Chapter 1 Atm/weather

Front 1

S.A.M.E

Back 1

Specific Area Message Encoding

feature that sounds an alarm only if a weather watch or warning is issued specifically for a county or limited local area programmed by the user

Front 2

Weather radar

Back 2

complements satellite surveillance of the atmosphere by locating and tracking the movement of areas of precipitaion and monitoring the circulation within small scale weather systems such as thunderstorms

Front 3

P.O.E.S.

Back 3

Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite

travels in a relatively low(800 to 1,000 km) nearly north-south orbit passing close to the poles

Front 4

subsatelite

Back 4

the location on Earth's surface directly below the satellite, is essentially on the equater

Front 5

G.O.E.S.

Back 5

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

satellite orbits planet at rate that matches Earth's rotation and in the same eastward direction so that it is always positioned over the same spot on the Earth's surface and it's sensors have the same field

Front 6

S.A.M.E

Back 6

Specific Area Message Encoding

feature that sounds an alarm only if a weather watch or warning is issued specifically for a county or limited local area programmed by the user

Front 7

Weather radar

Back 7

complements satellite surveillance of the atmosphere by locating and tracking the movement of areas of precipitaion and monitoring the circulation within small scale weather systems such as thunderstorms

Front 8

P.O.E.S.

Back 8

Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite

travels in a relatively low(800 to 1,000 km) nearly north-south orbit passing close to the poles

Front 9

subsatelite

Back 9

the location on Earth's surface directly below the satellite, is essentially on the equater

Front 10

G.O.E.S.

Back 10

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

satellite orbits planet at rate that matches Earth's rotation and in the same eastward direction so that it is always positioned over the same spot on the Earth's surface and it's sensors have the same field

Front 11

sources of weather information

Back 11

the weather channel, local newspapers, listen to radio broadcasts, noaa weather radio(NWR), weather radio, internet

Front 12

N.W.R.

Back 12

NOAA Weather Radio
-a valuable source of local weather information
-low power, VHF-high-band FM radion transmitters operated by the NOAA that broadcast continuous weather information(e.g. regional conditions, local forecasts, marine warnings) directly from NWS Forecast Offices 24 hrs p/day

Front 13

sky cover

Back 13

based on the fraction of the sky that is cloud covered, the sky is described as clear(no clouds), a few clouds (1/8 to 2/8 cloud cover), scattered clouds(3/8 to 4/8), broken clouds(5/8 to 7/8) and overcast(completely cloud-covered)

Front 14

climatology

Back 14

study of climate, its controls and spatial and temporal variability. In weather forecasting, a forecast derived from climatology is based on the type of weather that occured on the same day in years past.

Front 15

weather

Back 15

the state of the atmosphere at some place and time, described in terms of such quantitative variables as temperature, humidity, cloudiness, precipitation, and wind speed and direction

Front 16

precipitation amount

Back 16

depth of rainfall or melted snowfall over a 24 hr period, usually from midnight of 1 day to midnight of the next day, measured to one-hundreth of an inch in the U.S. and in miillimeters elsewhere

Front 17

cloud

Back 17

aggregates of tiny water droplets, ice crystals, or some combination of both

Front 18

Weather warning

Back 18

issued by the NWS when hazardous weather is imminent or actually taking place

Front 19

Weather Watch

Back 19

issued by the NWS when hazardous weather(ie. tornadoes, heavy snowfall) is considerd possible based on current or anticipated atmospheric conditions

Front 20

N.W.S.

Back 20

National Weather Service

Front 21

radar echoes

Back 21

the reflected signal is displayed as blotches on a television-type screen with a superimposed map of the region surrounding the radar

Front 22

N.O.A.A.

Back 22

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Front 23

pressure systems

Back 23

2 types: highs( anticyclones) and lows(cyclones). The high and low designations refer to air pressure.

Front 24

air pressure

Back 24

the weight per unit area of a column of air that stretches upward from the Earth's surface(or any altitude within the atmosphere) to the top of the atmosphere
-the weight of a column of air over a unit area of the Earth's surface

Front 25

Anticyclone

Back 25

A dome of air that exerts relatively high surface air pressure compared with surrounding air; same as a High. Viewed from above, surface winds in an anticyclone blow clockwise and outward in the Northern Hemisphere but counterclockwise and outward in the Southern Hemisphere.

Front 26

Cyclone

Back 26

A weather system characterized by relatively low surface air pressure compared with surrounding air; same as a Low. Viewed from above, surface winds blow counterclockwise and inward in the Northern hemisphere but clockwise and inward in the Southern Hemisphere.

Front 27

front

Back 27

a narrow transition zone between air masses that differ in temperature, humidity, or both

Front 28

pressure systems

Back 28

2 types: highs( anticyclones) and lows(cyclones). The high and low designations refer to air pressure.

Front 29

air pressure

Back 29

the weight per unit area of a column of air that stretches upward from the Earth's surface(or any altitude within the atmosphere) to the top of the atmosphere
-the weight of a column of air over a unit area of the Earth's surface

Front 30

Anticyclone

Back 30

A dome of air that exerts relatively high surface air pressure compared with surrounding air; same as a High. Viewed from above, surface winds in an anticyclone blow clockwise and outward in the Northern Hemisphere but counterclockwise and outward in the Southern Hemisphere.

Front 31

Doppler Effect

Back 31

A shift in the frequency(or phase) of an electromagnetic or sound wave due to the relative movement of the source or the observer

Front 32

front

Back 32

a narrow transition zone between air masses that differ in temperature, humidity, or both

Front 33

Coriolis Effect

Back 33

A defective force arising from the rotation of the Earth on its axis; affects principally synoptic-scale and planetary-scale winds. Winds are deflected to the right of their initial direction in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern hemisphere. Magnitude depends on latitude and speed of the moving object.

Front 34

Warm front

Back 34

front that moves in such a way that the cold(more dense) air retreats, allowing relatively warm(less dense) air to advance. may be associated with a broad band of cloudiness and light to moderate precipitation

Front 35

Air mass

Back 35

a huge volume of air covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometers that is horizontally relatively uniform in temperature and humidity, typically associated with a large high pressure system
4 types:cold and dry, cold and humid, warm and dry, warm and humid