| A | B |
|---|
| cirrus/ cirro- | Describes high feathery ice clouds. |
| condensation | The change of water vapor to liquid. |
| condensation level | The layer of the atmosphere at which condensation occurs. The flat bottoms of clouds mark the edge of this atmospheric level. |
| condensation nucleus | Tiny particles on which water vapor condenses before precipitating (dust, pollen, salt crystals, etc.). |
| cumulus | Describes clouds that build upward in billowy heaps. |
| dew point | The temperature at which saturation occurs and condensation begins. |
| dry-adiabatic lapse rate | The cooling rate of unsaturated air as it rises (~10 degrees C / kilometer) |
| freezing rain | Rain that is super cooled liquid water. This means that the water is still liquid but below 0 degrees C. It freezes instantly when it hits the ground. |
| hail | Precipitation in the form of frozen balls or irregular chunks of ice. |
| moist-adiabatic lapse rate | The cooling rate of saturated air as it rises (~5-9 degrees C / kilometer) |
| precipitation | Any form of water that falls from a cloud. |
| relative humidity | How near the air is to its maximum holding capacity at a particular temperature. |
| saturated | When there is so much water vapor in the air that the rate of evaporation is equal to the rate of condensation (the air does not have the capacity to hold any more water). |
| sleet | Partially frozen raindrops. |
| specific humidity | The actual amount of water vapor in the air at a given time. |
| stratus | Describes clouds that form layers. |
| water vapor | Invisible gaseous water found at different levels in air. |
| alto | Describes high clouds (between 2000 and 7000 meters). |
| nimbus/ nimbo- | Describes dark rain clouds. |
| fog | cloud formation on the ground. |
| seeding | The process of stimulating the formation or occurrence of rain by depositing CO2 crystals or silver iodide crystals into clouds. |
