Weather and Climate Flashcards
What is a Meteorologist?
A person who studies weather.
What is a Front?
The border between air masses of different densities and temperatures.
What are the three types of Fronts?
Warm, Cold, and Stationary.
What is a Stationary Front?
A Front where two others meet but they don’t displace each other.
What is Lightning?
A discharge of atmospheric electrical energy.
What is a Tornado?
A spiral of fast-moving wind.
What is a Hurricane?
A storm system similar to a thunderstorm but is much larger.
What is Climate?
The average weather in a given area.
Why is it generally warmer at the Equator?
Rays hit the equator more directly and the rays spread over a smaller region.
Why is it so cold at the Poles?
Sun rays barely reach those parts of the earth, especially in the North Pole where the Pole faces away from the sun.
What is Topography?
The study of land surfaces and protrusions (such as mountains).
Why is Topography important?
It affects wind patterns and temperature (mostly mountains do).
What is a Solstice?
A specific time where the sun reaches its highest/lowest point in the sky at noon and the day is either the longest/shortest of the year.
Why do we have seasons?
Because of the rotation and tilt of the planet.
