Important terms:

humidity - the amount of water vapor in a given volume of air

dew point - the temperature at which condensation begins

cirrus - wispy, feathery clouds made of ice crystals that form at high levels

cumulus - fluffy, white clouds, usually with flat bottoms, that look like a rounded pile of cotton

stratus - clouds that form in flay layers and often cover much of the sky

air mass - a huge body of air that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height

front - the boundary where unlike air masses meet but do not mix

jet stream - bands of high-speed winds about 10 kilometers above the earth’s surface

hurricane - a tropical storm that has winds of about 119 kilometers per hour or higher

Meteorologists - scientists who study the causes of weather and try to predict it

isobar - a line on a weather map that joins places that have the same air pressure

isotherm - a line on a weather map that joins places that have the same temperature

Tiny particles of salt, dust, or smoke - what must be present for water

Cirrus clouds - wispy feathery clouds

Cirrus clouds - clouds made of ice crystals and indicate fair weather

Stratus clouds - clouds that form in flat layers

Stratus clouds - clouds that’s name is from the Latin word strato = spread out

Stratus clouds - clouds that usually cover the sky (cloudy)

Stratus clouds - As these clouds thicken they may produce drizzle, rain, or snow

Cumulus clouds - clouds that look like cotton

Cumulus clouds - these clouds when they’re short usually indicate fair weather

Cumulus clouds - towering clouds with flat tops that often produce thunderstorms

Altocumulus and altostratus - contain the prefix alto = high

Altocumulus and altostratus - are “medium-level” clouds

Altocumulus and altostratus - these clouds indicate precipitation

Cirrocumulus - these clouds indicate a storm is on its way

freezing rain, rain, snow, sleet, and hail - the types of precipitation

freezing rain - sometimes falls as liquid water but freezes when they touch a cold surface

rain - reaches earth as water

snow - reaches the earth as frozen water

sleet - sometimes snow that is melted or rain that refreezes as it falls

hail - reaches earth as ice pellets

Continental - overland

Maritime - overwater

tropical - close to the equator

polar - near the poles

arctic or antarctic - near colder region

Cold front - cold air moves under warm air

Warm front - warm air moves over cold

Occulted front - warm front caught between 2 cold fronts

Stationary front - when cold and warm fronts meet

How a hurricane begins - a low-pressure area over warm water, or tropical disturbance

what happens after there is a low-pressure area over warm water, or tropical disturbance - warm, humid air rises and begins to spiral

What happens after warm, humid air rises and begins to spiral - as the air rises warmer, moist air is drawn into the system, and the hurricane gains energy

what happens after moist air is drawn into the system and the hurricane gains energy - bands of high winds and heavy rains form as winds spiral inwards

Cyclone - when the boundary between fronts meets and become distorted; can cause the air to swirl, creating a low-pressure center