Weather Instruments
an instrument to record rainfall in an area
What is a rain guage?
liquid that falls from the sky when a cloud becomes too heavy
What is rain?
large area with similar properties such as temperature and air pressure throughout
What is an air mass?
high feathery clouds that do not cause precipitation but may signal a change of weather
What are cirrus clouds?
layers of air around the Earth
What is the atmosphere?
an instrument for measuring temperature
What is a thermometer?
frozen rain
What is sleet or hail?
water turns from a liquid to a gas during this process
What is evaporation?
thick gray clouds that often bring rain
What are stratus clouds?
the layer of the atmosphere where all life exists and all weather happens
What is the troposphere?
an instrument that measures air pressure
What is a barometer?
cirrus clouds are made of these
What are ice crystals?
water in the form of gas
What is water vapor?
white puffy clouds
What are cumulus clouds?
a craft that orbits the Earth and helps with weather forecasting
What is a satellite?
an instrument that measures wind speed
What is an anemometer?
giant swirling storms that form over warm ocean waters and bring heavy rain and high wind
What are hurricanes?
movement of air from one place to another
What is wind?
tall cumulus clouds that bring thunderstorms
What are cumulonimbus clouds?
a scientist that studies and forecasts the weather
What is a meteorologist?
an instrument that measures the amount of humidity in the air
What is a hygrometer?
storm that forms when cumulus clouds pile up and bring rain, wind, and lightning
What is a thunderstorm?
water vapor changes to a liquid during this process
What is condensation?
precipitaion that freezes on the way down to Earth
What is sleet?
when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass creating rain followed by lower temperatures
What is a cold front?