Term
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Definition
| The upward displacement of air that leads to adiabatic cooling |
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Term
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Definition
| When a warm air mass flows toward a wedge of cold air it is forced upward. When a cold air mass flows toward a wedge of warm air it slips under the warm air. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Area of significant localized uplift often associated with thunderstorms |
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Term
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Definition
| Air's susceptibility to uplift |
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Term
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Definition
| Air that experiences an uplift |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Air that neither resists uplift nor is motivated to rise |
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Term
| Conditionally unstable air |
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Definition
Buoyancy of air changes.
DALR<ELR<SALR |
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Term
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Definition
Air parcel cools more than ambient air.
ELR<MALR,WALR,DALR |
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Term
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Definition
Air parcel cools less than ambient air.
ELR>DALR |
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Term
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Definition
| The change in temperature due to elevation |
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Term
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Definition
| 5.5 Degree fahrenheit per 1000 feet or 1 degree celsius per 100 feet |
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Term
| Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate |
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Definition
| 3.3 degree fahrenheit per 1000 feet or .5 degree celsius per 100 feet |
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Term
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Definition
| Areas where temperature increases with elevation |
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Term
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Definition
Thin, white, wispy clouds. A high cloud.
Ci |
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Term
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Definition
Extensive, shallow clouds somewhat transparent to sunlight. A high cloud.
Cs |
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Term
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Definition
High, layered cloud with billows or parallel rolls. High cloud.
Cc |
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Term
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Definition
Extensive, watery, layered cloud. Middle cloud.
As |
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Term
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Definition
Shallow mid level cloud containing patches or rolls. Somewhat opaque.
Ac |
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Term
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Definition
Uniform layer of low cloud ranging from grey to whitish.
Low level.
St |
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Term
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Definition
Low cloud producing light rain. Dark skies.
Ns |
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Term
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Definition
Low level equivalent to altocumulus.
Sc |
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Term
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Definition
Detached billowy clouds with flat bases and moderate vertical development.
May extend through much of atmosphere.
Cu |
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Term
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Definition
Clouds with intense vertical development with characteristic anvil shape. Very dark and very tall.
Cb |
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Term
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Definition
| Where a water droplet in a cloud hits another droplet. |
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Term
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Definition
| Process where colliding water droplets combine |
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Term
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Definition
| Deposition of H20 vapor onto an ice crystal. Deposition exceeds sublimation |
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Term
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Definition
| Where an ice crystal falls through a cloud collides with water droplets that freeze onto an ice crystal which leads to rapid growth of a snowflake |
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Term
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Definition
| When collision and coalescence occur |
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Term
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Definition
| Clouds where the temperature is > than 0 in lower reaches and < 0 in the upper reaches |
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Term
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Definition
| Clouds where the temperature is < 0 throughout |
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Term
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Definition
| Ice crystals that have air bubbles in them |
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Term
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Definition
| Frozen rain that is bounced between the top and bottom of a cloud 'till it is heavy enough to drop |
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Term
| Terminal velocity of water droplets |
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Definition
| Maximum speed a water droplet can attain while falling |
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Term
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Definition
| Raindrops that fall through < 0 degree air and change from liquid to ice |
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Term
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Definition
| Rain that freezes when it hits the ground |
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Term
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Definition
| A late fall/early winter condition where cold air mass moves over a warm body of water and leads to much precipitation |
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Term
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Definition
| Divides circulation of each hemisphere into three belts |
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Term
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Definition
Heat driven. Rainiest zone.
Responsible for the ITCZ |
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Term
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Definition
| Occurs in mid latitudes. Driven by air movement where air from subtropics moves toward the sub polar. |
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Term
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Definition
| Heat driven. Moves air from poles to sub polar. |
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Term
| Semi permanent cells of low pressure |
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Definition
| Aleutian and Icelandic lows |
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Term
| Semi permanent cells of high pressure |
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Definition
| Siberian, Hawaiian, Azures high |
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Term
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Definition
| Narrow divide between sub polar air and polar |
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Term
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Definition
| Jet stream caused by steeply sloping pressure gradient near polar air mass |
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Term
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Definition
| Associated with Hadley cell near the equator |
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Term
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Definition
| Upper atmosphere westerlies between polar and warm front with meridional fluctuations |
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Term
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Definition
| Extended area of low pressure |
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Term
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Definition
| Extended area of high pressure |
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Term
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Definition
| Winds that move East to or from West |
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Term
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Definition
| Winds that move north or south |
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Term
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Definition
| Effect of wind drag on current starting 45 degrees right from prevailing wind. As it goes down to 100 meters the current turns right until it is 180 degrees from its' starting direction |
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Term
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Definition
| Where an area of water is moved away from the shore and water from below is lifted up to replace the lack of water |
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Term
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Definition
| A reversal of the dry/wet weather system |
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Term
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Definition
| Synoptic-scale winds that flow down mountain slopes, warm by compression, and introduce hot, dry, and clear conditions to adjacent lowlands |
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Term
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Definition
| Winds that are warmed by compression and descend eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains |
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Term
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Definition
| Where a high pressure system pushes air west and down out of the Rockies towards CA |
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Term
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Definition
| Winds warmed by compression as they are pushed down off of a plateau. Antarctica has the most prevelant |
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Term
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Definition
| Breezes caused by the differing temperatures between land and sea. Vary diurnally |
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Term
| Valley and mountain breezes |
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Definition
| Valley breezes occur during the day and mountain breezes occur at night |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| Pacific Decadal Oscillation |
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Definition
| 20 - 30 year oscillation between water temperature in Pacific NW and tropics |
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Term
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Definition
| Uniform area where air masses develop |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| A front that is not moving |
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Term
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Definition
| A front where warm air has been forced aloft. Much precipitation is found there |
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Term
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Definition
| The life and functions of a midlatitude cyclone. |
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Term
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Definition
Major weather systems. Cyclogenesis - formation
Mature cyclones - growth
Dissipation - result of occluded front |
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Term
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Definition
| A positive or negative rotation of a fluid |
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Term
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Definition
| 3d modeling describing how warm, cold, and dry conveyor belt energies impact mid latitude cyclones |
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Term
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Definition
| Discharge of electricity in thunder storm |
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Term
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Definition
| Air masses that lead to thunderstorms only representative of part of the air mass |
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Term
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Definition
| Wind speed > 58 mpg, hail > 0.75", and can spawn tornadoes |
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Term
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Definition
| Intensely powerful storms that contain a single updraft zone |
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Term
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Definition
| Zones of extremely rapid, rotating winds beneath the base of cumulonimbus clouds |
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Term
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Definition
| A large rotating vortice that often precedes a tornado |
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Term
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Definition
| Thick cloud beneath a rotating thunderstorm, a place where severe weather often develops |
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Term
| Non supercell development of tornadoes |
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Definition
| Are caused by large uplift of air during a thunderstorm |
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Term
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Definition
| Climate anomalies being related to each other over long distance. ENSO being an example |
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Term
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Definition
| Narrow bands separating dry air from humid air |
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Term
| Meso Convective Complexes |
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Definition
| A type of MCS having an oval or nearly circular shape |
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Term
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Definition
| A general clustering of thunderstorms |
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