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Meteorology
5th Grade Weather Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Collection | Areas where water is stored on earth - ground water, oceans, lakes, streams, ponds, etc. |
| Runoff | Water that moves over land, possibly picking up chemicals and other substances. |
| Transpiration | when water evaporates from plant leaves. |
| Precipitation | any form of water, such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail, which falls to the earth's surface measured using a rain gauge. |
| Condensation | the process in which a gas changes into a liquid, the formation of clouds. (loosing energy) |
| Evaporation | the process in which a liquid turns in to a gas, water becomes water vapor. (gaining energy) |
| Climate | the average condition of the atmosphere near the earth's surface over a long period of time |
| Weather | the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. |
| Meteorology | The study of the atmosphere |
| Wind Speed | is the speed of wind, the movement of air or other gases in an atmosphere, measured using an anemometer. |
| Wind Direction | the direction from which the wind is blowing, measured using a wind vane or wind sock. |
| Temperature | measure of the warmness or coolness of an object, measured using a thermometer. |
| Air Pressure | the pressure exerted by the atmosphere, measured using a barometer. |
| Seasons | climate changes that depend on the location (summer, spring, winter, fall, wet season, dry season) |
| Humidity | the amount of water vapor in the air, measured in percentages using a hygrometer. |
| Atmosphere | the layer of gases that surround the Earth and are locked in, or trapped, by the Earth's gravitational pull |
| Equator | 0 degrees, latitude line that divides the Earth in half |
| Hemisphere | northern hemisphere (north of the equator, southern hemisphere (south of the equator). Hemi means half! |
| Clouds | Form when warm air rises and cools. Clouds are classified by what they look like and where they are in the atmosphere (height). |
| Stratus clouds | blanket-like layered clouds |
| Cirrus clouds | clouds that form at very high altitudes out of ice crystals |
| Cumulus clouds | puffy clouds that rise up from a flat bottom |
| Nimbo/Nimbus | term added to a clouds name when precipitation is falling from it (cumulonimbus) |
| Alto | term added to clouds high in the atmosphere |
| Cumulonimbus clouds | thunderstorm clouds |
| Forecast | prediction of the upcoming weather conditions for a given area at a given time |
| High Pressure System | a pattern surrounding a high pressure center from which winds blow outward and it brings clear, cool weather. |
| Low Pressure System | a pattern surrounding a low pressure center in which winds blow in toward the center and it brings warm, stormy weather. |
| Warm Front | Forms when a moist, warm air mass slides up and over a cold air mass, causing gentle precipitation and warm, mild weather. |
| Cold Front | Forms when a cold air mass pushes under a warm air mass, forcing the warm air to rise, causing thunderstorms and cool, fair weather afterwards. |
| Stationary Front | Forms when warm and cold air meet and neither air mass has the force to move the other. They remain stationary, or “standing still.” This front causes many days of rainy/cloudy weather and/or fog. |
| Occluded Front | Forms when a warm air mass gets caught between two cold air masses. The warm air mass rises as the cool air masses push and meet in the middle, causing cold temperatures, strong winds, and heavy precipitation |
| Wind | When warm air rises and cold air rushes in to replace it. |
| Jet Stream | air current in the upper atmosphere, located over North America and has a powerful influence over the weather conditions there. |
| Water Currents | fast moving streams of water in the ocean |
| Gulf Stream | a warm water surface current in the Atlantic Ocean that moves from the south of Florida up the eastern seaboard and then across the Atlantic. Makes weather warmer. |
| El Nino | a warming of the eastern tropical Pacific occurring every few years, which alters the weather pattern of the tropics |
| La Nina | When winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the Southeast and cooler than normal in the Northwest. |
| Hurricanes | Extreme low pressure system with violent winds in the Northern Hemisphere that rotates counterclockwise. |
| Global Warming | a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere due to pollution. |
| Latitutde | horizontal lines on a map/glob |
| Longitude | vertical lines on a map/globe |
| Typhoons | Extreme low pressure system with violent winds in the Southern Hemisphere that rotates clockwise. |
| Tornado | a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. |
| Coriolois Effect | The rotation of the Earth causes a phenomenon on free moving objects on the Earth. Wind and water in the Northern Hemisphere moves to the right, while objects in the Southern Hemisphere moves to the left. |
Created by:
msjorgenp
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