What is Weather Glossary and Terms? | Types, Definition, Structure, Function & Facts
Anemometer – Meteorological instrument used to measure wind speed.
Barometer – Meteorological instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure.
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Blizzard – Snowstorm with winds of 35 mph or more.
Climate – A pattern of weather in an area measured over a long period of time.
Cloud – A mass of small water droplets floating in the atmosphere that we can see from the ground.
Coriolis Effect – The effect that Earth’s rotation has on terrestrial objects, such as prevailing winds and ocean currents.
Depression: An area of low atmospheric pressure surrounded by clouds and precipitation.
Dew – Drops of water caused by water vapor condensing on objects near the ground.
El Nino – A period when the waters of the Pacific Ocean near the equator warm up.
Eye of a Hurricane – The center of a hurricane or tropical cyclone where the air pressure is low, there are no clouds, and the winds are calm.
Flash Flood – A flash flood is a flood that occurs rapidly (within just a few hours), usually caused by heavy rain.
Fog – A low cloud that is close to the ground and difficult to see.
Front – The boundary between low and high air pressure systems.
Hail – Hail is a type of precipitation in the form of ice flakes. It forms during heavy thunderstorms.
High – pressure system: An area with high barometric pressure and cool, dry air.
Humidity – A measurement of the amount of water vapor in the air.
Hurricane – A tropical cyclone that forms in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Ice Storm – An ice storm that occurs when rain falls on objects and then freezes. The weight of the ice can cause damage, causing trees and power lines to topple.
Isobar – A line on a weather map representing a given barometric pressure. All points on the line, or isobaric, have the same atmospheric pressure.
Knot – A commonly used speedometer in the ocean. One node equals 1.15 miles per hour.
Jet Stream – Narrow band of strong winds in the upper atmosphere.
La Nina – When the waters near the equator in the Pacific Ocean cool.
Low pressure system – An area with low barometric pressure and warm and humid air.
Meteorology – The study of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Precipitation – Precipitation occurs when water vapor condenses causing it to fall to the Earth’s surface. It can occur in many forms, including rain, sleet, snow, and hail.
Prevailing Wind – wind that blows fairly steadily in the same direction over a particular area of the Earth’s surface.
Rain – Precipitation that falls to the ground as liquid droplets.
Snow – Freezing precipitation that falls to the ground when water vapor turns into ice.
Squall – A sudden increase in wind that lasts for a short time. Storm surge: sea level rise on the coast due to a hurricane-like storm.
Supercell – A very large and prolonged thunderstorm.
Thunderstorm – A storm that produces thunder. It also often produces strong winds and rain.
Tornado – A column of air rotating at high wind speeds in contact with the ground. Tropical Storm – A large, rotating storm with high-speed winds that forms over warm waters.
Typhoon – Tropical cyclone that forms in Southeast Asia.
Warm Front – Front where warm air replaces cold air.
Steam – Gaseous phase of water.
Wind – Wind is the movement or flow of air on a large scale.