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Weather
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| condensation | the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water |
| cloud | a mass of tiny water drops or ice crystals that floats in the air above Earth |
| hygrometer | instrument used in meteorological science to measure the humidity, or amount of water vapor in the air |
| map | A representation of a region of three-dimensional space, such as of the Earth or a part of the universe, usually on a two-dimensional plane surface |
| globe | a three-dimensional scale model of the Earth or other round body |
| latitude | the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator |
| longitude | measures distance east or west of the prime meridian |
| hemisphere | One half of a sphere, formed by a plane that passes through the center of the sphere |
| weather | the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and barometric pressure. |
| climate | the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. |
| atmosphere | The atmosphere is a layer of gas and suspended solids extending from the Earth's surface up many thousands of miles, becoming increasingly thinner with distance but always held by the Earth's gravitational pull. |
| cirrus | A genus of high cloud made of ice crystals |
| cumulus | Detached, individual, cauliflower-shaped clouds usually spotted in fair weather conditions |
| stratus | Lat, hazy, featureless clouds at low altitudes varying in color from dark gray to nearly white |
| nimbus/nimbo | The type of dense clouds or cloud mass with ragged edges, that yields rain or snow |
| cumulonimbus | A cumulus cloud of great vertical extent, the top often forming an anvil shape and the bottom being dark colored, indicating rain or hail |
| land breeze | a local wind system characterized by a flow from land to water late at night |
| sea breeze | a local wind system characterized by a flow from sea to land during the day |
| precipitation | any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls to Earth |
| evaporation | the process that changes liquid water to gaseous water (water vapor |
| condensation | the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water |
| jet stream | relatively narrow bands of strong wind in the upper levels of the atmosphere |
| gulf stream | a small part of something called the 'thermohaline circulation' or 'Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation |
| air mass | a large body of air with generally uniform temperature and humidity |
| La Nina | the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. |
| temperature | degree of hotness or coldness measured by a thermometer with a numerical scale |
| air pressure | the force exerted on a surface by the air above it as gravity pulls it to Earth |
| humidity | the amount of water vapor in the air |
| thermometer | An instrument for measuring temperature |
| barometer | a scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure |
| anemometer | an instrument that measures wind speed and wind pressure |
| wind vane | an instrument that measures the direction from which the wind is blowing |
| rain gauge | a meteorological instrument to measure the precipitating rain in a given amount of time per unit area |
| front | a weather system that is the boundary separating two different types of air |
| hurricane | a tropical storm with winds that have reached a constant speed of 74 miles per hour or more |
| rain | liquid precipitation: water falling from the sky. |
| freezing rain | occurs when the layer of freezing air is so thin that the raindrops do not have enough time to freeze before reaching the ground |
| sleet | pellets of ice that fall as a form of precipitation |
| snow | an accumulation of packed ice crystals, |
| hail | a form of precipitation consisting of solid ice that forms inside thunderstorm updrafts |
| land breeze | The denser cool air over the land is flowing offshore to replenish the buoyant warm air |
| sea breeze | A local wind system characterized by a flow from sea to land during the day |
| global winds | winds that occur in belts that go all around the planet |
| prevailing westerlies | Prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude |
| jet stream | A fast, narrow current of air flowing from west to east that encircles the globe |
| high pressure | pressures of thousands (kilobars) or millions (megabars) of times atmospheric pressure (about 1 bar or 100,000 Pa) |
| low pressure | lower pressure at its center than the areas around it |
| warm front | the boundary between a mass of warm air and a retreating mass of cold air |
| cold front | forms when a cold air mass pushes into a warmer air mass |
| map | A representation of a region of three-dimensional space, such as of the Earth or a part of the universe, usually on a two-dimensional plane surface. |