A weather instrument that measures the wind speed.

is for Anemometer

An instrument that measures air pressure.

is for Barometer

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

is for Clouds

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

surface air.

is for Dew

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

water cycle.

is for Evaporation

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

is for Front

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

the surface.

is for Greenhouse Effect

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.

is for Hail

Water in the solid phase below 32 degrees Fahrenheit

is for Ice

a fast flowing, river of air found in the atmosphere at around 12 km

above the surface of the Earth just under the tropopause.

is for Jet Stream

A front where the warm air descends the frontal surface, except in the low

layers of the atmosphere.

is for Katafront

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

is for Lightning

A scientist who studies and predicts weather. Meteorologists use

sophisticated equipment, like Doppler radar and supercomputers to

predict the weather.

is for Meteorologist

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

United States.

is for National Weather Service

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.

is for Occluded Front

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.

is for Precipitation

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.

is for Quantitative Precipitation Forecast

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

is for Rain

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.

is for Snow

An instrument used for measuring temperature. The different scales used in meteorology are Celsius,

Fahrenheit, and Kelvin or Absolute.

is for Thermometer

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.

is for Updraft

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.

is for Valley 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,

is for Weather

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.

is for X-Ray

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!

is for Yellow Snow

The flow of air along a latitudinal component of existing flow, normally

from west to east

is for Zonal Flow