| A | B |
|---|
| weather | present state of the atmosphere |
| climate | average weather over a period of time |
| humidity | water vapor in the air |
| relative humidity | amount of water vapor in the air compared to the amount it is able to hold |
| dew point | temperature at which condensation occurs |
| saturated | holding as much moisture as it possibly can |
| fog | stratus cloud that forms next to the ground |
| psychrometer | instrument that measures relative humidity |
| cumulonimbus | thunderhead cloud |
| cumulus | fluffy clouds |
| cirrus | high wispy clouds |
| cirrocumulus | high fluffy clouds |
| cirrostratus | high layered clouds |
| altostratus | middle layered clouds |
| altocumulus | middle fluffy clouds |
| nimbostratus | low, thick, layered rain clouds |
| stratus | layered clouds |
| stratocumulus | fluffy, layered clouds |
| precipitation | any form of falling water from the sky |
| maritime polar | wet, cold air mass |
| maritime tropical | wet, warm air mass |
| continental polar | dry, cold air mass |
| continental tropical | dry, warm air mass |
| cold front | cold air pushes warm air up quickly creating rain and thunderstorms |
| warm front | warm air slowly rises over a denser cold air mass creating cirrus, stratus, and then nimbostratus clouds |
| low pressure | usually means cloudy weather because of rising air |
| high pressure | usually means clear weather |
| thunder | created when lightning heats the air as it passes through |
| lightning | created by areas of opposite charges |
| tornado | violent, whirling wind that moves on land |
| hurricane | large,swirling, low pressure system that forms over warm tropical waters |
| meteorologist | person who studies the weather |
| isotherm | connects points of equal temperature |
| isobar | connects points of equal pressure |
| tropics | area between 23 1/2 degrees north and south of the equator |
| temperate | area where there is a seasonal change in weather |
| polar | area at the poles where weather stays cold most of the year |
| stationary front | where cold and warm air stops moving forward |
| occluded front | two cool air masses merge and force warm air up in the middle |
| air mass | large body of air that takes on the characteristics of the land its over |
