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44 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
The order of layers of the earth’s atmosphere from lowest to highest
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.
Where does almost all of the earth’s weather occur?
in the troposphere.
acts to remove carbon dioxide and add oxygen to the earth’s atmosphere.
To convert Eastern Standard (Eastern Daylight) Time to Coordinated Universal Time (UCT)
add 5 (4) hours.
Average sea level pressure can be expressed as?
(1) 14.7 pounds per square inch, (2) 29.92 inches of Mercury, (3) 1013.2 millibars, or (4) 76 cm of Mercury.
Visible light
Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.7 micrometers.
The gases mainly responsible for the greenhouse effect in the earth’s atmosphere are?
Carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Winter solstice
In the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the fewest hours of daylight.
Summer solstice
The day with the most hours of daylight.
Heat Index
Based on an apparent temperature which is a combination of air temperature and relative humidity.
Dew point
The temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated.
Condensation nuclei
Particles that serve as surfaces on which water vapor may condense.
Evaporation (mixing) fog
“Steam” rising when cold air lies over warm lakes and canals.
The most common high clouds.
The cloud through which the sun can be dimly visible with no halo.
Cumulus humulis
Clouds suggesting fair weather will continue.
Clouds composed of ice crystals which can cause a halo around the sun or moon.
Nimbostratus clouds
Most often associated with light to moderate, but steady precipitation.
Cumulus congestus
A towering cloud not fully developed into a thunderstorm.
An anvil-shaped top cloud.
Atmospheric stability
Plays a very important role in determining the intensity of developing weather systems.
The merging of liquid cloud droplets by collision.
Bergeron process
Another name for the ice-crystal process of rain formation.
Measures atmospheric pressure
Lines connecting points of equal pressure.
Pressure gradient force
The primary force that causes a stationary parcel of air to begin to move horizontally.
Buys-Ballot Law
Stand with your back to the wind, turn 30 degrees to the right, and extend your arms. Your left arm will point toward the nearest center of low pressure and your right arm will point toward the nearest center of high pressure.
The majority of the United States lies within the large scale wind belt.
Measures wind speed.
A continental scale wind system that changes direction seasonally.
Dust devil
A small, rotting whirlwind often observed near the surface on a hot afternoon.
cP (continental polar) air mass
cold and dry.
mT (maritime tropical) air mass
Causes hot, humid weather in the eastern half of the United States
cT (continental tropical) air masses
Causes very hot, dry summer weather in Texas and Oklahoma
Stationary front
Indicated on a surface map by alternating blue and red lines.
“back-door” cold front
A cold front that moves into New England from the east or northeast.
The rising of warm air up and over cold air.
A boundary between warm, very humid air and hot, dry air that forms in western Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas in Spring.
Warm sector
In the model of a wave cyclone, the area between the warm front and the cold front.
Triple point
The place where a warm front, cold front and occluded front meet
Supercell thunderstorm
An enormous rotating storm whose updrafts and downdrafts are sufficiently structured so the storm will maintain itself for hours.
When do most deadly tornadoes in Florida occur?
In late winter and early Spring, that is, February, March and April.
Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITZC)
A region where northeast trade winds meet southeast trade winds.
Records set in the 2005 hurricane season
(1) most named tropical cyclones [28], (2) most hurricanes [15], (3) most Category 5 hurricanes [4], and (4) most major (Cat 3 or above) hurricanes hitting the U.S. [4].