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weather tools/clouds
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| cumulus | puffy with flat bottoms and round tops that signal fair weather. |
| cirrus | wispy, feathery clouds made of ice crystals that form at high levels. |
| stratus | clouds that form in flat layers and often cover much of the sky. |
| nimbus | a rain cloud. |
| fog | a stratus cloud that forms when air is cooled to it's dew point near the ground. |
| anemometer | an instrument used to measure temperature. |
| wind vane | instrument used to measure wind direction. |
| thermometer | an instrument used to measure temperature. |
| sling psychrometer | tool made of a wet and dry thermometer that measures relative humidity and requires a table to interpret the two temperatures. |
| barometer | an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure. |
| rain gauge | an instrument used to measure precipitation. |
| weather map | a map that uses symbols to show weather data. |
| weather satellites | type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the earth. |
| weather radar | is an instrument that sends pulses of electromagnetic energy into the atmosphere to find precipitation, determine its motion and intensity, and identify the precipitation type such as rain, snow or hail. |
| Isobar | line on a map connecting points having the same barometric reading at a given time. |
| Isotherm | a line on a map that joins places that have the same temperature. |
| Cumulonimbus | are thunderstorm clouds. High winds can flatten the top of the cloud into an anvil-like shape. Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with heavy rain, snow,hail, lightning and even tornadoes. The anvil usually points in the direction the storm is moving. |
| relative humidity | the amount of water vapor in the air at any given time is usually less than that required to saturate the air. Expressed as a percentage. |