Cloud Types
Puffy, bulgy clouds belong to What cloud family?
Cumulus
winds at the very top of the earth that blow from the east are called _______ _______
Polar Easterlies
Meteorologists use this instrument to measure air pressure. High pressure means clear skies, low pressure means unstable weather like rain or snow.
Barometer
A word used to describe a cloud that rain is falling from
Nimbus
An ice crystal becomes too heavy, falls, melts and lands on earth as liquid is _______.
Rain
Two layers of flat clouds belong to what cloud family?
stratus
Winds that are directly above or below the polar easterlies and come from the west are called_________ _______
Prevailing Westerlies
Air is called saturated when it has 100% humidity. True or false, This is measured by a hygrometer?
True
The lowest possible temperature at which air is able to hold all of its water vapor is its ______ ______
Dew point
Falling ice crystals melt slightly, stick, and freeze together into snowflakes
wet snow
Wispy, curly clouds very high in the atmosphere belong to what cloud family?
Cirrus
winds north of the equator and come from the NE are
_____ ________
Northeast Trade winds
The basic cause of all weather is the ________
Sun
The amount of water vapor that the air can hold at a given temperature is the _R________ H________
Relative Humidity
Falling ice crystals melt into raindrops, then refreezes and land on earth as pieces of ice are_______
Sleet
Sheets of clouds that often produce rain are _______ clouds.
Strattus
winds that come from south of the equator from the se are called SE ________ __________
Southeast Trade Winds
Winds are created by temperature differences. They can be mild or up to a category 12 on the __________ scale.
Beaufort Scale
The broad, flat top of a cumulonimbus cloud is called an, A_______ because of its unique shape
anvil
Falling ice crystals melt, hit the earth as liquid rain, but freezes as soon as they land.
freezing rain
Clouds made of very small ice crystals are _____ clouds.
Cirrus
T or F The thin channel of charged air through which a lightning bolt can travel is the step leader
True
The air that we live in gets most of its warmth from the _________
ground or land
When opposite electrical charges build up in very tall clouds, ___________is produced.
Lighting
A small piece of ice is tossed up and down inside a cloud, forming several layers of ice, until it's too heavy and falls to earth is_____
Hail
Thunderhead is another name for what type of cloud?
Cumulonimbus
What do you call the calm region of very low air pressure in the center of a tornado?
The eye
Warm air is lighter or heavier than cool air?
Heavier
The rapid expansion of superheated air causes shock waves that we hear, known a, T __________
Thunder
The process in which water vaport leaves the air and changes into a liquid is called____________
Condensation