Humidity
What is the term for the maximum amount of water vapor that can exist in the air at a particular temperature and pressure?
Saturation
What is the name for the process by which water vapor changes into a liquid or solid and falls from the atmosphere to the surface of the Earth
Precipitation
What is the term for a large body of air with relatively uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure characteristics that develops over a particular region?
air mass
What is the term for the boundary between two air masses of different temperatures and densities, often resulting in weather patterns?
front
Define tornado
storm that forms when a rotating column of air touches the ground and creates a funnel-shaped cloud, leading to high winds and potential for significant damage
What is the term for the amount of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at a particular temperature and pressure?
Relative Humidity
what is the name for the process by which water droplets in a cloud evaporate back into the air, preventing precipitation from occurring?
evaporation
What type of air mass forms over land and is characterized by its dryness and high pressure?
continental air mass
What type of front occurs when a warm air mass moves over a cold air mass, lifting the warm air and creating a broad area of clouds and precipitation?
warm front
What is the definition of a hurricane?
large, rotating tropical storm with winds of at least 74 miles per hour
What is the name for the temperature at which the air must be cooled for saturation to occur?
Dew Point
What is the term for the process by which a solid changes directly into a gas without first becoming a liquid?
sublimation
What type of air mass forms over the equatorial regions and is characterized by its high temperature and humidity?
tropical air mass
What type of front occurs when a cold air mass moves into a region previously occupied by a warm air mass, lifting the warm air and creating a narrow band of clouds and precipitation?
cold front
What is the term for the area of calm, low-pressure weather in the center of a hurricane?
eye of the hurricane
How does increasing temperature affect relative humidity?
It decreases relative humidity
light mist caused
by small particles of water
or dust in the air
haze
What type of weather is located in a mP air mass
Maritime Polar, cold and moist
What happens by a warm front?
During a warm front, warm air mass rises above the cold mass slowly, creating a gentle slope.This forms low, wide clouds across the whole front and slow, gentle rain that lasts a long time.
What is a cyclone?
a weather system with the lowest pressure in the center, and highest pressure around the center.
This causes winds to blow towards the center, counterclockwise.
What is the term for the process of water vapor changing back into a liquid or solid, often resulting in the formation of clouds or precipitation?
condensation
the percentage of sky that is covered by clouds.
cloud cover
If the source region is over land, the air mass is
dry
What happens by an occluded front?
During an occluded front, the warm air gets trapped in between cold air masses, causing major storms.
three ways to predict weather?
1. Data is collected on weather conditions over many years, and is used to predict future weather patterns
2. Atmospheric cross-sections show weather across a large landscape.
3. Radar (radio detection and ranging tool) measures precipitation and clouds that can tell us if a storm is coming and its intensity