AE Module 3
Terms
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- Vernal (Spring) Equinox
- When the sun's direct rays strike the equator resulting in day and night of equal length (usually March 21st or 22nd)
- Mercury Barometer
- Measures pressure; steady and reliable and used mainly by scientists and meterologists
- Trade Winds
- Warm, steady breezes that blow almost continuously to the equator
- Atmospheric Pressure
- The weight of all the atmosphere's gases and molecules on the Earth's surface
- Dew Point
- The temperature at which the air becomes saturated
- Thunderstorm
- Cumulonimbus cloud posessing thunder and lightning; usually strong iwnds, rain and sometimes hail
- Three categoris of tropical cyclones
- 1. Tropical Disturbance 2. Tropical Depression 3. Tropical Storm
- Aneroid Barometer
- Measures pressure; quick and easy to read
- Revolution
- The movement of the Earth revolving around the sun; takes 365 days
- Lightning
- Heats the air to 60,000 degrees F and can be as long as 9 to 90 miles
- Prevailing Westerlies
- The winds that move toward the equator between 30 and 60 degrees latitude and that appear to curve east
- Cumulus
- Fair weather cloud indicating good weather but give pilots turbulence; white, billowy, puffy clouds; found low in the sky
- Aneroid Barograph
- Measures pressure; gives a permanent record of pressure readings and is used in weather stations
- Stages of a Thunderstorm
- 1. Building 2. Mature 3. Dissipating
- Heat
- The total energy of all molecules within a substance
- Fujita Wind Damage Scale
- Explains the categories of wind speed and expected damage for tornados
- One Knot
- One nautical mile (6,076 feet) per an hour
- Fog
- Tiny droplets of liquid water in contact with the surface
- Tornado
- Whirling funnel of air of very low pressure and very strong winds; can suck up anything in its path and must touch the ground to be called a tornado
- Coriolis Force
- Deflects freely moving objects to the right in the Northern Hemisphere
- Polar Easterlies
- Formed when the atmosphere over the poles cools
- Mammatus
- Occurs at the base of the cloud and indicate the degree of instability in the area
- Front
- A boundary between two masses
- Cumulonumbus
- The only cloud that produces storms with thunder and lightening
- Rotation
- The Earth rotates on its axis at an angle of 23.5 degrees while it revolves around the sun
- Heat
- The total energy of all molecules within a substance
- Autumnal (fall) Equinox
- When the sun's direct rays strike the equator resulting in day and night of equal length (usually September 22nd or 23rd)
- Occluded Front
- A warm air mass is caught between two cooler air masses
- Precipitation
- General term given to various types of condensed water vapor
- Microburst
- Downdraft or downburst
- Types of Fronts
- 1. Warm 2. Cold 3. Stationary 4. Occluded
- Saturation
- A parcel of air is holding as much water vapor as it can
- Warm Front
- Occurs when warm air moves into an area of colder air and they collide; warm is heavier so it sinks
- Wind Chill
- Using temperature and wind speed to explain how cold it feels
- Summer Solstice
- When the sun is at its northernmost point from the equator in the Northern Hemisphere; the day is the longest (usually June 21st or 22nd)
- Doldrums
- Created by the trade winds; calm area
- Stationary Front
- A stationary front forms when cold and warm air masses meet but neither one has enough force to move the other; may bring many days of clouds and precipitation
- Radiation
- The method by which the sun heats the Earth
- Cirrus
- High in the sky; white, thin, wispy clouds that are mainly composed of ice crystals
- Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Damage Potential Scale
- Explaisn the five categories of hurricane damage (Cateory 1- Category 5; lowest - highest)
- Beaufort Scale
- A scale for estimating wind speed, on land or sea
- Wind
- A body of air in motion
- Jet Stream
- A strong wind that develops at 30,000-35,000 feet and moves as a winding road across the US, generally from west to east
- Air Mass
- Huge body of air with the same temperature and moisture characteristics
- Temperature
- A measure of molecular motion expressed on a man-made scale
- Relative Humidity
- Amount of water vapor in the air compared to its water vapor capacity at a given temperature
- Winter Solstice
- When the sun is the farthest south of the equator and the Northern Hemisphere; the day is the shortest (usually December 21st or 22nd)
- Hurricane
- A tropical cyclone of low pressure and very strong winds; usually heavy rain with possible thunderstorm and tornados
- Cold Front
- Occurs when cold air moves into an area of warmer air; the heavier, colder air pushes the warmer air up and out of the way
- Condensation
- The process of converting water vapor to liquid
- Stratus
- Gray; found low in the sky