Geography Key Words 2 Flashcards
Area of low pressure in temperate latitudes such as the British Isles.
Depression
Atmospheric condition where air rises and the weight of the air at the surface becomes lower than average. This is also called a depression.
Low pressure
All moisture that reaches the Earth’s surface, irrespective of type.
Precipitation
Average weather conditions recorded at a place over many years.
Climate
Dividing line between cold and warm air, where the warm air is gradually forces to rise.
Warm front
Dividing line between cold and warm air, where the warm air is forced to rise rapidly.
Cold front
Precipitation caused by the passage of a warm front and cold front in a depression
Frontal rainfall
Area of high pressure bringing cloudless skies
Anticyclone
Wind direction that occurs most frequently at a place
Prevailing wind
Dividing line where a cold and warm front equalise their pressure and temperature and join
Occluded front
Areas between 30 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator. Here climates tend to be more moderate and extremes of weather are unusual e.g. UK
Temperate latitudes
A volume of air defined by its temperature and water vapour content. They may cover many thousands of miles and adapt to the characteristics of the surface below them
Air mass
What the weather was like before a new weather event E.g. wet conditions before a storm can saturate the soil which then speeds up run-off and can make floods more likely
Antecedent conditions
A line on a map that connects areas of equal air pressure
Isobar
When a weather event is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern. Flooding, heavy snow or heat waves are examples of this in the UK
Extreme weather
