Copy of `Clouds R Us - Weather terms`

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Clouds R Us - Weather terms Category: Meteorology and astronomy > Clouds and Winds Date & country: 21/10/2013, USA Words: 47

Acid rain
Rain which is acidic as a result of pollution

Air pressure
The weight of the air in the atmosphere pressing down on the Earth

Anemometer
An instrument that measures the speed or force of the wind

Atmosphere
The layer of air that surrounds the Earth and is held there by the pull of the

Axis
An imaginary line about which the Earth spins every 24 hours

Barometer
An instrument that measures air pressure

Beaufort scale
A scale of numbers representing different wind speeds and a description of their

Blizzard
A winter storm with strong winds and heavy snow

Climate
The usual pattern of weather in a particular place

Compressed air
Air which has been squeezed into a small space

Condense
To change from a gas or vapour to a liquid, through cooling

Cyclone
The name for a tropical storm originating in the Indian Ocean

Depression
An area of low pressure

Drought
A prolonged period with very little or no rain

Equator
An imaginary line around the Earth midway between the North and South Poles

Evaporation
The process by which a liquid becomes a gas due to heating

Forecast
Something that tells us what the weather is going to be like

Front
The boundary between two masses of air with different temperatures (ie: a mass of cold air and a mass of warm air)

Glacier
A slow-moving mass of ice and snow

Hail
Pieces of ice that sometimes form in high clouds

High Pressure
A mass of air that presses down strongly on the surface of the Earth because it is being cooled and is therefore more dense

Humidity
The amount of water vapour held in the air

Hurricane
A violent, spiralling storm that forms over the Atlantic Ocean, with winds over 120 kph

Ice Age
A period approximately 18,000 years ago when ice covered a large part of the Earth's surface

Isobar
A line on a weather map linking areas with equal air pressure

Low Pressure
A mass of air that presses down only weakly on the surface of the Earth because it is being warmed and it therefore less dense

Millibar
A unit used to measure atmospheric pressure

Monsoon
A seasonal wind that brings rain to many places of the world, for example India and Southern Asia

Occluded Front
An area where warm air is pushed upwards as a cold front overtakes a warm front and pushes underneath it

Orbit
The path of the Earth around the sun, or of satellites around the Earth

Ozone
The gas found in the stratosphere that protects us from the Sun's harmful ultra-violet (UV) radiation

Ozone Layer
A layer of air in the atmosphere that contains a relatively high concentration of the gas ozone

Pressure Centre
A region of high or low pressure

Radiation
A wave of energy sent across space. Examples include heat and light energy

Satellite
Device that circles high above the Earth and can be used for monitoring the weather

Stevenson Screen
A white box with ventilated sides that is used to house weather instruments and protect them from direct sunlight

Stratosphere
The second layer in the atmosphere above the Earth's surface. It extends up to 50 km and contains the ozone layer

Temperature
A measure of how hot or cold something is

Thermometer
An instrument for measuring the temperature of something, for example the air

Tornado
A funnel-shaped whirlwind which extends to the ground from storm clouds

Tropics
An area on the Earth's surface that lies between 30

Troposphere
The lowest region of the atmosphere in which all the Earth's weather takes place

Typhoon
The name for a tropical storm originating in the Pacific Ocean, usually the China Sea

Ultra-violet Radiation
The radiation found in the Sun's rays beyond the violet part of the visible spectrum. It can be harmful to both plant and animal life

Vapour
The gaseous form of a substance that is normally a liquid, for example water vapour

Wind
A moving mass of air. The movement of the air causes the weather

Wind Vane
An instrument for showing wind direction