Quiz 6 Solutions

1-6. Given the following information, draw an upper-air station plot (6 points).

Wind Direction: 90 degrees

Wind Speed: 65 knots

Temperature: 12 degrees Celsius

Dew Point: -2 degrees Celsuis

Geopotential Height: 5880 meters

(Hint: Remember that dew point depressions are used for upper-air maps and we are at 500 mb so the height on the plot must be multiplied by 10.)

7.) Briefly, define what an isoline is. (1 point)

Isolines (or isopleths) are lines that connect equal values of a variable.

8.) From the reading, what is meant by the phrase “one hundred year flood”? (2 points)

The one hundred year flood is another way of saying that a flood of this magnitude occurs, on average, once every one hundred years. As long as I felt you implied this, I gave you credit.

9.) If a one hundred year flood occurs at OU this year, what is the percent chance of another one hundred year flood occurring at OU next year? (1 point)

The point of this question is to realize that a one hundred year flood only occurs once every one hundred years, on average. Since this is an average, a flood of this magnitude can occur in back to back years, or not occur for over one hundred years. Therefore, this average, for any given year, is 1%.