Cloud Development and Precipitation
The name given to rain, snow or other water-type particles that fall from the atmosphere
Precipitation
Barometers measure this weather variable
Atmospheric pressure
The basic description for katabatic winds
Any downslope wind
These are used to make reasonable estimates of variables or conditions when direct measurements are otherwise unavailable
Proxy measurements
This is the average main sea level pressure
1013.25 mb or hPa
The type of atmosphere that resists the upwards displacement of air
Stable atmosphere
The force resulting from differences in horizontal air pressure
Pressure gradient force
From the 3-cell model, this cell is found over the mid-latitudes (between 30 and 60 degrees)
Ferrel cell
This illustrates CO2 concentrations measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory since the late 1950s
Keeling Curve
The apparent force caused by the rotation of the Earth
Coriolis force
The instrument used to remotely measure rainfall
Doppler radar
The direction winds circulate around cyclones (low pressure) in the Northern Hemisphere
Counterclockwise
This region is defined by a belt of low pressure where heavy rainfall occurs
ITCZ - Inter-tropical convergence zone
This is the difference between the actual and a reference temperature
Temperature anomaly
Trade winds strengthen, and Northern California experiences wetter weather during this phase of ENSO.
La Nina
Processes characterized by a change in temperature without the external exchange of heat
Adiabatic process
The compass heading, in degrees, that represents a northeast wind
45 degrees (+/- 10 degrees)
The edge (or side) of an ocean basin where cold surface currents are found
Eastern edge
The approximate percentage of California's energy production that comes from natural gas
50%
This process injects IN (ice nuclei) into clouds, promoting ice crystal growth and enhancing rainfall
Cloud seeding
The rate at which temperature changes as you move up and down in altitude
Lapse rate
The direction height contours bend when there's a trough in the Northern Hemisphere
Southwards
The two cells, from the 3-cell model, that the subtropical jet is formed between
Hadley and Ferrel cells
What the average US household uses the most energy running
HVAC - Heating and Air conditioning
This heat source lowers the rate at which a rising saturated air parcel will cool at
Latent heat of condensation