| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Air mass | A huge body of air that has similar temperature, pressure, and humidity throughout |
| Tropical air mass | A warm air mass that forms in the tropics and has low air pressure |
| Polar air mass | A cold air mass that forms north of 50° north latitude and south of 50° south latitude and has high air pressure |
| Maritime air mass | A humid air mass that forms over oceans |
| Continental air mass | A dry air mass that forms over land |
| Front | The area where air masses meet and do not mix |
| Occluded | Cut off, as the warm air mass at an occluded front is cut off from the ground by cooler air beneath it |
| Cyclone | A swirling center of low air pressure |
| Anticyclone | A high-pressure center of dry air |
| Storm | A violent disturbance in the atmosphere |
| Lightning | A sudden spark, or energy discharge, caused when electrical charges jump between parts of a cloud or between a cloud and the ground |
| Tornado | A rapidly whirling, funnel-shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch Earth's surface, usually leaving a destructive path |
| Hurricane | A tropical storm that has winds of 119 kilometers per hour or higher; typically about 600 kilometers across |
| Storm surge | a dome of water that sweeps across the coast where the hurricane lands |
| Evacuate | To move away temporarily |
| Flash flood | A sudden, violent flood that occurs within a few hours, or even minutes, of a heavy rainstorm |
| Meteorologist | A scientist who studies the causes of weather and tries to predict it |
| El Nino | A warm water current that occurs every 2 to 7 years in the Pacific Ocean, causing changes in winds, currents, and weather patterns that can lead to dramatic climate changes |
| Isobar | Lines on a map joining places that have the same air pressure |
| Isotherm | Lines on a map joining places that have the same temperature |
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