| Term | Definition |
|---|
| tornado | rapidly whirling, funnel shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch earth's surface |
| cumulonimbus clouds | tornadoes form in this type of cloud |
| tornado alley | area in the Great Plains where many tornadoes occur |
| hurricane | a tropical cyclone that has winds of 119 kph or higher |
| storm surge | a dome of water that sweeps across the coast where the hurricane lands |
| evacuate | the best way to prepare for a hurricane |
| lake effect snow | super heavy snow that forms after an air mass moves across the Great Lakes |
| maritime | an air mass that forms over an ocean |
| tropical | a warm air mass |
| polar | a cold air mass |
| continental | an air mass that forms over land |
| cold front | usually brings cool, clear weather after this type of front passes by |
| cyclone | high pressure center of dry air |
| cyclone | low pressure center of moist air |
| maritime tropical | a warm, moist air mass |
| continental tropical | the air mass that would form over Mexico, Arizona, and Texas |
| continental polar | the cold air mass that would form in central Canada |
| maritime tropical | the air mass that would form over the Gulf of Mexico |
| occluded front | when a warm air mass gets caught between two cold air masses |
| stationary front | two air masses meet but neither is strong enough to move the other one out of the way, can bring days of rain or clouds |
| radiation | the method of transfer from heat energy from the sun to reach earth's surface |
| jet streams | bands of high-altitude, high speed winds |
| stratus | type of cloud that forms in flat layers and often covers most of the sky |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls from the sky |
| cirrus | high feathery icy clouds |
| cumulus | puffy white clouds |
| nimbostratus | flat rain clouds that cover most of the sky |
| cumulonimbus | thunderstorm clouds |
| global winds | winds that blow steadily from specific directions for long distances |
| cloud seeding | tiny crystals of silver iodine and dry ice are sprinkled into clouds from airplanes to encourage rain to form |
| sleet | raindrops that fall through a layer of air that is below freezing and freeze before hitting the ground |
| snow | water vapor in the air converted into ice crystals which fall to Earth |
| hail | round pellets of ice larger than 5mm, forms during thunderstorms |
| freezing rain | raindrops that freeze when they touch a cold surface |
| fog | clouds that form at or near the ground |
| drizzle | precipitation that is still liquid but less than 0.5 mm in diameter |
| psychrometer | tool used to measure relative humidity |
| dew point | the temperature in which condensation of water begins |
| relative humidity | the percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the amount it can hold |
| greenhouse effect | gases form a blanket around Earth that hold heat in the air |
| scattering | light in atmosphere is reflected in all directions |
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