Glossary of meteorology
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This glossary of meteorology is a list of terms and concepts relevant to meteorology and the atmospheric sciences, their sub-disciplines, and related fields.
A[edit]
- advection
- actinoform cloud
- actinometer
- adiabatic process
- aerobiology
- aerography
- The production of weather charts.
- aerology
- aerosol
- ageostrophy
- air mass
- A volume of air defined by its temperature and content of water vapor.
- air-mass thunderstorm
- air parcel
- almanac
- An annual publication of calendar events.
- altocumulus castellanus cloud
- altocumulus cloud
- altostratus cloud
- American Meteorological Society (AMS)
- anabatic wind
- anemometer
- A scientific instrument used to measure wind speed.
- annular tropical cyclone
- anticyclone
- anticyclonic rotation
- anticyclonic tornado
- anticyclogenesis
- arcus cloud
- Arctic cyclone
- area forecast
- Atlantic hurricane
- atmospheric convection
- atmospheric pressure
- atmospheric sciences
- atmospheric sounding
- autumn
- avalanche
B[edit]
- backscatter
- ball lightning
- Barbs
- barograph
- A scientific instrument used to measure and record changes in atmospheric pressure over time.
- baroclinity
- barotropity
- barometer
- A scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure.
- Beaufort scale
- Bernoulli's principle
- black ice
- blizzard
- blowing dust or sand
- blowing snow
- bounded weak echo region (BWER)
- bow echo
- breeze
- Bulk Richardson Number (BRN)
- A dimensionless ratio related to the consumption of turbulence divided by the shear production of turbulence (the generation of kinetic energy caused by wind shear). It is an approximation of the Gradient Richardson Number.
- buoyancy
- bushfire
- Buys Ballot's law
C[edit]
- Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS)
- Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC)
- capping inversion
- castellanus
- ceiling
- ceiling balloon
- ceiling projector
- ceilometer
- Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS)
- cirrocumulus cloud
- cirrostratus cloud
- cirrus cloud
- clear ice
- climate
- climatology
- cloud
- cloud base
- cloudburst
- cloud drop effective radius
- coastal flooding
- cold front
- cold wave
- cold-core low
- Colorado low
- convection
- convective available potential energy (CAPE)
- convective condensation level
- convective inhibition (CIN)
- convective instability
- convective outlooks
- convective storm detection
- convergence
- convergence zone
- crosswind
- Crow Instability
- An inviscid line-vortex instability most commonly observed in the skies behind large aircraft such as the Boeing 747. It occurs when the wingtip vortices interact with contrails from the engines, producing characteristic visual distortions in the shapes of the contrails.
- cumulonimbus cloud
- cumulus congestus cloud
- cumulus humilis cloud
- cumulus mediocris cloud
- cyclone
- cyclonic rotation
- cyclogenesis
D[edit]
- dark adaptor goggles
- dawn
- daytime
- dBZ
- debris cloud
- deformation
- dense fog
- depression
- derecho
- detention basin
- detention dam
- dew
- dew point
- (Td)
- dew point depression
- Diablo wind
- diamond dust
- divergence
- diffluence
- diffuse sky radiation
- disdrometer
- diurnal temperature variation
- Dobson unit
- doldrums
- Doppler on Wheels (DOW)
- Doppler weather radar
- downburst
- downdraft
- drifting snow
- drizzle
- drought
- dry line
- dry microburst
- dry punch
- dry season
- dry thunderstorm
- DSD
- dual polarization weather radar
- dust devil
- dust storm
E[edit]
- eddy
- Ekman layer
- Ekman number
- Ekman spiral
- Ekman transport
- energy-helicity index (EHI)
- El Niño
- El Niño–Southern Oscillation
- emagram
- Enhanced Fujita scale (EF scale)
- entrainment
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Environmental Modeling Center (EMC)
- Environmental Research Laboratories (ERL)
- Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA)
- The predecessor agency (1965–1970) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1970–present).
- equivalent temperature ()
- equivalent potential temperature ()
- Eulerian equations
- European windstorm
- explosive cyclogenesis
- extratropical cyclone
- extreme weather
- eye
F[edit]
G[edit]
H[edit]
- haboob
- hail
- hailstorm
- Haines Index
- halo
- hard rime
- harmattan
- haze
- hazardous seas warning
- hazardous seas watch
- heat burst
- heat index
- heat lightning
- heat wave
- heavy snow warning
- helicity
- high-pressure area
- hodograph
- hook echo
- horseshoe vortex
- humidity
- humidex
- humilis
- hurricane
- hurricane hunters
- huayco
- hydrometeorology
- hydrosphere
- hydrostatic equilibrium
- hygrometer
- A scientific instrument used to measure humidity.
- hypsometer
- hygroscopy
I[edit]
J[edit]
K[edit]
L[edit]
- Lagrangian equations
- La Niña
- lake-effect snow
- land breeze
- landfall
- landslide
- landspout
- lapse rate
- lee trough
- lee wave
- lemon technique
- lenticular cloud
- level of free convection (LFC)
- Lidar
- lifted condensation level (LCL)
- lifted index (LI)
- light pillar
- lightning
- lightning activity level
- lightning detection
- lightning strike
- line echo wave pattern (LEWP)
- low level jet
- low-level windshear alert system
- low-pressure area (L)
- low-topped supercell (LT)
- luminance
- lysimeter
M[edit]
- MAFOR
- marine cloud brightening
- marine stratocumulus
- mesoscale convective complex (MCC)
- mesoscale convective discussion (MCD)
- mesoscale convective system (MCS)
- mesoscale convective vortex (MCV)
- mesoscale meteorology
- mesocyclone
- mesohigh
- mesolow
- mesonet
- mesovortices
- METAR
- Météo-France
- meteorology
- microburst
- micronet
- A weather observation network even denser than a mesonet, such as the Oklahoma City Micronet.
- microscale meteorology
- mini-supercell
- A distinct kind of supercell that is smaller than a typical supercell.
- mini-tornado
- A fallacious term often used in news media to refer to damaging winds accompanying a thunderstorm, indifferently caused by tornadoes or microburst, on a small area.
- misocyclone
- misoscale meteorology
- mixing ratio
- Modified Fujita Scale
- An update to the original Fujita scale from 1971 proposed by Ted Fujita in 1992.
- moisture convergence
- An area where moisture concentrates due to the air flow near the surface.
- mountain breeze
- mountain-gap wind
- multicellular thunderstorm
- multiple-vortex tornado
- moisture
- monsoon
- Morning Glory cloud
- mudflow
- mudslide
N[edit]
- National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
- National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)
- National Hurricane Center (NHC)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- National Severe Storms Forecast Center (NSSFC)
- A predecessor forecasting center to the Storm Prediction Center that was located in Kansas City, Missouri.
- National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
- A NOAA lab in Norman, Oklahoma tasked with researching severe weather.
- National Tornado Database
- The official NOAA record of all known tornadoes within the United States from 1950 to present.
- National Weather Center (NWC)
- National Weather Service (NWS)
- National Weather Service Training Center (NWSTC)
- negatively tilted (or negative tilt)
- nephelometer
- nephoscope
- NEXRAD
- nimbostratus cloud
- noctilucent cloud
- nor'easter
- A macro-scale extratropical cyclone, especially one which impacts the middle and north Atlantic coasts of North America. The name derives from the direction of the winds that most strongly affect the eastern seaboard between the months of October and March; accompanied by very heavy rain or snow, causing severe coastal flooding and hurricane-force winds.
- Novaya Zemlya effect
- nowcasting
- numerical weather prediction
O[edit]
- occluded front
- okta
- A unit of measurement used to describe the amount of cloud cover at a given location in terms of how many eighths of the sky are covered in clouds, ranging from 0 oktas (completely clear) to 8 (completely overcast) or sometimes 9 oktas (indicating that the sky is obstructed from view).
- omega equation
- opacity
- orographic cloud
- orographic precipitation
- overcast
- overshooting top
- OU-PRIME
- outflow
- outflow boundary
- outflow jet
- ozone depletion
- ozone layer
P[edit]
- paleoclimatology
- pan evaporation
- pancake ice
- pampero
- parcel
- partial pressure
- Particularly Dangerous Situation
- pascal (unit)
- Pascal's law
- Pearson scale
- A tornado rating scale developed by Allen Pearson differentiating path length (P) and path width (P) to accompany NOAA Fujita scale (F) ratings.
- permafrost
- photometeor
- Phi_DP ()
- pileus
- pilot balloon
- pilot report (PIREP)
- polar low
- polar mesospheric clouds
- polar stratospheric cloud
- polar vortex
- potential temperature ()
- potential vorticity
- power flash
- A sudden bright light caused when an overhead power line is severed or especially when a transformer explodes. Severe weather is one of the most common causes.
- precipitable water
- pressure gradient
- pressure gradient force (PGF)
- pressure system
- precipitation
- precipitation types
- prevailing winds
- psychrometer
- psychrometrics
- Pulse-Doppler radar
- pulse storm
- pyranometer
- pyrgeometer
- pyrheliometer
Q[edit]
- Q-vectors
- quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE)
- quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF)
- quasi-geostrophic equations
- quasi-linear convective system (QLCS)
- quasistatic approximation
R[edit]
- radiation fog
- radiosonde
- radius of maximum wind (RMW)
- rain
- rainbow
- raindrop size distribution
- rain and snow mixed
- rain gauge
- rain shadow
- rain of animals
- Rankine vortex
- rapid intensification
- rear flank downdraft (RFD)
- relative humidity
- remote sensing
- Rho_hv ()
- ridge
- rime
- A coating of ice on the surface of an object. See hard rime and soft rime.
- roll cloud
- Rossby number
- Rossby wave
- rotation
S[edit]
- sandstorm
- sastrugi
- Sharp, irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface by wind erosion, saltation of snow particles, and deposition, usually parallel to the prevailing winds. They are often found in the polar regions and in large, open areas such as frozen lakes in cold temperate regions.
- satellite tornado
- scud
- sea breeze
- sea spray
- season
- severe thunderstorm
- severe weather
- shelf cloud
- shortwave trough
- SIGMET
- simoom
- single cell thunderstorm
- sirocco
- skew-T log-P diagram
- Skywarn
- The storm-spotting program of the US National Weather Service. Skywarn organizations have also been formed in Europe and Canada.
- skipping tornado
- slush
- snow
- snow gauge
- snow grains
- snow roller
- snowdrift
- snowsquall
- snowstorm
- SODAR
- solarimeter
- sounding rocket
- spring
- sprite
- squall line
- St. Elmo's fire
- standard atmosphere
- stationary front
- steam devil
- Stevenson screen
- storm
- storm cell
- storm chasing
- Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena (SD)
- A National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) publication beginning in 1959 which details quality-controlled tornado and other severe weather summaries as the official NOAA record of such events.
- storm shelter
- storm spotting
- storm surge
- Storm Prediction Center (SPC)
- Storm Track
- straight-line wind
- stratocumulus cloud
- stratus cloud
- summer
- Stüve diagram
- sun dog
- sunshine recorder
- sunshower
- supercell
- subtropical cyclone
- surface weather analysis
- surface weather observation
- synoptic scale meteorology
T[edit]
- tail cloud
- temperature
- temperature inversion
- tephigram
- terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF)
- Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR)
- thermal
- thermo-hygrograph
- thermodynamics
- thermodynamic diagrams
- thermometer
- thunder
- thundersnow
- thunderstorm
- thunderstorm asthma
- tilted updraft
- tornado
- Tornado Alley
- tornado climatology
- tornado debris signature (TDS)
- tornado emergency
- tornado family
- tornadogenesis
- tornado outbreak
- tornado outbreak sequence
- tornado preparedness
- tornado vortex signature (TVS)
- tornado warning
- tornado watch
- Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO)
- TORRO scale
- Totable Tornado Observatory (TOTO)
- tropical cyclone
- tropical cyclone scales
- tropical cyclogenesis
- tropical depression
- tropical disturbance
- tropical storm
- tropical wave
- tropics
- tropopause
- troposphere
- trough
- trowal
- tsunami
- turbulence
- twilight
- TWISTEX
- An acronym for Tactical Weather-Instrumented Sampling in/near Tornadoes EXperiment.
U[edit]
V[edit]
- valley breeze
- valley exit jet
- vertical draft
- vertically integrated liquid (VIL)
- vertical wind shear
- virga
- virtual temperature
- visibility
- visual flight rules (VFR)
- A set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going, as opposed to instrument flight rules, under which operation of the aircraft primarily occurs through referencing the onboard instruments rather than through visual reference to the ground and environs.
- Von Kármán constant
- Von Kármán vortex street
- Von Kármán wind turbulence model
- vortex
- vorticity
W[edit]
- wall cloud
- warm front
- Warning Decision Training Branch (WDTB)
- waterspout
- weak echo region (WER)
- weather
- The state of the atmosphere at a given time and location. Weather is driven by a diverse set of naturally occurring phenomena, especially air pressure, temperature, and moisture differences between one place and another, most of which occur in the troposphere.
- weather balloon
- weather bomb
- weather forecasting
- weather front
- weather map
- weather modification
- Weather Prediction Center (WPC)
- Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR)
- 1. In the United States, WSR-1, WSR-57, WSR-74, WSR-88D.
- 2. In Canada, Canadian weather radar network (WKR, CWMN).
- weather reconnaissance
- weather satellite
- weather station
- weather vane
- Weatherwise
- A photographically adorned general interest weather magazine that frequently publishes articles on tornadoes and other severe weather.
- wet-bulb temperature
- wet-bulb globe temperature
- wet season
- whirlwind
- wildfire
- willy-willy
- wind
- wind chill
- wind direction
- wind gradient
- Wind gust
- wind profiler
- wind shear
- wind speed
- windstorm
- windsock
- winter
- winter storm
- winter waterspout
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)