Quizlet earth science ch. 14

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  1. air mass: a large body of air that is characterized by a sameness of temperature and humidity
  2. air-mass weather: the condition experienced in an area as an air mass passes over it. because air masses are large and fairly homogeneous , air mass weather will be fairly constant and my last for several days
  3. cold front: a front along which a cold air mass thrusts beneath a warmer air mass
  4. continental air mass: an air mass that forms over land; it is normally relatively dry
  5. doppler radar: in addition to the tasks performed by conventional radar, this new generation of weather radar can detect motioin directly and hence greatly improve tornado and severe storm warnings
  6. eye: a zone of scattered clouds and calm averaging about 20 kilometers in diameter at the center of a hurricane
  7. eye wall: the doughnut-shaped area of intense cumulonimbus development and very strong winds that surrounds the eye of a hurricane
  8. front: the boundary between two adjoining air masses having contrasting characteristics
  9. hurricane: a tropical cyclonic storm having winds in excess of 119 kilometers (74 miles) per hour
  10. maritime air mass: an air mass that originates over the ocean; these air masses are relatively humid
  11. middle-latitude or midlatitude cyclone: large low-pressure center with a diameter often exceeding 1000 kilometers (600 miles) that moves from west to east and may last from a few days to more than a week and usually has a cold front and a warm front extending from the central area of low pressure
  12. occluded front: an active cold front overtaking a warm front; as the advancing cold air wedges the warm front upward, a new front emerges between the advancing cold air and the air over which the warm front is gliding
  13. overrunning: warm air gliding up a retreating cold air mass
  14. polar air mass: a cold air mass that forms in a high latitude source region
  15. saffir-simpson scale: a system to establish a ranking the relative intensities of hurricanes
  16. source region: the area where an air mass acquires its characteristics properties of temperature and moisture
  17. stationary front: when the flow on both sides of a front is neither toward the cold air mass nor toward the warm air mass, but almost parallel to the line of the front
  18. storm surge: the abnormal rise of the sea along a shore as a result of strong winds
  19. thunderstorm: a storm produced by a cumulonibus cloud and always accompanied by lightning and thunder; it is of relatively short duration and usually accompanied by strong wind gusts, heavy rain, and sometimes hail.
  20. tornado: a small, very intense cyclonic storm with exceedingly high winds, most often produced along cold fronts in conjunction with severe thunderstorms
  21. tornado warning: a warning issued when a tornado has actually been sighted in an area or is indicated by radar
  22. tornado watch: a forecast issued for areas of about 65,000 square kilometers (25,000 square miles), indicating that conditions are such that tornadoes may develop; it is intended to alert people to the possibility of tornadoes
  23. tropical air mass: a warm-to-hot air mass that forms in the subtropics
  24. tropical depression: by international agreement, a tropical cyclone with maximum winds that do not exceed 61kilometers (38 miles) per hour
  25. tropical storm: by international agreement, a tropical cyclone with maximum winds between 61 and 119 kilometers ( 38 - 74 miles) per hour
  26. warm front: a front along which a warm air mass overrides a retreating mass of cooler air