Weather Patterns
large clouds that often produce thunderstorms
What are cumulonimbus clouds?
scientists who study the causes of weather and try to predict it
What is a meteorologist?
The two factors used to classify climates in the system developed by Wladimir Koppen
What are temperature and precipitation?
long-term average weather conditions for an area
What is climate?
long, cold periods lasting hundreds of years
What are ice ages?
any form of water that falls from clouds
What is precipitation?
large body of circulating air with high pressure at the center and low pressure outside the system
What is a high-pressure system?
description of a set of weather measurements made on Earth's surface
What is a surface report?
humid, with mild winters and near the water (ocean or sea)
What is the Temperate Marine climate?
latitude, altitude, distance from oceans, and ocean currents
What are factors that influence temperature?
short periods of climate change due to amount of solar energy an area receives
What are seasons
a rapidly moving cold air mass overtakes a slower warm air mass
What is a cold front?
large bodies of air that have a uniform temperature, humidity, and air pressure
What are air masses?
describes wind, temperatures, and humidity conditions above Earth's surface
What is an upper-air report?
climate region only found in the Northern Hemisphere; contains both the humid continental and subarctic
What is the Temperate Continental Climate
areas of low rainfall on a downward side of a mountain
What are rain shadows?
wind circulation pattern that changes with the seasons
What is a monsoon
a funnel-shaped cloud that touches Earth's surface
What is a tornado?
forms when a cold mass meets a warm mass but neither has the force to move the other
What is a stationary front?
lines joining places on a map that have the same air pressure
What are isobars?
climate region containing the arid and steppes regions; receive less rainfall than any other climate region
What is the Dry Climate
Tundra and Ice Cap climates
What are examples of Polar Climates
Earth's varying distance from the sun
What causes the seasons?
the tool used to detect precipitation and the movement of small particles
What is Doppler radar
warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses
What is an occluded front?
lines joining places on a map that have the same temperature
What are isotherms?
this region is cooler than the areas around it
What are the Highlands?
located near the equator and receives direct sunlight all year long
What is the tropical zone
tiny liquid or solid particles released from burning of fossil fuels; prevent the Sun's energy from reaching Earth
What are aerosols?
inland climate, not near water
What are continental climates