1.
Air mass: A huge body of air that has similar temperature, air pressure throughout, and humidity
2.
Cirrus: Wispy, feathery clouds made mostly of ice crystals that form at high levels.
3.
Climate: The average, year after year conditions of temperature, precipitation, winds and clouds in an area.
4.
Condensation: The process by which molecules of water vapor in the air become liquid water.
5.
Cumulus: Fluffy, white clouds, usually with flat bottoms, that look like rounded piles of cotton.
6.
Cyclone: A swirling center of low air pressure.
7.
Desert: An arid region that on average recieves less than 25 centimeters of rain a year.
8.
Dew point: The temperature at which condensation begins.
9.
El Niño: A climate event that occurs every two to seven years in the Pacific Ocean, during which winds shift and push warm water toward the coast of South America.
10.
Evaporation: The process by which water molecules in liquid water escape into the air as water vapor.
11.
Front: The boundary where unlike air masses meet do not mix.
12.
Global warming: A gradual increase in the temperature of Earth's atmosphere.
13.
Humidity: The amount of water vapor in a given volume of air.
14.
Hurricane: A tropical storm that has winds about 119 kilometers per hour or higher.
15.
Ice Age: Time in the past when continental glaciers covered large parts of Earth's surface.
16.
Isobar: A line on a weather map that joins places that have the same air pressure.
17.
Isotherm: A line on a weather map that joins places that have the same temperature.
18.
La Niña: A climate event in the eastern Pacific ocean in which surface waters are colder than normal.
19.
Lightning: A sudden spark or energy discharge, caused when electrical charges jump between parts of a cloud, between nearby clouds, or between a cloud and the ground.
20.
Meteorologist: A scientist who studies the causes of weather and tries to predict it.
21.
Ozone hole: A large area of reduced ozone concentration in the stratosphere, gound over Antartica.
22.
Permafrost: Permanently frozen soil found in the tundra climate region.
23.
Polar zone: The areas near both poles, from about 66.5° to 90° north and 66.5° to 90° south latitudes.
24.
Precipitation: Any form of water that falls from clouds & reaches Earth's surface.
25.
Psychrometer: An instrument used to measure relative humidity, consisting of a wet - bulb thermometer and a dry - bulb thermometer.
26.
Rain forest: A forest in the tropical wet climate zone in which large ammounts of rain fall year round.
27.
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.
28.
Savanna: A tropical grassland with scattered clumps of trees.
29.
Storm: A violent disturbance in the atmosphere.
30.
Storm surge: A "dome" of water that sweeps across the coast where a hurricane lands.
31.
Stratus: Clouds that form in flat layers & often cover much of the sky.
32.
Temperate zone: The areas between the tropical and the polar zones, from about 23.5° to 66.5° north & 23.5° to 66.5° south latitude.
33.
Thunderstorm: A small storm often accompainied by heavy precipitation and frequent thunder and lightning.
34.
Tornado: A rapidly, whirling, funnel - shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch Earth's surface.
35.
Tropical zone: The area near the equator, between about 23.5° north latitude and 23.5° south latitude.
36.
Tundra: A polar climate region found across northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia, with short cool summers and bitterly cold winters.
37.
Water cycle: The continual movement of a water amoung Earth's atmosphere, oceans & land surface through evaporation, condensation, & precipitation.
