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28 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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water cycle |
the continual movement of water among Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land surface through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation |
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evaporation |
the process by which molecules at the surface of a liquid absorb enough energy to change to a gas |
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condensation |
the change in state from a gas to a liquid |
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humidity |
the amount of water vapor in a given volume of air |
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relative humidity |
the percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor that air can contain at a particular temperature |
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dew point |
the temperature at which condensation begins |
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cirrus |
wispy, feathery clouds made of ice crystals that form at high levels |
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cumulus |
fluffy, white clouds usually with flat bottoms, that look like rounded piles of cotton |
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stratus |
clouds that form in flat layers and often cover much of the sky |
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precipitation |
any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface as rain, snow, sleet, or hail |
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rain gauge |
an instrument used to measure precipitation |
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flood |
an overflowing of water in a normally dry area |
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drought |
a long period of low precipitation |
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air mass |
a huge body of air that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height |
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jet stream |
bands of high-speed winds about 10 kilometers above Earth's surface |
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front |
the boundary where unlike are masses meet but do not mix |
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occluded |
cut off, as in a front where a warm air mass is caught between two cooler air masses |
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cyclone |
a swirling center of low air pressure |
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anticyclone |
a high pressure center of dry air |
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storm |
a violent disturbance in the atmosphere |
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blizzard |
a snowstorm with prolonged winds of 56 kilometers per hour or greater and blowing snow that reduces visibility |
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thunderstorm |
a small storm often accompanied by heavy precipitation and frequent thunder and lightning |
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lightning |
a sudden spark, or energy discharge, caused when electrical charges jump between parts of a cloud, between nearby clouds, or between a cloud and the ground |
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hurricane |
a tropical storm that has winds of about 119 kilometers per hour or higher |
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storm surge |
a "dome" of water that sweeps across the coast where a hurricane lands |
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tornado |
a rapidly swirling, funnel-shaped cloud that reaches down to touch Earth's surface |
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evacuate |
moving away temporarily from an area about to be affected by severe weather |
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meteoroligist |
a scientist who studies the causes of weather and try to predict it |
