Weather Vocab

Question 1

Air pressure

Answer 1

the force that air puts on an area

Question 2

Tropical

Answer 2

describing a climate that is very hot and humid; describing an area of Earth that is near the equator

Question 3

Tropical depression

Answer 3

a region of low pressure with counter-clockwise wind rotation that develops into a hurricane or tropical storm

Question 4

Celsius

Answer 4

the scale of temperature in which water freezes at 0° and boils at 100° under standard conditions.

Question 5

Cumulus Cloud

Answer 5

large, fluffy, white clouds, often seen in fair skies; can develop into cumulonimbus clouds

Question 6

Cirrus Clouds

Answer 6

thin, wispy-looking clouds; commonly found at heights greater than 6 km

Question 7

a device used to measure temperature

Answer 7

Thermometer

Question 8

large-scale movement of water within the oceans in a certain direction

Answer 8

Ocean current

Question 9

Dew point

Answer 9

the temperature at which water vapor in the air condenses into water

Question 10

storm with strong winds and rain that forms over tropical waters (related term: typhoon, tropical cyclone

Answer 10

Hurricane

Question 11

an area that gets little precipitation and has very little vegetation

Answer 11

Desert

Question 12

Typhoon

Answer 12

a hurricane or tropical storm originating in the Pacific Ocean

Question 13

the measure of how much water vapor is in the air

Answer 13

Humidity

Question 14

to analyze weather data and make an educated guess about weather in the future; (n) a prediction about what the weather will be like in the future based on weather data

Answer 14

Forecast

Question 15

Atmosphere

Answer 15

layers of gas that surround a planet

Question 16

Hail

Answer 16

small, icy balls that fall from the sky

Question 17

Thunderstorm

Answer 17

a weather system that produces heavy precipitation, winds, lightning, and thunder

Question 18

Clouds

Answer 18

a collection of water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere

Question 19

Precipitation

Answer 19

water that is released from clouds in the sky; includes rain, snow, sleet, hail, and freezing rain

Question 20

Drought

Answer 20

a prolonged shortage of rainfall

Question 21

Front

Answer 21

in weather, the boundary between two masses of air with different properties

Question 22

Meteorology

Answer 22

the study of patterns of weather

Question 23

Freezing point

Answer 23

the temperature at which a liquid turns into a solid

Question 24

Tornado

Answer 24

a funnel-shaped cloud or column of air that rotates at high speeds and extends downward from a cloud to the ground

Question 25

Cumulonimbus Cloud

Answer 25

anvil-shaped cloud that is often involved in heavy or violent storms: Cumulonimbus clouds are also called thunderheads. (related words: cumulus, nimbus)

Question 26

Thunder

Answer 26

a loud noise that happens when lightning heats the air and causes it to expand and contract quickly

Question 27

Weather

Answer 27

the properties of the atmosphere at a given time and location, including temperature, air movement and precipitation

Question 28

Waterspout

Answer 28

funnel-shaped cloud that forms over water and pulls water upward

Question 29

Barometer

Answer 29

a tool used to measure air pressure

Question 30

Global warming

Answer 30

the slow warming of Earth’s atmosphere due to climatic change

Question 31

Temperature

Answer 31

a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms in a system, used to express thermal energy in degrees

Question 32

Barometric pressure

Answer 32

the pressure (force per unit area) of the atmosphere against a surface

Question 33

Funnel cloud

Answer 33

a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud: Funnel clouds do not touch the ground.

Question 34

Climate

Answer 34

the current or past long-term weather conditions characteristic of a region or the entire Earth.