| A | B |
|---|
| Jet Stream | These winds are located near the top of the troposphere and can be very unpredictable. |
| Wind | The movement of air from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. |
| air mass | A huge body of air that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height |
| cold front | forms when cold air moves under warm air which is less dense and pushes air up (produces thunderstorms heavy rain or snow |
| warm front | a front where warm air moves over cold air and brings drizzly rain as the humidity in the warm front condenses due to the cold front |
| stationary front | when a warm air mass and a cold air mass meet and no movement occurs causing rain for days |
| Troposphere | The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere where weather happens |
| Stratosphere | The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere which houses the ozone layer |
| air pressure | The measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface |
| Precipitation | Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface (snow, sleet, rain, hail) |
| greenhouse effect | warming that results when solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere |
| ozone layer | a layer in the stratosphere that contains a concentration of ozone molecules sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun |
| wind direction | the direction from which the wind is blowing described as NE or SW and is measured using a wind vane |
| wind speed | how fast the wind is blowing measured with an anemometer |
| humidity | The amount of water vapor in the air |
| relative humidity | The percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor that air can contain at a particular temperature before it starts to precipitate. |
| Ultraviolet Radiation (UV Rays) | A type of energy from the Sun, can harm the skin and can cause cancer (ozone filters this harmful radiation out). |
| prevailing winds | Global winds that blow constantly from the same direction |
| natural formations that cause climate | large bodies of water, latitude, landforms, vegetation |
| rain shadow | a region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side |
| thermometer | An instrument used to measure temperature |
| rain gauge | An instrument used to measure the amount of precipitation. |
| wind vane (or wind sock) | measures wind direction |
| anemometer | An instrument used to measure wind speed |
| barometer | An instrument that measures atmospheric pressure |
| hygrometer | an instrument for measuring the humidity of the atmosphere |
| weather balloon | A balloon released into the atmosphere that carries a package of instruments to record data about temperature, air pressure, and humidity. |
