the Galveston, Texas, hurricane of 1900

27) Sea level rose 1 foot in the 20th century. It is expected to rise again by ________ in the 21st century.

A) 6 inches or less

B) 6 inches to 1 foot

C) 1.0 to 1.5 feet

D)  2.0 or more feet

E) at least 8 feet

28) Along many low-lying sections of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, a 1 ft rise in sea level may equate to as much as ________ ft of inland movement of the beach. 

A) 1 

B) 10 

C) 100 

D) 1,000 

E) 10,000 

29) Since 1979 hurricanes and tropical storms have been given both male and female names. How are these storms named if there are more than 21 named storms in a given year?

A) They just keep getting alternating male and female names.

B) They are named by number, starting with 22.

C) They are named after letters in the Greek Alphabet, starting with alpha.

D) They are named after the ancient Roman gods.

E) They are named after famous scientists.

30) The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is a reasonably distinct pattern of alternating times ________.

A) of colder versus warm water in the North Atlantic Ocean

B) of high and low pressure in the North and South Atlantic Ocean

C) of sea ice formation and melting in the North Atlantic Ocean

D) of El Niño and La Niña affecting Atlantic Ocean surface currents

E) of sunspots and solar flares affecting sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean

31) The total energy released by all the tropical cyclones in one season is captured by the ________.

A) Potential to Kinetic Rate (PKR)

B) Atlantic Multi-cyclone Calculation (AMC)

C) Energy Dissipation Index (EDI)

D) Tropical Transportation Rate (TTR)

E) Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index

32) Which of the following statements about Hurricane Hugo is true?

A) It struck Charleston, South Carolina, in 1861 and killed half the population.

B) Its low pressure passing over Charleston caused a major earthquake in 1886.

C) It was a powerful 1989 hurricane that killed 11 people and caused over $14 billion in damages.

D) After coming ashore in Charleston, SC, it was strengthened after destroying the regional power grid.

E) It was the first known hurricane to rotate clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

33) Which of the following best describes the evacuation dilemma?

A) There are often more people living in coastal cites than can be safely evacuated in less than 72 hours, potentially trapping them in traffic jams when the storm hits.

B) Storm surge projections are often wrong, leaving people to guess whether should evacuate or not.

C) It is not possible to be safe from both wind and water, forcing people to guess which will be worse in the coming storm.

D) Driving to safety in the days before a storm is statistically more dangerous than being at the beach during a hurricane.

34) Hurricanes can push high mounds of seawater onshore as surges that temporarily raise sea level over 6 m (20 ft). 

35) The Fujita Scale describes the magnitude of hurricanes.

36) Andrew was the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history in terms of both monetary losses and human lives.

37) A hurricane may develop from a mega-ripple in the trade winds called an easterly wave.

38) A tropical depression is more intense than a tropical disturbance.

39) The development of a hurricane begins with an Arctic disturbance which is a low-pressure zone that draws in a poorly organized cluster of thunderstorms with weak surface winds.

40) The energy released in a hurricane by forming clouds and rain is greater than the energy of its winds.

41) Because the distinctive eye forms at wind speeds of about 119 km/hr (74 mph), this wind speed defines the threshold where a tropical storm has grown strong enough to be called a hurricane. 

42) The most important energy source for a hurricane is heat released by condensation of water vapor inside the storm.

43) Hurricanes that move onto land with high temperatures strengthen rapidly.

44) Fronts are not associated with hurricanes.

45) Hurricane centers are colder than their surroundings.

46) As a hurricane moves farther north, it weakens because the Coriolis effect decreases with distance from the equator.

47) Most U.S. hurricane deaths have been associated with sea surges occurring when a hurricane moves on land.

48) The number of people killed by hurricanes in the United States increased in the latter part of the 20th century.

49) Hurricane surges are made worse if they coincide with a high tide at full or new moon.

50) A typhoon is more like a tornado than a hurricane.

51) Hurricanes often form right on the equator, because the ocean water is warmest there.

52) A hurricane moving over ocean water at 21°C (~70°F) would strengthen.

53) In a 10-year period from 2006-20015, the United States was ________ for hurricanes.

A) above average

B) below average

C) on average

D) way above average

54) Hurricane ________ crossed Florida (2017) and expanded more energy than the total energy unleashed in 2013 or 2014 or 2015.

A) Juan

B) Maria

C) Irma

D) Harvey

55) In major hurricanes with wind speeds greater than ________per hour, a narrow or contracting eyewall may be replaced.

A) 75 km

B) 100 km

C) 130 km

D) 180 km

56) North Atlantic hurricanes all have an eye diameter of ________.

A) 16-70 km

B) 10-20 km

C) 1-5 km

D) 50-75 km

57) Which of the following locations has the lowest return period for hurricanes?

A) northeastern Florida

B) New England

C) northwestern Florida

D) Outer Banks, North Carolina

58) Which of the following locations has the highest return period for hurricanes?

A) northeastern Florida

B) New England

C) northwestern Florida

D) Outer Banks, North Carolina

59) Hurricane ________ (2017) surpassed Hurricane Katrina as the costliest hurricane in U.S. history.

A) Irma

B) Hugo

C) Harvey

D) Maria

60) Which of the following was the biggest issue associated with Hurricane Harvey?

A) wind

B) inland flooding

C) storm surge

D) evacuation route destroyed