A weather instrument that measures the wind speed.

An instrument that measures air pressure.

A visible collection of tiny water droplets or, at colder temperature, ice crystals floating in the air above the surface. There are 3 types of clouds: Cumulus, Cirrus, and Stratus

Water that forms on objects close to the ground when its temperature falls below the dew point of the surface air.

The process of changing a liquid to a vapor. Evaporation is part of the water cycle.

A boundary between two different air masses, resulting in stormy weather. A front usually is a line of separation between warm and cold air masses

The heating effect of the Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere acts like a greenhouse because sunlight freely passes through it and warms the surface.

A form of precipitation that falls from the sky as pellets of ice. The pellets can range in size from small pea-sized pellets, to hailstones as large as a grapefruit.

Water in the solid phase below 32 degrees Fahrenheit

a fast flowing, river of air found in the atmosphere at around 12 km above the surface of the Earth just under the tropopause.

A front where the warm air descends the frontal surface, except in the low layers of the atmosphere.

An enormous and very hot spark of electricity produced by thunderstorms. The lightning bolt itself can heat the air through which it travels to 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit

A scientist who studies and predicts weather. Meteorologists use sophisticated equipment, like Doppler radar and supercomputers to predict the weather.

The federal agency that provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States.

A combination of two fronts that form when a cold front catches up and overtakes a warm front. An occluded front is represented as a purple line with teeth and half circles.

Any and all forms of “water” in liquid or solid form that falls from the sky. Precipitation can be in the form of rain, drizzle, sleet, snow, and hail.

Also known as QPF. A spatial and temporal precipitation forecast that will predict the potential amount of future precipitation for a specified region, or area.

Liquid precipitation in the form of water droplets greater than 0.5mm.

Precipitation that is composed of white ice crystals that fall from clouds. Snow may stick together to form snowflakes, which have hexagonal or six- sided shape.

An instrument used for measuring temperature. The different scales used in meteorology are Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin or Absolute.

A small-scale current of with vertical motion. If there is enough moisture, then it may condense, forming, a cumulus cloud, the first step towards thunderstorm development.

An anabatic wind, it is formed during the day by the heating of the valley floor. As the ground becomes warmer than the surrounding atmosphere, the lower levels of air heat and rise, flowing up the mountainsides. It blows in the opposite direction of a mountain breeze.

The state of the atmosphere at a specific time and with respect to its effect on life and human activities. It is the short term variations of the atmosphere. It is often referred to in terms of brightness, cloudiness, humidity, precipitation, temperature, visibility, and wind,

The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that has a very short wave length. It has a wave length longer than gamma rays, yet shorter than visible light. X-rays can penetrate various thicknesses of all solids, and when absorbed by a gas, can result in ionization.

Snow that is given golden or yellow appearance by the presence of pine or cypress pollen in it. I know that is not what you were thinking!

The flow of air along a latitudinal component of existing flow, normally from west to east