MET 121 Final Exam (Chs. 9-11) Questions And Complete Answers.
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Course
NCEP
Institution
NCEP
What is the function of the National Center for Environmental Prediction? - Answer The National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) receives global weather data from several world meteorological centers many times each day. The data are analyzed and plotted, and forecasts are prepared and...
MET 121 Final Exam (Chs. 9-11)
Questions And Complete Answers.
What is the function of the National Center for Environmental Prediction? - Answer The National
Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) receives global weather data from several world
meteorological centers many times each day. The data are analyzed and plotted, and forecasts are
prepared and transmitted to National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).
How does a weather watch differ from a weather warning? - Answer Weather watch- Indicates that
atmospheric conditions favor hazardous weather occurring over a particular region during a specified
time period. These hazards may or may not actually develop, and their timing and location are uncertain,
so a watch simply means be on "watch" for that threat and to be prepared to act if necessary
Weather Warning- Indicates that the hazard now occurring or imminent is considered to be a threat to
life and/or property (tornadoes, thunderstorms, etc)
List at least four tools a weather forecaster might use when making a short-range forecast - Answer
Doppler radar, surface weather, maps & upper air winds
How does a prog differ from an analysis? - Answer Analysis is what is going on right now and a prog is a
forecast
In what ways have high-speed computers assisted the meteorologist in making weather forecasts? -
Answer Computer-generated weather forecasts can analyze large quantities of data extremely fast.
Each day the many thousands of observations transmitted to NCEP are fed into a high-speed computer,
which plots and draws lines on surface and upper-air charts. Meteorologists interpret the weather
patterns and then correct any errors that may be present. The routine daily forecasting of weather by the
computer has come to be known as numerical weather prediction. To help forecasters handle all the
available charts and maps, high-speed data modeling systems using computers are employed.
How are computer-generated forecasts prepared? - Answer The models are programmed into the
computer, and surface and upper-air observations of temperature, pressure, moisture, winds, and air
density are fed into the equations. To determine how each of these variables will change, each equation
is solved for a small increment of future time, say, 5 minutes, for a large number of locations called grid
points; each situated a given distance apart. In addition, each equation is solved for as many as 50 levels
in the atmosphere. The results of these computations are then fed back into the original equations. The
computer again solves the equations with the new "data," thus predicting weather over the following 5
, minutes. The computer then analyzes the data and draws the projected positions of pressure systems
with their isobars or contour lines.
What are some of the problems associated with computer-model forecasts? - Answer Observations
over uninhabited regions
Weather systems crossing boundaries of models
Forecasting small scale evens with larger grids
Suppose that where you live, the middle of January is typically several degrees warmer than the rest of
the month. If you forecast this "January thaw" for the middle of next January, what type of weather
forecast will you have made? - Answer Climatological
Describe four methods of forecasting the weather and give an example for each one - Answer
Persistence Forecasts- A prediction that future weather will be the same as present weather
Steady-state- Surface weather systems tend to move in same direction and at approximately the same
speed as they have been moving, providing no evidence exists to indicate otherwise
Analogue- Relies on the fact that existing features on a weather chart may strongly resemble features
that produced certain weather conditions sometime in the past
Statistical- Known as Model Output Statistics (MOS), these predictions, in effect, are statistically
weighted analogue forecast corrections incorporated into the computer model output
How does pattern recognition aid a forecaster in making a prediction? - Answer Patterns recognition
aid a forecaster in determining patterns of divergence and convergence aloft, computer progs, comma
clouds observed from satellite observations, and Doppler radar observations of precipitation.
How can ensemble forecasts improve medium-range forecasts? - Answer Ensemble forecasting is a
technique based on running several forecast models (or different versions of a single model), each
beginning with slightly different weather information to reflect errors in the measurements. If the
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