Clouds
Extreme Weather
More Extreme Weather
Energy
Vocabulary
100
A cloud is
What is WATER VAPOR or WATER DROPLETS suspended in the air
100
This type of storm happens most frequently on The Great Plains in the United States.
What is A TORNADO
100
These storms are also known as typhoons or cyclones
What is a HURRICANE
100
This energy source drives all the weather patterns on our planet.
What is THE SUN
100
A measure for how much water vapor is in the air
What is HUMIDITY
200
When water droplets in a cloud clump together and become too heavy, this force results in precipitation
What is GRAVITY
200
The area in the United States that experiences the most tornadoes in the world.
What is TORNADO ALLEY
200
This is the rating for the most destructive hurricane with the highest wind speeds
What is A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE
200
Energy transfer stops when this happens
What is THE TEMPERATURE (or energy) EQUALIZES
200
An amount of air that moves as a unit or a "blob."
What is AN AIR PARCEL
300
The name of this type of cloud
What is a CUMULUS cloud
300
This scale rates tornadoes by wind speed and intensity
What is THE FUJITA SCALE (EF 0-5)
300
This area is most susceptible to hurricanes in the United States due to the energy and moisture gained from warm waters
What is the GULF COAST and the LOWER EAST COAST
300
The amount of energy that is in the air or water is measured by this.
What is THE TEMPERATURE
300
The scientific study of weather
What is METEOROLOGY
400
This type of cloud
What is a CIRRUS cloud
400
The tornado is a very small extension of this larger rotation and supercell
What is a MESOCYCLONE
400
This seasonal wind system brings wet summers and dry winters as a result of strong temperature differences between land and ocean.
Parts of Asia, South America, and the Southwestern United States experience these systems.
What is A MONSOON
400
When the energy from the sun changes a liquid to a gas and water enters the air as water vapor
What is EVAPORATION
400
The process by which a gas changes into a liquid. This is the primary process that results in cloud formation.
What is CONDENSATION
500
This root word in the prefix or suffix of a cloud name means that it is a rain-producing cloud
What is NIMBUS
For example: nimbostratus and cumulonimbus
500
The geographic features that create the perfect recipe for tornadoes.
What is the collision of high-pressure air coming down from THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS and warm, moist air from THE GULF OF MEXICO/AMERICA
500
This is considered fuel for hurricanes, which was referred to as a hungry kid at a buffet, and results in rapid intensification of dangerous hurricanes.
What is WARMER WATER
(More moisture and energy)
500
Energy transfers from ___________ air to ___________ air.
What is WARMER air to COLDER air
500
The layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth, where weather happens
What is the TROPOSPHERE