Weather forecasting is one of the topics looked at in GCSE Geography. This quiz looks at some of the tools and methods used in weather forecasting, and also at the National Meteorological Office, which is better known as the Met Office.
In 1859 the sailing ship Royal Charter steamed past the safety of the port of Holyhead, trying to reach Liverpool in time to maintain her record as one of the fastest ships. She anchored off the coast of Wales to wait for a pilot to take her into Liverpool docks. There was no need to rush, the weather seemed calm and non-threatening. But appearances can be deceptive. A storm struck and by the morning the ship had been driven onto the rocks and 400 of her passengers were dead. In that one storm, which had hurricane force winds, 800 people died, 133 ships were sunk and most of the British fishing fleet was driven ashore.
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The tragedy, which became known as the Royal Charter Storm, was the catalyst for the start of a new type of national science, weather forecasting, and a new organisation, the National Meteorological (or Met) Office. Initial forecasting was done using visual observations and measuring the barometric pressure. Now computers, radar and satellite images can tell us exactly what is happening in the clouds and where they are. This gives us a prediction as to where those clouds are going. Networks of weather stations and weather buoys send information to the meteorological station. There is even a weather station on a set of moors in England that is frequently used by scientists to tell them the weather conditions for their experiments in how bodies rot.
The science of weather forecasting has developed massively in the 150 years plus since that tragedy, but the Met Office still on occasion gets it wrong!
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1.
|
What is atmospheric or barometric pressure measured in? |
|
[ ] |
Pounds per square inch (PSI) |
[ ] |
Kilograms (kg) |
[ ] |
Pascals (Pa) |
[ ] |
Millibars (mb) |
|
|
2.
|
A synoptic chart summarises atmospheric conditions. Which of the following is not commonly shown on a synoptic chart? |
|
[ ] |
Temperature |
[ ] |
Sea state |
[ ] |
Precipitation |
[ ] |
Atmospheric pressure |
|
|
3.
|
Lines of equal atmospheric pressure on a weather map or a synoptic chart are known as what? |
|
[ ] |
Isobars |
[ ] |
Cold Fronts |
[ ] |
Warm Fronts |
[ ] |
Isolines |
|
|
4.
|
Low pressure and tight isobars tend to lead to what sort of weather? |
|
[ ] |
Hot and sunny |
[ ] |
Dry and windy |
[ ] |
Wet and windy |
[ ] |
Wet and calm |
|
|
5.
|
A radiosonde measures atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a receiver on the ground. What are radiosondes normally attached to? |
|
[ ] |
Weather balloons |
[ ] |
Surface monitoring buoys |
[ ] |
Land stations |
[ ] |
Ship based monitoring |
|
|
6.
|
Which of the following professions and industries are not offered specialist training by the Met Office? |
|
[ ] |
Marine industries |
[ ] |
Rail industries |
[ ] |
Renewable energy specialists |
[ ] |
Teachers |
|
|
7.
|
Which of the following is not used in forecasting? |
|
[ ] |
Moisture content in the oceans |
[ ] |
Cloud cover and cloud types |
[ ] |
Moisture content in the atmosphere |
[ ] |
Atmospheric pressure |
|
|
8.
|
How can ocean waves be predicted and forecasted? |
|
[ ] |
Ocean waves are generated thousands of miles away and can be tracked |
[ ] |
Ocean waves are generated by the sea floor geology which has been modelled |
[ ] |
Ocean waves are driven by wind power and wind strength and direction can be predicted |
[ ] |
Ocean waves are driven only by storms in the middle of the ocean which can be mapped and predicted |
|
|
9.
|
Which of the following are not normally forecasted by the Met Office? |
|
[ ] |
Pollen |
[ ] |
Precipitation |
[ ] |
Windspeed |
[ ] |
River levels |
|
|
10.
|
What is an anticyclone more commonly known as? |
|
[ ] |
High Pressure |
[ ] |
Low Pressure |
[ ] |
A hurricane |
[ ] |
A typhoon |
|
|
1.
|
What is atmospheric or barometric pressure measured in? |
|
[ ] |
Pounds per square inch (PSI) |
[ ] |
Kilograms (kg) |
[ ] |
Pascals (Pa) |
[x] |
Millibars (mb) |
|
|
2.
|
A synoptic chart summarises atmospheric conditions. Which of the following is not commonly shown on a synoptic chart? |
|
[ ] |
Temperature |
[x] |
Sea state |
[ ] |
Precipitation |
[ ] |
Atmospheric pressure |
|
|
3.
|
Lines of equal atmospheric pressure on a weather map or a synoptic chart are known as what? |
|
[x] |
Isobars |
[ ] |
Cold Fronts |
[ ] |
Warm Fronts |
[ ] |
Isolines |
|
|
4.
|
Low pressure and tight isobars tend to lead to what sort of weather? |
|
[ ] |
Hot and sunny |
[ ] |
Dry and windy |
[x] |
Wet and windy |
[ ] |
Wet and calm |
|
|
5.
|
A radiosonde measures atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a receiver on the ground. What are radiosondes normally attached to? |
|
[x] |
Weather balloons |
[ ] |
Surface monitoring buoys |
[ ] |
Land stations |
[ ] |
Ship based monitoring |
|
|
6.
|
Which of the following professions and industries are not offered specialist training by the Met Office? |
|
[ ] |
Marine industries |
[ ] |
Rail industries |
[ ] |
Renewable energy specialists |
[x] |
Teachers |
|
|
7.
|
Which of the following is not used in forecasting? |
|
[x] |
Moisture content in the oceans |
[ ] |
Cloud cover and cloud types |
[ ] |
Moisture content in the atmosphere |
[ ] |
Atmospheric pressure |
|
|
8.
|
How can ocean waves be predicted and forecasted? |
|
[ ] |
Ocean waves are generated thousands of miles away and can be tracked |
[ ] |
Ocean waves are generated by the sea floor geology which has been modelled |
[x] |
Ocean waves are driven by wind power and wind strength and direction can be predicted |
[ ] |
Ocean waves are driven only by storms in the middle of the ocean which can be mapped and predicted |
|
|
9.
|
Which of the following are not normally forecasted by the Met Office? |
|
[ ] |
Pollen |
[ ] |
Precipitation |
[ ] |
Windspeed |
[x] |
River levels |
|
|
10.
|
What is an anticyclone more commonly known as? |
|
[x] |
High Pressure |
[ ] |
Low Pressure |
[ ] |
A hurricane |
[ ] |
A typhoon |
|
|