| A | B |
|---|
| Air Mass | A large region of the atmosphere where the air has similar properties throughout. |
| Air Pressure | The force put on a given area by the weight of the air above it. |
| Anemometer | A weather instrument that measures wind speed. |
| Atmosphere | The blanket of gases that surrounds the Earth. |
| Barometer | A weather instrument that measures air pressure. |
| Cirrus Cloud | A cloud high in the sky that has a feather shape and is created from ice crystals. |
| Climate | The average weather pattern of a region (weather data collected over time). |
| Cold Front | A front where cold air moves under a warm air mass. |
| Condensation | The changing of water from a gas to a liquid in the water cycle. |
| Conditions that make up weather | Temperature; Air pressure; Amount of moisture in the air; Wind; Clouds; Precipitation. |
| Convection Cell | A circular pattern of air rising, air sinking, and wind. |
| Coriolis Effect | The curving path of a moving object caused by the Earth’s rotation. |
| Cumulonimbus Cloud | A tall cloud that produces severe weather. |
| Cumulus Cloud | A cloud that appears puffy and rises up from a flat bottom. |
| Drought | A long period when an area does not receive enough precipitation to support plant growth. |
| Easterlies (Trade Winds) | Global winds existing around the tropical latitudes that blow from east to west. |
| El Niño | A temporary heating of the Pacific Ocean near the equator. A strong El Niño causes wet winters in the Southeastern US. |
| Evaporation | The slow change of water from a liquid to a gas in the water cycle. |
| Fog | A cloud at ground level. |
| Front | A boundary between air masses with different temperatures. |
| Gulf Stream | A warm ocean convection current, moving northeastwards from the Gulf of Mexico along the Atlantic Coast of the US. The Gulf stream moderates weather along the eastern seaboard, warming the air and land there during the cooler months. |
| Hemispheres | Either the northern or southern half of the earth as divided by the equator or the eastern or western half as divided by a meridian. |
| Humidity | The amount of water vapor in the air. |
| Hurricane | A very large, swirling storm with very low pressure at the center. |
| Insolation | The amount of the sun’s energy that reaches the Earth at any given time. |
| Isobar | A line on a weather map connecting places with equal air pressure. |
| Jet stream | A strong band of winds moving from the west to the east, which affects the formation of weather fronts. |
| La Niña | Temporary cooling of the Pacific Ocean near the equator. A strong La Niña causes dry winters in the Southeastern US. |
| Land Breeze | Wind that blows from the land to the sea. |
| Latitude | Imaginary lines on Earth that show how far north or south a location is from the equator. |
| Longitude | Imaginary lines on Earth that show how far east or west a location is from the Prime Meridian. |
| Precipitation | Any form of water particle that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the ground. |
| Relative Humidity | A comparison between how much water vapor is in the air and how much the air could hold. |
| Run Off | Precipitation that flows across the land’s surface into rivers and streams. |
| Sea Breeze | Wind that blows from the sea to the land. |
| Sea Level | The level of the ocean’s surface. Other locations are measured in relation to sea level (ex. 1,500 feet above sea level). |
| Storm Surge | A great rise of the water along a shore caused by low air pressure, seen when hurricanes come close to land. |
| Stratus Cloud | A cloud that forms in blanket like layers. |
| Thunderstorm | The most common sever storm, formed by a cumulonimbus cloud. |
| Tornado | A violent, whirling wind that moves across the ground in a narrow path. |
| Transpiration | The process of plants losing moisture through evaporation. This evaporated water enters the water cycle. |
| Troposphere | The layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth’s surface. |
| Types of precipitation | Rain; Snow; Sleet; Hail. |
| Rain | precipitation that falls through warm air and lands on warm ground |
| Snow | precipitation that grows as ice crystals because of low temperatures in the air and on the ground |
| Sleet | rain that falls through freezing temperatures (freezing the rain drop) |
| Hail | droplets of water that fall and rise over and over, freezing more layers of ice with each rise and fall |
| Warm front | A front where warm air moves in over a cold air mass. |
| Water currents | The Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, and El Niño and La Niña in the Pacific Ocean. These water currents affect the formation of weather fronts. |
| Water Cycle | The continuous movement of water between Earth’s surface and the air, changing from a liquid to a gas to liquid (caused by the heat of the sun). |
| Water Vapor | Water that is in the air in the form of a gas. |
| Weather | What the lower part of the atmosphere is like at any given time. |
| Westerlies | Global winds existing between 30 and 60 degrees latitude that blow from west to east. |
| Wind | Air that moves horizontally. |
| Wind Direction | The direction wind is moving. |
| Wind Speed | How fast wind is moving. |
| Wind Vane | A weather instrument that measures wind direction. |
