TEACH: Weather Vocabulary

The Vocabulary

Atmosphere: The gasses that surround the earth. It can be broken into five different layers; troposphere,
stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.

Greenhouse effect: The warming of the earths surface and lower atmosphere which occurs when carbon
dioxide, water vapor, and other gasses absorb and release infrared heat.

Coriolis Effect: The curving of an objects path due to the rotation of the Earth.

Hadley cells: A large convection cell of air that rises at the equator and sinks at 30 north or south of the
equator.

Jet Stream: A strong, generally westerly winds concentrated in a relatively narrow and shallow stream in the
upper troposphere of the earth.

Climate: Is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Month to month, year to year, or decade to
decade.

Trade winds: Prevailing winds that blow from east to west at 30 north or south of the equator.

Prevailing westerlies: Are the predominant winds that blow west to east and are in the middle latitudes
between 30 and 60 north or south.

Ozone: Is a layer in the stratosphere that protects life from radiation (ultra violet light).

Stratosphere: A layer of our atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and mesosphere. This layer is where the
ozone exists.

Troposphere: The lowest level of atmosphere where life exists. This layer is where weather can be found. As
you go higher in altitude the colder it gets.

Air pollution: Introduction of smoke, car exhaust, or other harmful materials into the atmosphere. These
pollutants may cause disease or even death to living organisms.

Weather: The daily conditions of the atmosphere in terms of temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, and
moisture.

Low Pressure system: A mass of warm, moist air that generally brings stormy weather with strong winds.
This is what causes thunderstorms.

High Pressure system: A mass of cool, dry air that generally brings fair weather and light winds.

Air mass: A large body of air in which temperature and moisture are uniform.

Cold front: The leading edge of a moving mass of cold air that pushes beneath a warmer air mass.

Warm front: the leading edge of a moving mass of warm air that replaces colder air.

Stationary front: An air mass that moves very slowly if not at all.

Occluded front: a front that forms when a cold air mass over takes a warm air mass and lifts the warm air
up.