Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
weather vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Clouds | a mass of water drops or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere |
| Condensation | the process by which water vapor (water in its gas form) turns into liquid |
| Cirrus Clouds | high feathery clouds |
| Hygrometer | The instruments used to measure the humidity |
| Other Cloud Names | Stratus/strato: flat/layered and smooth. Cumulus/cumulo: heaped up/puffy, like cauliflower. Cirrus/cirro: high up/wispy. Alto: medium level. |
| Map | a drawing of all or part of Earth's surface |
| globe | a spherical representation of a planet's surface or another large area |
| Cumulonimbus (storm clouds) | large, tall clouds that are dark on the bottom and usually produce rain and thunderstorms |
| Cirrocumulus | large, tall clouds that are dark on the bottom and usually produce rain and thunderstorms |
| Stratocumulus | layered cumulus consisting of large balls or rolls of dark cloud which often cover the whole sky especially in winter. |
| Nimbostratus (steady rain) | a type of cloud forming a thick uniform gray layer at low altitude, from which rain or snow often falls (without any lightning or thunder). |
| Latitude | measures the distance north or south of the equator. |
| Longitude | Longitude plays a significant role in determining climate due to its impact on the distribution of sunlight and temperature across the Earth's surface |
| hemisphere, | a half of the earth, usually as divided into northern and southern halves by the equator, or into western and eastern halves by an imaginary line passing through the poles. |
| climate | conditions of the atmosphere at a particular location over a long period of time |
| 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 | liquid water that freezes before it hits the ground |
| snow | Tiny crystals of ice that fall to Earth |
| hail | a form of precipitation consisting of solid ice that forms inside thunderstorm updrafts |
| rain gauge | used by meteorologists to determine the amount of rain that falls in a particular area |
| coriolis effect | the result of Earth's rotation on weather patterns and ocean currents |
| trade winds | a wind blowing almost constantly toward the equator from an easterly direction |
| polar easterlies | dry and cold prevailing winds that blow from the east |
| prevailing westerlies | winds in the middle latitudes between 35 and 65 degrees latitude |
| wind | the movement of air near Earth's surface. |
| wind vane | an instrument that can measure wind direction |
| anemommter | an instrument that measures wind speed |
| barometer | A barometer measures air pressure |
| low pressure | inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible rain or storms |
| high pressure | the winds tend to be light and blow in a clockwise direction |
| air pressure | a type of cloud forming a thick uniform gray layer at low altitude, from which rain or snow often falls (without any lightning or thunder). |
| occluded fronts | a composite front produced by occlusion. |
| stationary fronts | a front between warm and cold air masses that is moving very slowly or not at all |
| jet stream | a fast, narrow current of air flowing from west to east that encircles the globe |
| gulf stream | a relatively warm ocean current flowing northeastwards off the Atlantic coast of the US from the Gulf of Mexico. |
| el nino | a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean |
| la nina | the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. |
| cold fronts | cold air mass runs into a warm air mass and passes it up causing a cold front |
| warm fronts | warms fronts happen when a air mass overtakes a cool air mass |
Created by:
Ccivello
Popular Earth Science sets