Precipitation 100 • develops when growing cloud droplets become too heavy to remain in the cloud and as a result, fall toward the surface of the earth ANS: What is rain? Precipitation 200 • aggregates of ice crystals that collect to each other as they fall toward earth. Since they do not pass through a layer of warm air to cause them to melt, they remain intact when they reach the ground. ANS: What is snow? Precipitation 300 • large frozen raindrops produced by intense thunderstorms made up of many layers caused by the blowing up and down in the cloud. ANS: What is Hail? Precipitation 400 • supercooled water droplets freezing on impact with cold surfaces ANS: What is freezing rain? Precipitation 500 • Small pellets of ice caused by rain freezing before it falls. ANS: What is sleet? Water Cycle 100 • Water that falls back to earth as rain, sleet or snow. ANS: What is precipitation? Water Cycle 200 • The process of water changing into an invisible gas called water vapor ANS: What is evaporation? Water Cycle 300 • The process of water vapor turning into water droplets in the atmosphere ANS: What is condensation? Water Cycle 400 • The water from precipitation that fills back into the rivers, lakes and oceans and allows the cycle to begin again ANS: What is collection? Water Cycle 500 • The evaporation of water into the atmosphere from the leaves and stems of plants. ANS: What is transpiration? Clouds 100 • White, puffy clouds that look like piles of cotton; they are known as fair-weather clouds. ANS: What are cumulus clouds? Clouds 200 • Thin, feathery clouds that appear high in the sky. ANS: What are cirrus clouds? Clouds 300 • Gray clouds that cover the lower part of the sky like a blanket; rain or snow falls from them ANS: What are stratus clouds? Clouds 400 • Cloud that forms at the earth’s surface ANS: What is fog? Clouds 500 • Tall, dark clouds that mean thunderstorms with heavy rain and strong winds ANS: What are cumulonimbus clouds? Storms 100 • The most common type of storm ANS: What is a thunderstorm? Storms 200 • Caused by warm and cold air swirling together in a funnel shape ANS: What is a tornado? Storms 300 • Large, powerful storm that occurs over large bodies of water ANS: What is a hurricane? Storms 400 • The beginning stage of development of a hurricane. Winds are around 20 knots or 25 mph. ANS: What is a tropical depression? Storms 500 • One of the 4 components to the formation of a thunderstorm. The 3 others are instability, moisture, & a lifting mechanism. ANS: What is convection? Weather Misc 100 • The weight or pressure the air exerts on the ground. ANS: What is air pressure? Weather Misc 200 • Moving air and the cause of most weather ANS: What is wind? Weather Misc 300 • The average weather of a place over a long time ANS: What is climate? Weather Misc 400 • A boundary between two air masses, one cool and the other warm. ANS: What is a front? Weather Misc 500 • An electronic instrument used in weather forecasting that measures speed and direction of the wind in addition to precipitation. ANS: What is doppler radar? Weather Instruments 100 • instrument used to measure the temperature of the air ANS: What is a thermometer? Weather Instruments 200 • Instrument used to measure liquid precipitation. Also known as a pluviometer ANS: What is a rain gauge? Weather Instruments 300 • Instrument used to measure air pressure ANS: What is a barometer? Weather Instruments 400 • Instrument used to measure the speed of the wind ANS: What is an anemometer? Weather Instruments 500 • Instrument used to measure the amount of moisture, or humidity, in the air. ANS: What is a Hygrometer?