Meteorology Flashcards
Atmosphere
The layer of gases that surround the Earth.
Troposphere
Layer of the atmosphere where weather takes place. Airplanes fly here.
Stratosphere
Layer of the atmosphere that contains the ozone layer. It protects us from sunburn.
Mesosphere
Layer 3 of the atmosphere. Temperature gets lower as you go higher
Thermosphere
Layer of the atmosphere that contains ionosphere. Space shuttles fly here
Exosphere
Last layer of the atmosphere where satellites fly
Ozone layer
Helps protect Earth from ultraviolet radiation
Cumulus
Low clouds that are puffy. They look like cotton balls.
Stratus
Low clouds that are layered and blanket like
Cirrus
High, thin clouds that look feathery and are made of ice.
Cumulonimbus
storm clouds, towering
Precipitation
Water that falls from clouds to the ground (now, sleet, hail, freezing rain).
Station Model
Group of symbols that tell us about the weather conditions
Air Masses
Area of air that has the same properties inside.
Humidity
Amount of water vapor (moisture) in the air. It makes you hot and sticky.
Dew Point
Air is cooled to point of saturation. Water vapor turns to moisture on an object.
Cold Front
cold air pushes warm air up and out; creates thunderstorms; bring colder temperatures; move fast
Warm Front
warm air pushes cold air out; creates long-lasting light rain; bring warmer temperatures; move slow
Stationary Front
two air masses meet; neither one is strong enough to push the other out; brings light wind and sometimes rain; do not move far or fast
Occluded Front
fast air mass catches up to warm front and squeezes warm air up and out; creates strong winds and storms
Stable Air
Makes fair weather clouds and a “nice day.”
Unstable Air
Air continues to rise and then thunderstorm clouds form
Thermometer
Measures temperature
°F or °C
Barometer
Measures air pressure
Millibars (mb) or Inches (in)
Hygrometer
Measures humidity
Percentage %
Anemometer
Measures wind speed
Knots or mph
