Chapter 2: Understand Weather Vocabulary
Weather- the short-term state of the atmosphere, including temp., humidity,
precipitation, wind, & visibility
Humidity- the amount if water vapor in the air
Relative humidity- ratio of amt. of water vapor in air to max. amt. of water vapor air can hold
at a set temp.
Condensation- change of state from a gas to a liquid
Cloud- collection of sm. Water droplets or ice suspended in air, which forms when the air is
cooled & condensation occurs
Precipitation- any form of water that falls to the Earth’s surface from the clouds
(rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc.)
Air mass- lg. body of air where temp. & moisture content are similar throughout
Front- boundary between air masses of different densities & usually different temp.
Cyclone- an area in atmosphere that has lower pressure than surrounding areas and has winds
that spiral toward the center
Anticyclone- rotation of air around high-pressure center in direction opposite Earth’s rotation
Thunderstorm- usually brief, heavy storm that consisting of rain, strong winds, lightning, &
thunder
Lightning- electric discharge that takes place between 2 opposite charged surfaces (ex: cloud
and ground; 2 diff. parts of one cloud)
Thunder- sound caused by raid expansion of air along an electrical strike
Tornado- destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds, is visible as a
funnel-shaped cloud, & touches the ground
Hurricane- severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and has strong winds (>120 km/h)
that spiral in toward low-pressure storm center
Thermometer- instrument that measures and indicates temperature
Barometer-instrument that measures atmospheric pressure
Anemometer- instrument that measures wind speed
Chapter 2: Understand Weather Vocabulary
Weather- the short-term state of the atmosphere, including temp., humidity,
precipitation, wind, & visibility
Humidity- the amount if water vapor in the air
Relative humidity- ratio of amt. of water vapor in air to max. amt. of water vapor air can hold
at a set temp.
Condensation- change of state from a gas to a liquid
Cloud- collection of sm. Water droplets or ice suspended in air, which forms when the air is
cooled & condensation occurs
Precipitation- any form of water that falls to the Earth’s surface from the clouds
(rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc.)
Air mass- lg. body of air where temp. & moisture content are similar throughout
Front- boundary between air masses of different densities & usually different temp.
Cyclone- an area in atmosphere that has lower pressure than surrounding areas and has winds
that spiral toward the center
Anticyclone- rotation of air around high-pressure center in direction opposite Earth’s rotation
Thunderstorm- usually brief, heavy storm that consisting of rain, strong winds, lightning, &
thunder
Lightning- electric discharge that takes place between 2 opposite charged surfaces (ex: cloud
and ground; 2 diff. parts of one cloud)
Thunder- sound caused by raid expansion of air along an electrical strike
Tornado- destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds, is visible as a
funnel-shaped cloud, & touches the ground
Hurricane- severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and has strong winds (>120 km/h)
that spiral in toward low-pressure storm center
Thermometer- instrument that measures and indicates temperature
Barometer-instrument that measures atmospheric pressure
Anemometer- instrument that measures wind speed