QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔What is an airmass? - ✔✔a volume of air defined by its temperature and water vapor
content. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles, and adapt to
the characteristics of the surface below them. They are classified according to latitude
and their continental or maritime source regions.
✔✔What weather is associated with a warm front? - ✔✔continuous rain and drizzle
✔✔What discontinuities are associated with a warm front? - ✔✔-Temp: Warm air
-Pressure: Pressure usually drops abruptly.
✔✔What is an occluded front? - ✔✔an occluded front is a front that is made up of 3 air
masses. 2 cold air masses (cold and cool), and one warm air mass. All the air masses
are all moving in the same direction.
✔✔How and why does a temperature inversion occur in an occluded front? - ✔✔A
temperature inversion occurs in an occluded front because the cold air masses push the
warm air mass up and above them, therefore warmer air will exist as altitude increases.
✔✔What is a stationary front? - ✔✔A stationary front is when an advancing warm
airmass and an advancing cold airmass converge and one is not strong enough to
overtake the other so the air masses become stationary.
✔✔What is an Isobar? - ✔✔An Isobar is a line of equal pressure reduced to sea level.
Since pressure varies with altitude, we cannot readily compare station pressures
between stations at different altitudes. To make them compatible with each other, we
must adjust them to a common level (MSL)
✔✔What is standard sea level pressure in
-millibars
-inches of mercury
-millimeters of mercury
-PSI - ✔✔1013.2 -millibars
29.92 -inches of mercury
14.7-PSI
760 -millimeters of mercury
✔✔Where to find approved WX sources? - ✔✔Ops specs.
✔✔What is a strong pressure gradient (closely spaced isobars) indicate? - ✔✔High
winds
, ✔✔What is Pressure Altitude? - ✔✔For pressure altitude, set the window in your
altimeter to 29.92. Whatever value it reads is pressure altitude.
✔✔What is Density Altitude? - ✔✔pressure altitude corrected for non-standard
temperature.
✔✔What is true altitude? - ✔✔This is the height above "mean sea level"
✔✔What is absolute altitude? - ✔✔Absolute altitude is your height above the ground.
✔✔Describe circulations associated with high pressure systems. - ✔✔High pressure =
clockwise circulations
(Anti-cyclones)
✔✔Describe circulations associated with low pressure systems. - ✔✔Low pressure =
counter-clockwise circulations
(Cyclones)
✔✔How often are SIGMETs and AIRMETs issued? - ✔✔AIRMETs:
Scheduled - every 6 hours starting at 0145Z
Max Forecast period - 6 hours
SIGMETs:
Unscheduled - as needed
Max Forecast period - 4 hours
✔✔Once issued, how long are SIGMETs good for? - ✔✔4 hours
✔✔How often are convective SIGMETs issued?
What are the locations?
How long are they good for? - ✔✔Convective SIGMETs issued every hour. If there are
none, it will say none.
Locations: Western Central East.
Valid for 2 hours.
✔✔What is a WX depiction chart?
How often are WX depiction charts issued?
What times are they issued? - ✔✔Lets you know IFR and VFR conditions.
WX depiction are issued 8 times a day every 3 hours
starting at 0100z.
✔✔How often are Radar summery charts issued? - ✔✔Radar summary charts are
issued every hour.