Weather Instruments
This tool measures wind direction AND speed is often placed on top of buildings.
What is an anemometer?
This front forms when two air masses meet but neither has enough force to move the other.
What is a stationary front?
What are two characteristics used to identify air masses?
What are temperature and humidity?
Today it is 85 degrees Farenheit and sunny. Is this weather or Climate, and why?
What is weather, because it describes the short-term conditions of the atmosphere?
High-pressure systems cause air to sink. What type of weather does this usually create?
What is clear, calm weather?
This instrument measures air pressure and helps meteorologists predict changes in the weather.
What is a barometer?
This type of front brings steady rain or snow because warm air slowly rises over cold air.
What is a warm front?
This type of air mass forms over warm oceans and brings hot, humid air.
What is maritime tropical (mT)?
This city averages 30 inches of rain each year. Is this an example of weather or climate? Explain.
What is climate, because it describes long-term average conditions?
In a low-pressure system, air rises. What forms when rising air cools and condenses?
What are clouds?
A thermometer measures temperature, but how does it work?
What is a the mercury expands/rises when heated and contracts/falls when cooled?
A cold front is approaching. What warning signs in the sky might you notice BEFORE the front arrives?
What is dark, thick clouds, gusty winds and/or a sudden drop in temperature?
A continental polar (cP) air mass brings which type of weather?
What is cold and dry weather?
A region experiences a record snowstorm this week. Why does this single event not prove the climate is changing?
What is “because a single weather event does not represent long-term patterns, which define climate”?
In the Northern Hemisphere, air rotates clockwise around this type of pressure system.
What is a high-pressure system?
This instrument measures the amount of water vapor in the air using a wet and dry bulb.
What is a hygrometer?
An occluded front is moving across a region. How might the temperature change during and after the front passes?
What is "temperature usually drops as colder air dominates".
If an air mass forms near the equator over the ocean instead of land, what type of air mass would it be, and how would its weather differ from one formed over land?
What is "maritime tropical (mT), it brings hot, humid air instead of dry air?
Scientists record daily temperatures for 50 years and notice the average temperature is rising. Why is this considered a study of climate rather than weather?
What is “because climate is determined by long-term patterns over decades, not by short-term daily conditions”?
Explain why low-pressure systems often bring storms and strong winds.
What is “because rising air lowers pressure, drawing in more air and creating unstable, stormy conditions”?
Doppler radars send out radio waves. What does it measure by timing how long the waves take to return?
What is how far away the precipitation is?
Rank the fronts from most intense/shortest precipitation to least intense/longest precipitation.
What is cold --> occluded --> warm --> stationary?
A region is experiencing warm, dry air, but later that day conditions become humid and stormy. What major change likely occurred related to air masses?
What is "a mT air mass replaced a cT air mass?
Two cities experience the same temperature and rainfall on a given day (one tropical and one polar). What does this tell us about the difference between weather and climate?
What is "cities can have different climates despite identical weather on a single day”?
A barometer reading falls rapidly throughout the day. What major weather change should you expect?
What is “a low-pressure system is moving in, bringing storms or severe weather”?