20 vocabs

Question 1

wind at high levels above earth’s surface, where pressure gradient force equals the coriolis effect

Answer 1

geostrophic wind

Question 2

the movement of atmospheric mass out of a region

Answer 2

divergence

Question 3

easterly winds found in the tropical regions north and south of the Equator

Answer 3

trade winds

Question 4

high-speed air flow in narrow bands within the upper-air westerlies and along certain other global latitude zones at high levels

Answer 4

jet stream

Question 5

circulation of large-scale currents around ocean basins bounded by continents

Answer 5

gyre

Question 6

localized regions of very high winds embedded within the overall jet stream

Answer 6

jet streak

Question 7

any storm in which vertical motions are sufficient to cause lightning and thunder

Answer 7

thunderstorm

Question 8

boundary separating hot, dry air from warm, moist air along which thunderstorms tend to form

Answer 8

dry line

Question 9

an electrical discharge produced by a thunderstorm, resulting in a flash of light extending from cloud to cloud or cloud to ground

Answer 9

lightning

Question 10

a rapidly rotating column of air extending from the base of a thunderstorm that comes in contact with the ground

Answer 10

tornado

Question 11

the movement of atmospheric mass into a region

Answer 11

convergence

Question 12

lines on a map drawn through all points having the same atmospheric pressure

Answer 12

isobars

Question 13

zone of convergence of air masses along the equatorial trough

Answer 13

Intertropical Convergence Zone

Question 14

boundary between cold polar air masses and warm tropical air masses

Answer 14

polar front

Question 15

extensive body of air in which temperature and moisture characteristics are fairly uniform over a large area

Answer 15

air mass

Question 16

rapid rise of the coastal water level accompanying the onshore arrival of a tropical or midlatitude cyclone

Answer 16

storm surge

Question 17

a strong localized downdraft from a thunderstorm that produces rapid changes in surface wind speeds

Answer 17

microburst

Question 18

sound waves generated from the rapid expansion of superheated air around a lightning bolt

Answer 18

thunder

Question 19

process of cloud electrification in which convective transport of charged air parcels results in differences of charge between the top and bottom of a cloud

Answer 19

charge separation

Question 20

scale used to rate the intensity of a tornado by examining the damage caused to different types of human-made structures

Answer 20

Fujita intensity scale