• 14 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Skew T Diagram Quiz

Fourteen taps on a skew-T chart: the five sets of lines, then nine things on a sounding.

Skew T Diagram Quiz

Name Date

Isotherms: tap it

1 of 5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Isobars
  2. Isotherms
  3. Dry adiabats
  4. Moist adiabats
  5. Mixing ratio lines
  6. Temperature trace
  7. Dew point trace
  8. Wind barbs
  9. Lifting condensation level (LCL)
  10. Level of free convection (LFC)
  11. Equilibrium level (EL)
  12. CAPE
  13. CIN
  14. Inversion

Computed and drawn for this site by script on 2026-10-03. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Read every name on the labeled skew-T

All 14 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The five sets of lines 5

  1. Isobars Lines of equal pressure. They are level, and equal steps of pressure sit farther apart toward the top.
  2. Isotherms Lines of equal temperature, skewed 45 degrees to the right.
  3. Dry adiabats The cooling rate of rising air that is not saturated.
  4. Moist adiabats The cooling rate of rising air that is saturated.
  5. Mixing ratio lines Lines of equal mixing ratio. It counts water vapor in grams per kilogram of dry air.

On the sounding 9

  1. Temperature trace The air temperature the balloon measured at each height.
  2. Dew point trace The dew point at each height. The closer it runs to the temperature, the more humid the air.
  3. Wind barbs Wind direction and speed at each height.
  4. Lifting condensation level (LCL) Where the lifted parcel of air becomes saturated.
  5. Level of free convection (LFC) Where the parcel becomes warmer than the air around it.
  6. Equilibrium level (EL) Where the rising parcel is as cold as the air around it.
  7. CAPE The area where the parcel is warmer than the air around it. CAPE stands for convective available potential energy.
  8. CIN The area where the parcel is colder than the air around it. CIN stands for convective inhibition.
  9. Inversion A layer where the temperature rises with height.

How this list was compiled: Every name and definition checked on 2026-10-03 in two independent sources. (1) NOAA National Weather Service, JetStream: Skew-T Log-P Diagrams, https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/upperair/skew-t-log-p-diagrams (temperature lines at 45 degrees, level pressure lines on a logarithmic scale, dry adiabats, moist or saturated adiabats, mixing ratio in grams per kilogram, the wind staff); Skew-T Plots, https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/upperair/skew-t-plots (the temperature and dew point lines, a temperature inversion, wind speed and direction); Severe Weather, https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/upperair/severe-weather (lifting condensation level and how to find it, level of free convection, CAPE and CIN as the positive and negative areas, a strong inversion called a cap); and the National Weather Service glossary, https://forecast.weather.gov/glossary.php?word=equilibrium%20level (equilibrium level, isobar, isotherm, dry adiabat, moist adiabat, mixing ratio). (2) Wikipedia, text only: Skew-T log-P diagram, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skew-T_log-P_diagram (horizontal isobars, isotherms at 45 degrees, dry adiabats, temperature and dew point soundings, wind barbs); Lifting condensation level; Level of free convection (the dry adiabat to the saturated mixing ratio line, then the moist adiabat); Equilibrium level; Convective available potential energy; Convective inhibition; Inversion (meteorology). Licence: own work

The drawing: Computed and drawn for this site by script on 2026-10-03. Own original chart; the sounding is invented and nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This skew T diagram quiz names a line, a level or an area and you tap it. The chart's scales are pressure in millibars, down the left side, and temperature in degrees Celsius, along the bottom.

Read the full guide

Lines that look alike

Isotherms and dry adiabats both slant. Isotherms are straight and climb to the right; dry adiabats curve and climb to the left. Dry and moist adiabats run nearly parallel high on the chart, so tell them apart low down, where the moist adiabats are the steeper.

Levels and areas, from the ground up

The three round marks are the LCL, then the LFC, then the EL. The small filled area under the LFC is CIN, and the larger one between the LFC and the EL is CAPE.

Questions and answers

Which line is the dew point on a skew-T?

The left one of the two traces; air temperature is the right one. The dew point is also the more wiggly line, because the balloon climbs through pockets of moist and dry air. Where the two lines meet, the dew point equals the air temperature.

What is a cap on a skew-T?

A strong inversion low in the atmosphere, below about 5,000 feet, that holds rising air down. It goes with a large CIN. When a parcel of air is lifted through it and rises on its own, that is called breaking the cap.

What does the equilibrium level show?

The level above the LFC where a rising parcel is again as cold as the air around it. Thunderstorm updrafts stop speeding up there, so it is close to the height of the storm tops.

Is there always an LFC on a sounding?

No. If a lifted parcel stays cooler than the air around it all the way up, there is no LFC and the atmosphere is absolutely stable. The sounding in this quiz is made up for practice and has one.

How often are soundings taken?

Twice a day. Radiosondes go up on balloons from more than 90 sites in the United States, with extra launches ahead of high-impact weather.

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