Q 01/05

Which nickname is given to the broad swath of the central United States that twisters strike most often?

A) Dixie Alley

B) Hurricane Alley

C) Tornado Alley

D) Hail Alley

Answer · why

C) Tornado Alley

Tornado Alley is only a nickname, and forecasters call it misleading: the main threat shifts from the Southeast in the cooler months to the northern P...

Q 02/05

Why do mobile-home parks seem to attract twisters in so many news reports?

A) Their metal frames draw the funnel

B) Even weak tornadoes wreck them

C) They sit on open, flat ground

D) Their hot roofs feed the updraft

Answer · why

B) Even weak tornadoes wreck them

Even weak tornadoes wreck them: a brief twister that would barely mark a sturdy house can blow a mobile home apart, so forecasters call the parks reli...

Q 03/05

What is the rotating updraft in a supercell that often precedes a tornado called?

A) Mesocyclone

B) Microburst

C) Anticyclone

D) Squall line

Answer · why

A) Mesocyclone

A mesocyclone is a rotating column of air a few miles wide inside a supercell, and spotting one on radar is a key sign a tornado may follow.

Q 04/05

What type of cloud is most commonly associated with tornado formation?

A) Cumulonimbus

B) Cirrostratus

C) Nimbostratus

D) Altocumulus

Answer · why

A) Cumulonimbus

Cumulonimbus, the towering storm cloud, breeds the violent tornadoes, though weaker ones can hang from an ordinary cumulus.

Q 05/05

What do forecasters call the Plains boundary where desert air from the west meets humid Gulf air and severe storms often erupt?

A) The jet stream

B) The squall line

C) The dry line

D) The frost line

Answer · why

C) The dry line

The dry line marks the edge of the Gulf's moisture in spring and early summer; it usually pushes east during the afternoon and retreats west after dar...