Weather Flashcards
Tropical
The tropical zone is the region that lies just above and below the equator, which is hit by the direct rays of the Sun. It is characterized by heavy rainfall and dense vegetation. The animals commonly seen here are animals like howler monkeys, elephants and tigers; snakes like boa constrictors; and birds like macaws, cockatoos, and toucans.
Celsius
Celsius is a scale on which temperature is measured. On the Celsius scale, water is frozen at 0 degree and boils at 100 degrees.
Cumulus cloud
Cumulus clouds are white and puffy. They are made up of water droplets. They look like balls of cotton wool in the sky. Cumulus clouds are flat at the bottom and rounded at the top. These clouds can grow upward and develop into thunderstorm clouds
Cirrus cloud
You can predict the weather by looking at the clouds in the sky. Some clouds are formed high in the sky and look like feathers. They are called cirrus clouds. Cirrus clouds are white and made up of ice crystals. If you see these clouds in the sky you should expect a change in the weather.
Thermometer
How does a doctor check if you have fever? He uses a thermometer to find how hot your body is. A different kind of thermometer is used to find how hot or cold a day is. A thermometer is a tool used to measure temperature.
Tropical depression
A hurricane usually starts as a low pressure system over warm tropical oceans. As the intensity increases, it develops into a tropical disturbance. As the storm develops sustained winds up to 38 mph, it is classified as a tropical depression. Winds rotate in a counter-clockwise direction in the Northern hemisphere.
Ocean current
Ocean currents are large scale movements of water in the oceans. Ocean currents can be warm or cold. The Gulf Stream cycles warm water from the Gulf of Mexico along the east coast of America, and further to northern Europe. This current keeps the United Kingdom in a moderate climate.
Dew point
Sometimes you can see tiny dew drops on blades of grass and leaves. How is dew formed? When air is warm it can hold more water vapor. At night air cools down. When the temperature drops below a certain point some vapor changes to water. We see this water as dew. The temperature at which dew is formed is called the dew point.
Hurricane
Hurricanes are storms that begin over the oceans. They bring heavy rain and strong winds. These winds can have speeds over 100 miles per hour! Hurricanes often destroy houses and pull out trees.
Desert
Deserts are located at the mid latitudes. They have extremely hot climates and less rainfall. The Sonoran desert is a rocky desert with Saguaro cacti and animals like snakes and lizards. The Sahara desert is a sandy desert having less or no vegetation. The camel is a hardy animal adapted to long periods of no water.
Typhoon
A typhoon is a severe tropical storm that originates in the Pacific Ocean, west of the International Dateline.
Humidity
On a rainy day, wet clothes take longer to dry. Why does this happen? This is because air has a lot of water vapor in it. It cannot take water from the clothes as easily as on a sunny day. The amount of water vapor in the air is called humidity.
Forecast
How does your teacher pick the best day for a field trip? She listens to the weather forecast. A forecast tells you what kind of weather you will have. Forecasts are made by studying things like temperature and wind direction.
Atmosphere
Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air. This is called the atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere is made of gases that help plants and animals to live and grow.
Hail
Sometimes, water droplets in clouds freeze. The frozen drops move up into the cloud, carried by strong winds. More ice begins to form on them. When they become too heavy, they fall as hail. Some hailstones can be as large as baseballs.
