Weather Vocab

Question 1

Air pressure

Answer 1

The force exerted by air

Question 2

Tropical

Answer 2

very hot and humid:

a tropical climate.

Question 3

Celsius

Answer 3

Thermodynamics. of or relating to a temperature scale having the same units as the Celsius scale but in which the zero point has been shifted so that the triple point of water has the exact value 0.01°; Celsius temperatures are computed from Kelvin values by subtracting 273.15 from the latter

Question 4

Cumulus Cloud

Answer 4

Large, white, puffy clouds that generally appear during fair weather, although they also form thunderheads on hot days. Some carry rain.

Question 5

Cirrus cloud

Answer 5

Lacy or wispy clouds that form at high altitudes, generally before a change in the weather.

Question 6

Thermometer

Answer 6

an instrument for measuring temperature, often a sealed glass tube that contains a column of liquid, as mercury, that expands and contracts, or rises and falls, with temperature changes, the temperature being read where the top of the column coincides with a calibrated scale marked on the tube or its frame.

Question 7

tropical depression

Answer 7

an atmospheric low-pressure system originating in the tropics, specifically, a tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained wind speed is 38 miles per hour (62 kilometers per hour) or less.

Question 8

Ocean current

Answer 8

a flowing; flow, as of a river.

something that flows, as a stream.

Question 9

Dew point

Answer 9

the temperature to which air must be cooled, at a given pressure and water-vapor content, for it to reach saturation; the temperature at which dew begins to form.

Question 10

Hurricane

Answer 10

Meteorology. a tropical cyclone of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or eastern Pacific Ocean, having sustained wind speeds of at least 64 knots (74 miles per hour, 33 meters per second): hurricanes form in waters with surface temperatures of about 80°F (27°C), intensifying as temperatures rise.Compare typhoon

Question 11

Desert

Answer 11

a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all

Question 12

Typhoon

Answer 12

Meteorology. a tropical cyclone in the western Pacific Ocean or northern Indian Ocean, having sustained winds of at least 64 knots (74 miles per hour, 33 meters per second): typhoons form in waters with surface temperatures of about 80°F (27°C), intensifying as temperatures rise.Compare hurricane

Question 13

Humidity

Answer 13

humid condition; moistness; dampness.
relative humidity.
an uncomfortably high amount of relative humidity:

Question 14

Forecast

Answer 14

to predict (a future condition or occurrence); calculate in advance:
to forecast a heavy snowfall; to forecast lower interest rates.

Question 15

Atmosphere

Answer 15

the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air

Question 16

Hail

Answer 16

hailstorm. noun [ C ] us. /ˈheɪlˌstɔrm/ a storm that produces hail (= balls of ice that fall like rain)Feb 23

Question 17

Thunderstorm

Answer 17

a transient storm of lightning and thunder, usually with rain and gusty winds, sometimes with hail or snow, produced by cumulonimbus clouds

Question 18

Cloud

Answer 18

a visible collection of particles of water or ice suspended in the air, usually at an elevation above the earth’s surface

Question 19

Precipitation

Answer 19

the amount of rain, snow, hail, etc., that has fallen at a given place within a given period, usually expressed in inches or centimeters of water

Question 20

Drought

Answer 20

a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops

Question 21

Weather front

Answer 21

A weather front is a boundary between two air masses. It can be thought of like the frontline in a battle, where the warm air represents one side and its ‘enemy,’ the cold air, the other side. Across a front, there can be large variations in temperature, as warm air comes into contact with cooler air.

Question 22

Meteorology

Answer 22

the science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena, including weather and climate.
the atmospheric conditions and weather of an area.

Question 23

Freezing point

Answer 23

the temperature at which a liquid freezes:

The freezing point of water is 32°F, 0°C

Question 24

Tornado

Answer 24

Meteorology. a potentially violent and destructive system of atmospheric circulation, characterized by a long, funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground and made visible by condensation and debris: although tornadoes have occurred on all continents except Antarctica, they are most common in the United States, especially in the area known as Tornado Alley

Question 25

Cumulonimbus Cloud

Answer 25

a cloud of a class indicative of thunderstorm conditions, characterized by large, dense towers that often reach altitudes of 30,000 feet (9,000 meters) or more, cumuliform except for their tops, which appear fibrous because of the presence of ice crystals: occurs as a single cloud or as a group with merged bases and separate tops

Question 26

Thunder

Answer 26

a loud, explosive, resounding noise produced by the explosive expansion of air heated by a lightning discharge

Question 27

Weather

Answer 27

the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc

Question 28

Waterspout

Answer 28

Meteorology.Also called fair-weath·er wa·ter·spout [fair-weth-er] . a funnel-shaped column laden with mist and spray that develops on the surface of a body of water and climbs upward to the cloud that has spawned it: usually formed during conditions of light winds, fair-weather waterspouts have little lateral movement and are not normally accompanied by thunderstorms. Meteorology.Also called tor·na·dic wa·ter·spout [tawr-nad-ik] . a tornado that forms in a downward direction over a body of water, typically during a severe thunderstorm and often accompanied by high winds, dangerous water turbulence, and large hail: although tornadic waterspouts tend to dissipate rapidly upon landfall, they may occasionally move inland.

Question 29

Barometer

Answer 29

Meteorology. any instrument that measures atmospheric pressure.Compare aneroid barometer, mercury barometer.

Question 30

Global warming

Answer 30

an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect.

Question 31

Temperature

Answer 31

a measure of the warmth or coldness of an object or substance with reference to some standard value. The temperature of two systems is the same when the systems are in thermal equilibrium

Question 32

Barometric Pressure ( Atmospheric pressure)

Answer 32

the pressure exerted by the earth's atmosphere at any given point, being the product of the mass of the atmospheric column of the unit area above the given point and of the gravitational acceleration at the given point. a value of standard or normal atmospheric pressure, equivalent to the pressure exerted by a column of mercury 29.92 inches (760 millimeters) high, or 1013 millibars (101.3 kilopascals).

Question 33

Funnel cloud

Answer 33

a rapidly rotating funnel-shaped cloud extending downward from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud, which, if it touches the surface of the earth, is a tornado or waterspout.

Question 34

Climate

Answer 34

the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years