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Weather
Important Science Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Meteorologist | Scientist who studies weather |
Weather Forecast | a prediction of future atmospheric conditions |
Weather | state of atmosphere at any point and time, wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, and air pressure |
Climate | the weather conditions of a certain place or season, averaged over years, decades, or centuries |
Weather Map | a picture of the earth that uses symbols to show weather data, conditions, and systems |
Temperature | degrees warm or cold F' and C' |
Wind | moving air |
Wind Direction | how fast or slow the wind is moving |
Air Pressure | the weight of the air pressing down on earth |
Thermometer | used to measure air pressure |
Anemometer | used to measure speed (miles per hour or mph) |
Wind direction | used to measure wind direction |
Rain Gauge | used to measure the amount of rain over a specific period of time |
Hygrometer | used to measure humidity |
Barometer | used to measure air pressure |
Weather system | all parts of the weather |
Atmosphere | a layer of gasses surrounding a planet. The earths atmosphere has 5 layers |
Air Mass | A large region of the atmosphere where the air has similar properties like temperature, humidity, air pressure. |
Latitude | The distance North or South of the Equator. |
Longitude | The distance East or West of the Prime Meridian. |
Cloud | A visible collection of water droplets or at colder temperatures ice crystals. |
Stratus | Low level clouds that spread out and look like a blanket covering the sky. Overcast weather, sometimes precipitation. Fog is a stratus cloud at ground level. |
Nimbostratus | Blanket-like cloud that produces rain, sleet, and/ or snow. |
Cumulus | Middle level cloud that looks like a pile of fluffy cotton. Flat base and rounded towers. |
Cumulonimbus | Tall cumulus clouds usually dark grey in color that result in heavy precipitation, especially thunderstorms. |
Cirrus | High level clouds that look thin and wispy like feathers. Made of ice crystals. |
Nimbus | A rain cloud. It may be used as a prefix or suffix of another cloud. |
Global wind | These winds move great distances over the globe. Predictable and stable. |
Trade winds | Winds that occur between 0'-30' latitude. They blow east to west and blow constantly toward the Equator. |
Prevailing Wind | A wind usually blows from one direction |
Prevailing Westerlies | Winds that occur between 30' and 60' in both hemispheres. They blow from west to east, and towards the poles. |
Polar Easterlies | Prevailing winds that occur between 60' and 90' in both hemispheres. They blow from east to west and blow away from the poles. |
Jet stream | A strong wind found 6-9 miles above the Earth's surface. It can reach speeds of 50-200 mph. Steer the movement of surface air masses and weather systems. |
Sea breeze | Convection current where air flows from the sea to land, typically during the daytime. |
Land breeze | Convection current where air flows from land to sea, typically during the nighttime. |
Air pressure | The weight of the air pressing down on the earth. Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. |
Density | How tightly packed the matter of an object is. Hot air and low pressure=less density. Cold air and high pressure =high density. |
High pressure system | Whirling mass of cool, dry air. It is heavy and dense so it sinks. Brings fair weather, sunny skies, light winds, and stable weather. |
Low pressure system | Whirling mass of warm, moist air. It is lighter and less dense so it rises and cooler air flows underneath. Low pressure brings storms, strong winds, and unstable changing weather. |
Front | A boundary between two air masses, resulting in stormy weather. |
Cold front | A boundary between two air masses one cold and one warm. It moves and the colder air replaces the warmer air. |
Warm front | A boundary between two air masses one cold and one warm moving so that the warm air replaces the cold air. |
El Nino | Unusual warming of the surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean causes changes in wind patterns that have a major effect on weather around the world. |
El Nina | Widespread cooling of the surface waters of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The opposite of El Nino. |