Weather Flashcards
Air Pressure
Answer: the force that air puts on an area (related word: pressure)
Tropical
Answer: describing a climate that is very hot and humid; describing an area of Earth that is near the equator
Celsius
Answer: the metric temperature scale: Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius, and it freezes at 0 degrees Celsius
Cumulus Cloud
Answer: large, fluffy, white clouds, often seen in fair skies; can develop into cumulonimbus clouds
Cirrus Cloud
Answer: thin, wispy-looking clouds; commonly found at heights greater than 6 km
Thermometer (weather definition)
Answer: a device used to measure temperature
Tropical Depression
Answer: a region of low pressure with counter-clockwise wind rotation that develops into a hurricane or tropical storm
Ocean Current
Answer: large-scale movement of water within the oceans in a certain direction
Dew Point
Answer: the temperature at which water vapor in the air condenses into water
Hurricane
Answer: a storm with strong winds and rain that forms over tropical waters (related term: typhoon, tropical cyclone)
Desert
Answer: an area that gets little precipitation and has very little vegetation
Typhoon
Answer: a hurricane or tropical storm originating in the Pacific Ocean
Humidity
Answer: the measure of how much water vapor is in the air
Forecast
Answer: (v) to analyze weather data and make an educated guess about weather in the future; (n) a prediction about what the weather will be like in the future based on weather data
Atmosphere
Answer: layers of gas that surround a planet (related word: atmospheric)
Hail
Answer: small, icy balls that fall from the sky
Thunderstorm
Answer: a weather system that produces heavy precipitation, winds, lightning, and thunder
Cloud
Answer: a collection of water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere
Precipitation
Answer: water that is released from clouds in the sky; includes rain, snow, sleet, hail, and freezing rain
Drought
Answer: a prolonged shortage of rainfall
Front
Answer: in weather, the boundary between two masses of air with different properties
Meteorology
Answer: the study of patterns of weather
Freezing Point
Answer: the temperature at which a liquid turns into a solid
Tornado
Answer: a funnel-shaped cloud or column of air that rotates at high speeds and extends downward from a cloud to the ground
Cumulonimbus Cloud
Answer: anvil-shaped cloud that is often involved in heavy or violent storms: Cumulonimbus clouds are also called thunderheads. (related words: cumulus, nimbus)
Thunder
Answer: a loud noise that happens when lightning heats the air and causes it to expand and contract quickly
Weather
Answer: the properties of the atmosphere at a given time and location, including temperature, air movement and precipitation
Waterspout
Answer: a funnel-shaped cloud that forms over water and pulls water upward
Barometer
Answer: a tool used to measure air pressure (related word: barometric)
Global Warming
Answer: the slow warming of Earth’s atmosphere due to climatic change
Temperature
Answer: a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms in a system, used to express thermal energy in degrees.
Barometric Pressure
Answer: the pressure (force per unit area) of the atmosphere against a surface
Funnel Cloud
Answer: a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud: Funnel clouds do not touch the ground.
Climate
Answer: the current or past long-term weather conditions characteristic of a region or the entire Earth.
