Precipitation
What is an ice crystal in a cloud that becomes too heavy, falls, melts, and lands on the earth as liquid water?
Rain
What are puffy, bulgy clouds?
cumulus
What is produced when opposite electrical charges build up in very tall clouds?
lightning
What is another name for “thunderhead”?
cumulonimbus
How can the humidity be the same, but the amount of water vapor in the air be different?
Because relative humidity means that at a specific temperature the air can hold an amount of vapor, but at a higher temperature, the air can hold more and at a lower temperature it can hold less.
What is a small piece of ice tossed up and down inside a cloud, forming several layers of ice, until it is too heavy and falls to earth?
hail
What are clouds that are made of ice crystals?
cirrus
What type of storm has the most destructive power in the smallest space?
tornado
What is the boundary between two air masses called?
front
What is the lowest possible temperature at which air is able to hold all of its water vapor?
dew point
What is falling ice crystals that melt into raindrops, then refreeze and land on earth as tiny pieces of ice?
Sleet
What are sheets of cloud that produce rain usually?
stratus
What is the calm region of very low air pressure in the center of a tornado called?
the eye
What is a small piece of ice crystals that fall to earth singly?
dry snow
What are 4 precautions you should take during a thunderstorm?
If outside, do not be near tall things and stay out of water.
If inside, stay out of water like a bath or shower, do not use electrical outlets.
What is falling ice crystals that melt slightly, stick, and freeze together into snowflakes?
Wet Snow
What term describes a cloud from which rain is failing?
nimbus or nimbo-
What causes thunder?
The rapid expansion of superheated air
What are the 3 types of global winds that always blow across the earth?
Polar easterlies, trade winds, prevailing westerlies
What is the thin channel of charges through which a lightning bolt can travel?
step leader
What is falling ice crystals that melt, hit the earth as liquid rain and refreeze as soon as they land?
Freezing Rain
What are the 3 ingredients for a cloud?
dust, water vapor, rising air
What is a tornado warning?
A tornado has been spotted
What is the process in which water vapor leaves the air and changes into liquid water?
condensation
What is the row of thunderheads that build up in front of advancing cold air?
squall line