Dynamics and Thermodynamics
When temperature increases with height, mixing is suppressed in this atmospheric condition.
What is a temperature inversion?
Air forced to rise or split as it encounters mountain barriers is undergoing this type of flow.
What is orographic flow?
Global temperatures tend to spike during events driven by this warm ENSO phase.
What is El Niño?
This massive 2012 storm caused catastrophic flooding and damage along the U.S. East Coast.
What is Superstorm Sandy?
A single operational high-resolution forecast run—contrasted with ensemble guidance—is known as this.
What is the deterministic run?
This measure of atmospheric spin helps forecasters diagnose rotation in weather systems.
What is vorticity?
As a fluid speeds up, the surrounding pressure drops—a relationship described by this principle.
What is Bernoulli’s principle?
This long-term Pacific Ocean pattern strongly influences jet stream placement and West Coast climate.
What is the PDO?
One of the deadliest cyclones in history struck Bangladesh in 1970 under this name.
What is the Bhola Cyclone?
This NOAA global weather model is one of the world’s most widely used forecasting systems.
What is the GFS?
This describes how temperature typically decreases with altitude in the atmosphere.
What is the lapse rate?
To qualify as a derecho, storms must repeatedly produce gusts at or above this wind speed.
What is 58 mph?
As sea ice melts and darker surfaces are exposed, this positive climate feedback accelerates warming.
What is the ice-albedo feedback?
The Dust Bowl reached peak severity during this year of extreme heat and drought.
What is 1936?
Atmospheric processes too small for models to explicitly resolve must be represented through this technique.
What is parameterization?
Warm, less-dense air rises due to this upward buoyant force.
What is buoyancy?
The deadliest tornado in recorded history struck this South Asian country in 1989.
What is Bangladesh?
Although short-lived, this greenhouse gas packs far more warming power per molecule than carbon dioxide.
What is methane?
A major eruption of this Philippine volcano in 1991 cooled global temperatures for years.
What is Mount Pinatubo?
This acronym refers to the ECMWF’s powerful ensemble prediction system.
What is the EPS?
Pressure, temperature, and density are linked through this fundamental physical equation.
What is the Ideal Gas Law?
Air accelerates dramatically when squeezed through a narrow gap due to this aerodynamic effect.
What is the Venturi effect?
Ancient air bubbles trapped within these geological samples reveal climate conditions from thousands of years ago.
What are ice cores?
Earth’s highest reliably measured wind gust occurred during this 1996 Australian cyclone.
What is Cyclone Olivia?
NOAA’s modern GFS is powered by this finite-volume cubed-sphere dynamical core.
What is the FV3 core?