Guthrie South Topsail 5Th Grade Vocabulary Weather

Front 1

High Pressure

Back 1

Whirling mass of cool, dry air. Usually brings fair weather and

Front 2

Wind

Back 2

Created by differences in air pressure. The differences in air pressure are created by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface.

Front 3

Sea Breeze

Back 3

daytime coastal breeze. Blows from sea to land.

Front 4

Trade Winds

Back 4

Winds blow from tropical high pressure towards the equator

Front 5

Local Winds

Back 5

Move across a small area or region

Front 6

Global Winds

Back 6

Move across the earth in certain patterns; affected by geography

Front 7

Prevailing Winds – .

Back 7

The global winds that blow constantly from the same direction

Front 8

El Nino

Back 8

Unusual warming of the surface water in the Pacific Ocean

Front 9

La Nina

Back 9

Unusual cooling of the surface water in the Pacific Ocean

Front 10

Air Mass –

Back 10

Body of air that has about the same temperature and humidity

Front 11

Front

Back 11

A boundary between two air masses; one cold and the other warm, moving so that the colder air replaces the warm air.

Front 12

Cold Front

Back 12

A boundary between two air masses resulting in stormy weather. A

front usually is a line of separation between warm and cold air.

Front 13

Warm Front

Back 13

A boundary between two air masses, one cool and the other warm, moving so that the warm air replaces the cooler air.

Front 14

Stationary Front –

Back 14

A boundary between two air masses that more or less doesn’t move but some of these fronts can wobble back and forth for several hundred miles.

Front 15

Occluded Front –

Back 15

A combination of two fronts that form when a cold front catches

Front 16

Cirrus

Back 16

Thin and wispy. Fair and pleasant weather.

Front 17

Stratus

Back 17

Gray clouds that cover the entire sky that can be the result of thick fog

Front 18

Cumulus

Back 18

Fair weather clouds that look like floating cotton candy. Flat bottoms;

Front 19

Cumulonimbus

Back 19

Can reach up to 39,000 feet or higher. Can be several miles across. Bring lightning, thunder, tornados, and intense storms

Front 20

Anemometer

Back 20

Tool used to measure wind speed.

Front 21

Wind Vane

Back 21

Tool used to determine wind directions

Front 22

Barometer

Back 22

Tool used to measure air pressure.

Front 23

Thermometer

Back 23

An instrument that measures temperature.

Front 24

Rain Gauge

Back 24

Tool used to measure the amount of fallen precipitation.

Front 25

Hygrometer –

Back 25

An instrument used to measure water vapor content in the air or

Front 26

Water Cycle

Back 26

The cycle from which water is circulated on and over the earth.

Front 27

Evaporation

Back 27

Water that is warmed on the ground (lake, river, ocean, puddle, etc.)

Front 28

Transpiration

Back 28

Process by which moisture is released into the atmosphere as vapor through pores in leaves. (Tree Sweat.)

Front 29

Water Vapor

Back 29

It’s a gas in the atmosphere. Without it, we would have no clouds,

Front 30

Condensation

Back 30

When water vapor rises it cools off and changes back into a liquid

Front 31

Precipitation

Back 31

Water falling to the earth in the form

Front 32

Snow

Back 32

Atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals and falling in white flakes or laying on the ground as a white layer.

Front 33

Rain

Back 33

Liquid precipitation in the form of water that falls for several hours.

Front 34

Drizzle

Back 34

Light rain falling in very fine drops.

Front 35

Sleet –

Back 35

a form of precipitation consisting of ice pellets, often mixed with rain or

Front 36

Humidity –

Back 36

Amount of moisture in the air.

Front 37

Collection

Back 37

A place where water collects.

Front 38

Run Off

Back 38

Water that has fallen as precipitation and runs to collection points.

Front 39

Ground Water

Back 39

Water that is located below the ground. It soaks into the grounds

Front 40

Current –

Back 40

A flow of air or water in a certain direction.

Front 41

Gulf Stream

Back 41

A warm current that flows out of the Gulf of Mexico and northward

Front 42

Jet Stream –

Back 42

An air current in the upper atmosphere that flows from west to east.

Front 43

Weather

Back 43

The state of the atmosphere with respect to the wind.

Front 44

Climate

Back 44

The average of all weather conditions.

Front 45

Atmosphere

Back 45

The layer of air that surrounds the earth.

Front 46

Meteorology

Back 46

Study of the atmosphere and all its phenomena.

Front 47

Meteorologist

Back 47

Someone who studies and predict the weather based on the phenomena in the atmosphere.

Front 48

Equator

Back 48

Imaginary line that divides the earth in half, it is zero latitude.

Front 49

Prime Meridian –

Back 49

Imaginary line that divides the world in half, it is zero longitude.

Front 50

Longitude

Back 50

The distance east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Front 51

Latitude

Back 51

The distance north or south of the equator measured in degrees.

Front 52

Hemisphere

Back 52

Each half of the earth.

Front 53

Air Pressure

Back 53

The weight of the air pressing down on earth. It is the same as barometric pressure. It can change from place to place.

Front 54

Low Pressure

Back 54

Whirling mass of warm, moist air. Usually brings stormy weather with strong winds.