100 Words Related to Weather You Should Know

No.	Term	Definition
1.	Advection	Horizontal transport of air properties by wind.
2.	Air mass	Large body of air with uniform characteristics.
3.	Albedo	Fraction of sunlight reflected by a surface.
4.	Altimeter setting	Pressure corrected to sea level for aviation.
5.	Anemometer	Instrument measuring wind speed.
6.	Anticyclone	High-pressure system with outward, sinking air.
7.	Arctic front	Boundary where Arctic air advances into warmer air.
8.	Atmospheric pressure	Force exerted by air column above a surface.
9.	Aurora	Polar lights from charged particles in atmosphere.
10.	Back-building	Storm cells repeatedly form on upwind side.
11.	Backdoor cold front	Cold front arriving from northeast or east.
12.	Baroclinic zone	Region with strong temperature gradients and wind shear.
13.	Barometer	Instrument measuring atmospheric pressure.
14.	Beaufort scale	Wind force scale based on observed effects.
15.	Blizzard	Severe snowstorm with strong winds and low visibility.
16.	Boundary layer	Lowest atmosphere directly influenced by Earth’s surface.
17.	Bow echo	Bow-shaped radar signature of damaging winds.
18.	Buoyancy	Upward force driving rising air parcels.
19.	CAP (convective avail. pot.)	Energy available for thunderstorm updrafts.
20.	Capping inversion	Warm layer aloft suppressing convection.
21.	Ceiling	Height of lowest cloud layer covering more than half.
22.	Circulation	Large-scale movement of air around pressure systems.
23.	Cold front	Leading edge of advancing colder air mass.
24.	Convergence	Airflow coming together, forcing air to rise.
25.	Coriolis effect	Apparent deflection from Earth’s rotation.
26.	Cumulonimbus	Towering thunderstorm cloud producing heavy weather.
27.	Cyclogenesis	Development or strengthening of a cyclone.
28.	Cyclone	Low-pressure system with inward, rising air.
29.	Dew point	Temperature where air becomes saturated and condenses.
30.	Diurnal cycle	Daily variation driven by solar heating.
31.	Doppler radar	Radar measuring precipitation motion and wind.
32.	Downburst	Strong descending air causing damaging surface winds.
33.	Dryline	Boundary separating moist and dry air masses.
34.	Dust devil	Small rotating column of air lifting dust.
35.	Easterly wave	Tropical disturbance moving west in trade winds.
36.	El Niño	Warm ENSO phase altering global weather patterns.
37.	Ensemble forecast	Multiple model runs sampling forecast uncertainty.
38.	Evapotranspiration	Water vapor from evaporation plus plant transpiration.
39.	Extratropical cyclone	Midlatitude low driven by temperature contrasts.
40.	Fetch	Distance wind blows over water generating waves.
41.	Flash flood	Rapid flooding from intense rainfall.
42.	Fog	Cloud at ground level reducing visibility.
43.	Forecast model	Numerical simulation predicting atmospheric evolution.
44.	Freezing rain	Supercooled rain freezing on contact surfaces.
45.	Friction	Surface drag slowing wind near the ground.
46.	Fujita scale	Tornado intensity scale based on damage.
47.	Gale	Strong wind, typically 34–47 knots.
48.	Geostrophic wind	Wind balancing pressure gradient and Coriolis.
49.	Graupel	Soft hail from rimed snow pellets.
50.	Greenhouse effect	Warming from gases absorbing and reemitting infrared.
51.	Gust front	Leading edge of cool outflow from storms.
52.	Hail	Balls of ice formed in strong thunderstorm updrafts.
53.	Heat index	Apparent temperature combining heat and humidity.
54.	High pressure	Area of higher pressure with generally fair weather.
55.	Hook echo	Radar signature often indicating a tornado.
56.	Humidity	Amount of water vapor in the air.
57.	Hurricane	Tropical cyclone with sustained winds at least 74 mph.
58.	Insolation	Incoming solar radiation received at the surface.
59.	Inversion	Layer where temperature increases with height.
60.	Isobar	Line connecting equal atmospheric pressure on maps.
61.	Jet stream	Fast high-altitude winds guiding weather systems.
62.	K-index	Thunderstorm potential index using temperature and moisture.
63.	Knot	Speed unit equal to one nautical mile per hour.
64.	La Niña	Cool ENSO phase shifting global rainfall patterns.
65.	Lapse rate	Rate temperature decreases with altitude.
66.	Latent heat	Heat absorbed or released during phase changes.
67.	Lee trough	Low pressure forming downwind of mountains.
68.	Lenticular cloud	Lens-shaped cloud formed by mountain waves.
69.	Lightning	Electrical discharge within clouds or to ground.
70.	Low-level jet	Fast winds near surface transporting moisture and heat.
71.	Mesocyclone	Rotating updraft within a supercell thunderstorm.
72.	Microburst	Localized intense downburst with hazardous winds.
73.	Monsoon	Seasonal wind shift bringing wet and dry periods.
74.	Nimbostratus	Thick layered cloud producing steady precipitation.
75.	Nor’easter	Strong coastal storm with northeast winds in US.
76.	Occluded front	Front where cold front overtakes a warm front.
77.	Orographic lift	Rising air forced over terrain producing clouds.
78.	Outflow boundary	Storm-cooled air boundary acting like a front.
79.	Polar vortex	Persistent upper-level low over polar regions.
80.	Precipitable water	Total column water vapor expressed as liquid depth.
81.	Pressure gradient	Pressure change over distance driving wind.
82.	Radar reflectivity	Returned radar power indicating precipitation intensity.
83.	Rain shadow	Dry area leeward of mountains due to subsidence.
84.	Relative humidity	Percent of saturation at current temperature.
85.	Ridge	Elongated area of higher pressure aloft.
86.	Rossby wave	Large-scale meanders in upper-level westerlies.
87.	Sea breeze	Onshore wind driven by coastal temperature contrast.
88.	Shear	Change in wind speed or direction with height.
89.	Sleet	Ice pellets from refreezing melted snow.
90.	Squall line	Line of thunderstorms producing strong winds.
91.	Stationary front	Boundary between air masses with little movement.
92.	Stratocumulus	Low lumpy cloud layer, often with light drizzle.
93.	Supercell	Long-lived thunderstorm with a rotating updraft.
94.	Thermal wind	Wind shear related to horizontal temperature gradients.
95.	Thunderstorm	Storm producing lightning, thunder, and often heavy rain.
96.	Tornado	Violently rotating column of air touching the ground.
97.	Tropical cyclone	Warm-core low over tropical waters with organized storms.
98.	Trough	Elongated area of lower pressure aloft.
99.	Visibility	Greatest distance objects can be seen and identified.
100.	Warm front	Leading edge of advancing warmer air mass.