Understanding Weather
Study of the weather and of the atmospheric conditions that produce weather
Meteorology
Droplets or ice crystals that are present in large enough numbers that they are visible as a whole
Cloud
Water vapor that condenses in the layer of air near the ground
Fog
Water that condenses and descends to the earth
Precipitation
Large body of air with relatively uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure
Air mass
Process of liquid becoming a gas
Evaporation
Most common type of high-level cloud, completely made of ice crystals. Was called mares' tails by sailors
Cirrus
Clouds that are white and billowy and resemble piles of cotton puffs with flat bases
Cumulus
Raindrops that have time to freeze before hitting the ground
Sleet
The boundary between a warm and cold air mass
Front
Temperature at which air becomes saturated
Dew point
A thick brownish haze that results from complex molecules released into the air by vehicles, factories, and even some trees and other plants
Photochemical smog
Almond-shaped cloud that look like lens
Lenticular cloud
Brief but intense snowfall
Snow squall
Area of the surface that an air mass forms over long enough to take the traits of that surface
Source region
The ratio of the actual humidity to the humidity of saturated air under the same conditions
Relative humidity
The most frequent clouds that form a low, heavy layer of puffy gray clouds
Stratocumulus
Artificial clouds produced by airplanes
Contrails
Drought that occurs when there is not enough moisture to support an area's crops
Agricultural drought
Cold air mass moves into territory of warm air mass, often creating severe weather at the boundary
Cold front
Particles that serve as a center for water vapor to condense onto
Condensation nuclei
Fog that forms at night when the ground radiates heat back into space, causing cloud droplets to form around condensation nuclei in the air
Radiation fog
Least common type of high-level cloud that looks like tiny puffs of cotton in the upper troposphere
Cirrocumulus
Process by which clouds with temperatures above freezing form rain
Collision-coalescence process
Combination of three air masses into a Y-shaped front
Occluded front