5th Grade NC Weather Vocabulary

A violent, destructive storm that appears as a funnel-shaped cloud and spins very fast.

The force of the atmosphere pressing down on Earth's surface.

An instrument that measures wind speed.

Weather radar maps are called Doppler Radar.

A front where warm air moves over cold air and brings drizzly rain and then are followed by warm and clear weather.

Climate zone located between the Circles and the Poles; very cold and dry all year.

An instrument used to measure temperature.

The flow of cooler air from over an ocean or lake toward land.

The process by which water vapor cools into liquid.

A front where cold air moves in under a warm air mass, brings thunderstorms and cold weather.

High, wispy clouds in the sky mean:

Cold winters and mild summers. All 4 seasons. Above and below the tropical zone.

Rain, snow, sleet or hail that falls to the ground.

A scientist that studies the weather.

Cloud cover during the day causes:

The force of the atmosphere pressing down on Earth's surface.

Low Pressure

Movement of air from land to sea at night, created when cooler, denser air from the land forces warmer air over the sea.

An instrument that measures wind direction.

An instrument that measures humidity (the amount of water vapor in the air)

Carries instruments and sends back information related to temperatures, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and wind speed.

The degree of heat present in an object.

A warm ocean current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico northward through the Atlantic Ocean.

Winds that blow west to east in the temperate climate zone.

The process where water in plants changes to vapor and is released into the atmosphere.

How fast the wind is blowing.

Moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.

A boundary between air masses that don't move possibly causing rain for several days.

An instrument that measures air pressure.

An instrument that measures the amount of precipitation.

Process by which liquid water changes to vapor.

The blanket of gases that surrounds Earth.

A boundary between two air masses.

A measure of the amount of water vapor in the air.

High pressure

A type of weather that causes very strong winds and heavy rain.

The conditions in the atmosphere at a given place or time; the minute by minute changes in the atmosphere.

Cloud cover during the night causes:

Warm, moist climate zone near the equator.

A high-speed, high-altitude airstream blowing from west to east near the top of the troposphere.

 Precipitation that does not soak into the soil but instead moves on the Earth's surface toward streams.

The direction that the wind is coming from.

If clouds increase in the sky, what will likely happen?

A region's general pattern of weather over a long period of time.

A large area of Earth with a particular pattern of weather.

Describes how water evaporates, rises into the atmosphere as water vapor, cools & condenses and falls as precipitation.