 | Term | Definition |
| |
air mass |
a large body of air that is characterized by a sameness of temperature and humidity |
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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 |
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cold front |
a front along which a cold air mass thrusts beneath a warmer air mass |
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continental air mass |
an air mass that forms over land; it is normally relatively dry |
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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 |
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eye |
a zone of scattered clouds and calm averaging about 20 kilometers in diameter at the center of a hurricane |
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eye wall |
the doughnut-shaped area of intense cumulonimbus development and very strong winds that surrounds the eye of a hurricane |
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front |
the boundary between two adjoining air masses having contrasting characteristics |
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hurricane |
a tropical cyclonic storm having winds in excess of 119 kilometers (74 miles) per hour |
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maritime air mass |
an air mass that originates over the ocean; these air masses are relatively humid |
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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 |
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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 |
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overrunning |
warm air gliding up a retreating cold air mass |
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polar air mass |
a cold air mass that forms in a high latitude source region |
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saffir-simpson scale |
a system to establish a ranking the relative intensities of hurricanes |
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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 |
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storm surge |
the abnormal rise of the sea along a shore as a result of strong winds |
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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. |
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tornado |
a small, very intense cyclonic storm with exceedingly high winds, most often produced along cold fronts in conjunction with severe thunderstorms |
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tornado warning |
a warning issued when a tornado has actually been sighted in an area or is indicated by radar |
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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 |
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tropical air mass |
a warm-to-hot air mass that forms in the subtropics |
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tropical depression |
by international agreement, a tropical cyclone with maximum winds that do not exceed 61kilometers (38 miles) per hour |
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tropical storm |
by international agreement, a tropical cyclone with maximum winds between 61 and 119 kilometers ( 38 - 74 miles) per hour |
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warm front |
a front along which a warm air mass overrides a retreating mass of cooler air |
| |
source region |
the area where an air mass acquires its characteristics properties of temperature and moisture |
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