weather Flashcards
humidity
the amount of water vapor in the air
cumulus cloud
puffy,white clouds with flat bottoms
stratus cloud
clouds that form in layers
cirrus cloud
thin, feathery white clouds found at high altitudes
cumulonimbus cloud
Cumulonimbus is a dense, towering vertical cloud, forming from water vapor carried by powerful upward air currents. If observed during a storm, these clouds may be referred to as thunderheads.
condensation
water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it
evaporation
the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.
precipitation
rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground
runoff
the draining away of water (or substances carried in it) from the surface of an area of land, a building or structure, etc
rain
moisture condensed from the atmosphere that falls visibly in separate drops
sleet
a form of precipitation consisting of ice pellets, often mixed with rain or snow
snow
atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals and falling in light white flakes or lying on the ground as a white layer.
hail
pellets of frozen rain which fall in showers from cumulonimbus clouds
Polar – Maritime Airmass
air coming originally from polar regions but having humidity and temperature properties modified by passing over relatively warm oceans
Tropical – Maritime Airmass
the most important moisture-bearing and rain-producing air mass throughout the year
Polar – Continental Airmass
Continental polar (cP) or continental arctic (cA) air masses are cold, dry, and stable. These air masses originate over northern Canada and Alaska as a result of radiational cooling. They move southward, east of Rockies into the Plains, then eastward
tropical- continental air mass
a type of tropical air produced by the subtropical ridge over large areas of land and typically originate from low-latitude deserts such as the Sahara Desert in northern Africa,
