meteorology Flashcards
the decrease of temperature in the troposphere
Environmental Lapse Rate
The average value of the Environmental Lapse Rate at 6.5 degrees C/km
Normal Lapse Rate
The occasional condition when the air temperature may increase with height
Temperature Inversion
There region where the air temperature remains constant with height on average
Isothermal
Lines on a map connecting points that have the same temperature
Isotherm
breaks in the tropopause and the tropospheric air mixes with stratospheric air and vice versa, in which there are high winds often at speeds exceeding 100 knots
Jet streams
found between temperate region and the tropical region
subtropical jet streams
heat that can be felt and measured with a thermometer
sensible heat
transfer of atmospheric property through horizontal moving air
advection
light with wavelengths shorter than violet 0.4 um
ultraviolet
radiation as streams of particles
photons
longest day of the year that occurs june in the northern hemisphere and in december in the southern hemisphere
summer solstice
marks the first day of summer season
summer solstice
occurs during september in the northern hemisphere and considered as vernal equinox in the southern hemisphere
autumn equinox
In autumnal equinox which hemisphere does the mark of the first day of autumn season?
northern hemisphere
In autumnal equinox which hemisphere does the mark of the first day of spring season?
southern hemisphere
warm spell that occurs in some years around the middle autumn that may last up to several days up to a week or more
indian summer
shortest day of the year occurs in dec in the northern hemisphere and in june in southern hemisphere
winter solstice
marks the first day of winter
winter solstice
occurs during march in the northern hemisphere and considered as the autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere
vernal equinox
called as the volume of air
parcel
called as the water vapor density
absolute humidity
weight or mass of the water vapor is compared with the volume of air in the parcel
absolute humidity
weight of the water vapor in the parcel is compared with the total weight of the air including vapor in the air
specific humidity
when the weight of the water vapor in the parcel with the weight or mass of the remaining dry air
mixing ratio
ratio of the amount of water vapor actual in the air to the maximum amount of water vapor required for saturation at that particular temperature and pressure
relative humidity
the partial pressure of water vapor, indicating the air’s total water vapor content
actual vapor pressure
describes how much water vapor is necessary to make the air saturated at any given temperature
saturation vapor pressure
air with relative humidity greater than 100%
supersaturated air
good indicator of the air’s actual water vapor content and the temperature to which air would have to be cooled with no change in air pressure or moisture content for saturation to occur
dew point
the relative dew point at or below freezing temperature
frost point
the relative dew point at or below freezing temperature
frost point
visible when frost that forms when the dew point is at our below freezing point
frost
index combining air temperature which relative humidity to determine the apparent temperature
heat index
instrument used to obtain dew point and relative humidity
psychrometer
instrument that measure humidity
hygrometer
layer of particles dispersed through a portion of the atmosphere
haze
forms either by air cooling below saturation or dew point or by evaporation and moist air mixes with relatively dry air
fog
also called as ground fog and is produced by Earth’s radiational cooling
radiation fog
forms when warm, moist air moves over a sufficiently colder surface cooling to its saturation point
advection fog
forms when warm, moist air moves over a sufficiently colder surface cooling to its saturation point
advection fog
fog that forms as moist air flows up along an elevated plain, hill, or mountain
unslope fog
also called mixing fog and forms when two unsaturated air masses mix, and evaporation initially enriches air with water vapor
evaporation fog
french naturalist that proposed in 1802 the first system for classifying clouds
jean baptiste lamarck
long streams of cirrus clouds
mare’s tails
also called scud and are irregular shreds with a ragged appearance that form as nimbostratus clouds drift rapidly with the wind
stratus clouds
when cumulus clouds continue to grow large and develop more vertically
cumulus congestus
clouds that form in the wave crest that usually have a lens shape
lenticular clouds
also called as cap cloud resembles silken scarf capping the top of a sprouting cumulus cloud, and forms when moist winds are deflected up and over the top of a building cumulus congestus
pileus clouds
luminous night clouds that appear as thin, wavy, bluish-white clouds that develop in the upper mesosphere, having starts shine brightly
nacreous clouds
appears as rolling, very turbulent, choppy wave cloud but doesn’t produce a stormy weather
asperitas clouds
region on the leeward side of the mountain where precipitation is low and air is often drier
rain shadow
clouds with temperatures above freezing at all levels
warm clouds
also called as ice pellets product of ice crystal accretion
Graupei
process of ice crystals growing larger as they collide with supercooled cloud droplets
accretion
also called bergeron process both ice crystals and liquid cloud droplets are present in clouds at temperatures below freezing
ice crystal process
raindrops only have diametes less than 0.5mm
drizzle
raindrops evaporate even before reaching the ground
virga
sudden rain that happens if the updraft weakens or changes direction and becomes downdraft, causing te suspended drops to fall to the ground
rainshower
type of snowfall that happens when ice crystals and snowflakes fall from high cirrus clouds and sublimates into vapor before reaching the ground
fallstreak
light showers of snow that develops from cumulus clouds and fall intermittently for short durations producing accumulations
flurries
sleet
falling snowflake falls into warmer air begins to melt turns back to ice and becomes ice pellet
other term for freezing rain
glaze
winds flowing in a straight path, parallel to the isobars at a constant speed
Geostropic wind
winds are blowing in a west to east direction
zonal flow
anemometer that measure changes in ultrasonic signals that are produced when the wind blows across three sets of transmitters and receivers
sonic anemometer
wind circulations that has violent vertical motions that produce extreme turbulence and hazardous flying conditions
rotor
sudden turbulence aloft that can occur when the wind changes its speed or direction
wind shear
also called cold core are regions of surface high atmospheric pressure created as the atmosphere cools
thermal highs
wavelike clouds that form in region of wind shear
billow clouds
downslope winds stronger than mountain breezes
katabatic wind
cold and gusty northeasterly wind descends from russia as a polar invasion of cold air down the slopes from high plateau and reaches lowlands
bora
less violent descend the western mountains into the rhone valley of france and then into the meditteranean sea
mistral
also called columbia gorge wind occurs when cold air accumulates over the columbia plateau that may flow westward through the columbia river gorge
coho
also called columbia gorge wind occurs when cold air accumulates over the columbia plateau that may flow westward through the columbia river gorge
descends the eastern slope of the rocky mountains
chinook wind
chinook winds in the european alps
foehn
chinook winds in the argentina
zonda
warm, dry wind that flows downhill from the east or northeast into southern california sta ana canyon
sta ana wind
tumbling dark cloud storm composed of dust or sand that forms as cold downdrafts
haboob
model that proposes a huge thermally driven convection cell in each hemisphere
single cell model
region over the equatorial waters where the air is warm, the horizontal pressure gradient is weak and the winds are light
doldrums
belts of high pressure at latitudes near 30 degrees that are produced due to the convergence of air loft
subtropical highs
steady winds blown due to the coriolis force deflecting tha air from the northeast in the northern hemisphere and from the southeast in the southern hemisphere
trade winds
boundary near the equator where the air rises due to the convergence of the northeast trade and southeast trades
intertropical convergence zone
westerly air flows found in both hemispheres at latitude 30 degrees that move toward the poles and deflects toward the east
westerlies
zone of low pressure near the poles
subpolar low
boundary between the tropical and polar air masses
polar front
region of cold air from the poles being deflected by the coriolis force, generating a general flow of air from the northeast
polar easterlies
cell of thermal circulation in the poles found in both hemisphere
polar cell
cell of thermal circulation between the latitudes 30 degrees and 60 degrees found in both hemispheres
ferrel cell
cell of thermal circulation between the equator and latitude 30 degrees in both hemispheres
hadley cell
a subtropical anticyclones found in eastern atlantic cell of thermal circulation between the latitudes 25 degrees and 35 degrees found in both hemispheres develop in response to the convergence of air aloft
bermuda high
forms over southern indian ocean
willy-willy
forms over the western south indian ocean
cyclone
forms overwarm northern atlantic and eastern north pacific oceans
hurricane
huge shallow thermal anticyclone in Asia that forms because of the intense cooling of the land
siberian high
huge shallow less thermal anticyclone in north america that forms because of the intense cooling of the land
canadian high
seesaw pattern of reversing surface air pressure at opposite ends of the paciific ocean
southern oscillation
reversal in air pressure and the ocean warming being more or less simultaneous
ENSO el nino southern oscillation
ocean atmosphere interactions where a warmer or colder ocean surface can influence weather patterns in distant parts of the world
teleconnections
oscillation like ENSO that has a warm and cool phase but has more influence in the mid talitudes of the north pacific than in the tropical pacific and operates a much longer scale
pacific decadal oscillation
wINDS INCREASE BETWEEN 20 ANd 24
tropical depression
winds reach between 35 and 63
tropical storm
theory explaining the life cycle of a mid latitude cyclone
polar front theory
process of developing or strengthening a mid latitude cyclone
cyclogenesis
storms that form along the eastern seaboard of USA and then move northeastward
nor’ easters
troughs and developing cyclones that formed as westerly winds blow over a mountain range with the air expanding vertically on the downwind or lee side, which can help intensity and pre-existing areas of low pressure
lee side lows
A scale for cyclonee that uses maximum winds that are accurately determinedby modern observing techniques and are more directly relevant to a storm’s impact
saffir-simpson hurrican scale
two or more tropical cyclones pass or cross with each other
fujiwhara effect
two or more tropical cyclones pass or cross with each other
fujiwhara effect
two storms are equal in strength forming a common point between them where they orbit or dance around a center
dance effect
interacting cyclones is more powerful than the other causing them to merge into one massive storm
merge effect
the leading edge of the cold outflowing air that forms when the cold downdraft reaches the Earth’s surface and it pushes outward in all directions
gust front
high winds behind a strong gust front that are distingushed from the rotatin gwind of a tornado
straight line winds
forms as warm moist air rises along the forward edge of the gust front
shelf clouds
ominous-looking that forms just behind the gust front which appear slowly spin about a horizontal axis
roll clouds
huge gust front that forms when gust fronts merge
outflow boundary
localized downdraft beneath an intense thunderstorm that hits the ground and spreads horizontally in a radial burst of wind, much like tap water pouring and striking the sink
downburst
multicell thunderstorms that may form as a line of thunderstorms directly along a cold front and extend for hundreds of kilometes or may form in the warm air 100 to 300 km out ahead of the cold front
squall- line thunderstorms
a line of multicell thunderstorms
squall line
a bow shaped squall line
bow echo
a bow shaped squall line
windstorm that forms if straight line winds gusting to more than 50 knots
derecho
may form in such a way that the outflow of cold air from the downdraft never undercuts the updraft in a region where there is a strong vertical wind shear
supercell thunderstorm
intense, long lasting thunderstorm with a single violently rotating updraft
supercell
rotating air column on the south side of the storm usually 5 to 10km across
mesocyclone
a rotating cloud that may descend from the base of the storm if humid low level air drawn into the updraft
wall cloud
narrow zone where there is a sharp horizontal change in moisture
dryline
scale proposed by fujita for classifying tornadoes acc to their rotational win speed
enhanced fujita scale
who made the classification for the world climate based on the annual and monthly averages of temperature and precipitation
waldimir koppen
boreal forests of conifers and birches
taiga
cold spell that occurred about 10000 years ago that ended abruptly
younger dryas
cold spell that occurred about 10000 years ago that ended abruptly
interglacial period
warmer periods between glacial advances which can last for 10000 years or more
interglacial period
northern warm spell during the holocene epoch
mid-holocene maximum
a cold period between the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries that averagely cooled the northern hemisphere by less than 1 degrees celcius but was cold enough to cause the alpine glaciers to grow and heavily impacted the many areas in europe making the winters long and severe, and summers short and wet
little ice age
a period between 1645 and 1715 which coincides with the little ice age very few sunspots were observed which reduced the solar energy output
maunder minimum
when did PAGASA established?
december 8, 1972
what is the climate of the philippines
tropical and maritime and charac high temp, high humidity, and abundant rainfall due to its geography and location
what is the mean annual temperature of ph
26.6 degrees celcius
when is the coolest temperature and warmest temperature of ph
january 25.5 and may 28.3
when does the temp and humidity attain their max levels in ph
march to may
which places does receive the greatest precipitation in ph?
baguio, eastern samar, and eastern surigao
which places does receive the lowest precipitation in ph?
cotabato gensan only 978 mm
dry from nov to april and wet during the rest of the year max rain period is from june to sep
type I
no dry season with a very pronounced max rain period from dec to feb no single dry month minimum monthly rainfall occurs during the period fromdec to feb or from march to may
type II
no pronounced max rain period with very dry lasting only from one to 3 months dec to feb or march to may
type III
rainfall is more or less evenly distributed
type IV
also called winter monsoon and the northeast monsoon in the ph that brings cold winds from the northeast over the eastern side of the country oct-april
amihan
also called as the summer monsoon southwest monsoon in the ph that brings warm, moist winds from the southwest over the western portion of the country from may to september
habagat
how many enters the country?
average of 20 but 10 are typhoons and 5 can be destructive
tropical cyclones active time
aug most active least is may
