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Mr. Vaughan Unit 5
Unit 5 - Weather and Climate
Term | Definition |
---|---|
weather | the short-term state of the atmosphere, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and visibility |
humidity | the amount of water vapor in the air |
relative humidity | the ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air to the amount of water vapor needed to reach saturation at a given temperature |
dew point | at constant pressure and water vapor content, the temperature at which the rate of condensation equals the rate of evaporation |
precipitation | any form of water that falls to Earth's surface from the clouds |
air pressure | the measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface |
wind | the movement of air caused by differences in air pressure |
visibility | the distance at which a given standard object can be seen and identified with the unaided eye |
cloud | a collection of small water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air, which forms when the air is cooled and condensation occurs |
stratus cloud | a gray cloud that has a flat, uniform base and that commonly forms at very low altitudes |
cumulus cloud | a low-level, billowy cloud that commonly has a top and resembles cotton balls and a dark bottom |
cirrus cloud | a feathery cloud that is composed of ice crystals and that has the highest altitude of any cloud in the sky |
fog | water vapor that has condensed very near the surface of Earth because air close to the ground has cooled |
air mass | a large body of air throughout which temperature and moisture content are similar |
front | the boundary between air masses of different densities and usually different temperatures |
jet stream | a narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere |
thunderstorm | a usually brief, heavy storm that consists of rain, strong winds, lightning, and thunder |
lightning | an electric discharge that takes place between oppositely charged surfaces, such as between cloud and the ground, between two clouds, or between two parts of the same cloud |
thunder | the sound caused by the rapid expansion of air along and electrical strike |
hurricane | a severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more than 120 km/hr spiral in toward the intensely low-pressure storm center |
storm surge | a local rise in sea level near the shore that is caused by strong winds from a storm, such as those from a hurricane |
tornado | a destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and that may be visible as a funnel-shaped cloud |
weather forecasting | the process of predicting atmospheric conditions by collecting and analyzing atmospheric data |
meteorology | the scientific study of Earth's atmosphere, especially in relation to weather and climate |
station model | a pattern of meteorological symbols that represents the weather at a particular observing station and that is recorded on a weather map |
climate | the average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time |
latitude | the distance north or south from the equator expressed in degrees |
topography | the size and shape of the land surface features of a region, including its relief |
elevation | the height of an object above sea level |
surface current | a horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the ocean's surface |
ice age | a long period of climatic cooling during which the continents are glaciated repeatedly |
greenhouse effect | the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases absorb and reradiate thermal energy |
global warming | a gradual increase in average global temperature |