1. Why are Earth’s major Deserts found near 30 degrees north and south lattitudes?
2. Refer to Relative Humidity and Dew Point Tables in your Moisture, Clouds and Weather Handout #1 (attached)
Using a sling psychrometer, the following readings were obtained:
Dry Bulb: 22 degrees C
Wet Bulb: 19 degrees C
Use the Tables to determine:
Relative Humidity:
Dew Point:
What would happen to the relative humidity if the air was cooled?
3. Severe thunderstorms and their associated hazards (hail, tornadoes, downbursts) are common along the region known as “Tornado Alley”. This area includes central Texas through Oklahoma and Kansas. As the summer progresses, this area shifts towards the east into the eastern Great Plains (midwest).
What two air masses are respnsible for the creation of these storms?
Why are they so much stronger in the spring than in the fall (remember heating differences)?
4. Use Specific Humidity Values Table in your Moisture, Clouds and Weather Handout #1 (attached)
A 1 kg parcel of air at 15 degrees C contains 8 grams of water vapor and is cooled to 0 degrees C. How many grams of water will condense out?
5. Explain how the winter Asian Monsoon is similar to a large scale land breeze.
6. Yakutsk is located in Siberia at about 60 degrees north latitude. This Russian city has one of the highest average annual temperature ranges in the world: 62.2 degrees Celsius (112 degrees F). Explain the reasons for the very high annual temperature range.