SEASONS & WEATHER GLOSSARY

Name: _______________________________
ATMOSPHERE
AXIS
the mixture of gases that imaginary line that passes
surrounds the Earth
through the center of the
(mostly nitrogen and
Earth that the planet spins
oxygen)
around

AIR MASS
a large body of air with
certain temperature and
water vapor content

AIR PRESSURE
measure of the weight of
the atmosphere (air) on
Earths surface (aka
barometric pressure)

CLIMATE
the general pattern of
weather in an area over a
long period of time

CLOUDS
masses of water droplets
or ice crystals that hang
in the troposphere over
Earth

CONVECTION CURRENT
continual cycling of hot
and cool material in the
air, water, or mantle.
Cool, dense molecules
sink. Warm, less dense
molecules rise

COLD FRONT
a cold air mass pushes a
warm air mass, bringing
violent storms followed by
fair, cooler weather

CORIOLIS EFFECT
the deflection of winds
from their direct paths
between areas of high
and low pressure caused
by Earths rotation

CYCLONE
what hurricanes are
called in the southern
hemisphere; large
revolving storm caused
by winds blowing around
a central area of low
pressure

DAY/NIGHT
a 24-hour cycle on Earth
equal to one rotation;
part of the cycle faces the
sun and part faces away
from the sun

EL NINO
unusually warm ocean
current in the tropical Pacific
Ocean when wind/water
currents weaken or reverse;
results in extreme weather
like floods and droughts
(happens on average every 3
to 7 years)

ENERGY
the ability to do work;
nearly all the energy in
the atmosphere comes
from the sun

EQUATOR
imaginary line around the
middle of Earth, halfway
between the North and
South poles

EQUINOX
2 days a year when there
are equal hours of
daylight and darkness.
There is a vernal equinox
in spring and an autumnal
equinox in the fall

FRONT
the boundary between two
different air masses; this is
where weather events
happen, like storms

SEASONS & WEATHER GLOSSARY

Name: _______________________________

GLOBAL CONVEYOR BELT

strong, deep underwater
current driven by density
differences in water
(differences in salinity
and temperature
HIGH PRESSURE
area where air pressure is
greater than the
surrounding area, gives
us fair, dry, calm weather
with clear skies

GLOBAL WIND
a wind that blows steadily
in the same direction
across thousands of
kilometers

GLOBE
a spherical-shaped, 3D
map or model of Earth

HEMISPHERE
half of Earth, divided at the
equator (Northern and
Southern hemispheres)

HURRICANE
a severe tropical storm
caused by warm, most air
rising over the ocean; it
grows to hundreds of
miles in diameter and
winds of at least 74 mph (
119 km/h)

JET STREAM
a narrow stream of highspeed wind high in the
atmosphere, generally
moving west to east in
the northern hemisphere.

LAND BREEZE
occurs during nighttime,
when air located over land
cools faster than air located
over water.

LOW PRESSURE
area where air pressure is
lower than the
surroundings area; gives
us clouds, precipitation,
storms, and other bad
weather like cyclones.

OCCLUDED FRONT
forms when a cold front
overtakes a warm front,
trapping a warn air mass
between two cold air
masses.

OCEAN CURRENT
flow of water within the
ocean that moves in a
regular pattern.

REVOLUTION
one orbit of an object in
space around another object
in space, like the moon
around earth.

SEASONS & WEATHER GLOSSARY

ROTATION
spinning of a planet,
moon, sun, or other
object, around its axis.

SEA BREEZE
occurs during daytime,
when air located over
land heats faster than air
located over water.

STATIONARY FRONT
boundary between two air
masses where the masses
are not moving; they
often bring many days of
continuous precipitation

TEMPERATURE
measures the average
kinetic energy of particles
in a substance (in
degrees Celsius or
Fahrenheit)

WARM FRONT
WATER CYCLE
a warm air mass moves in movement of water
to replace a cold air
through the environment
mass, bringing rain and
by evaporation,
showers followed by
condensation, and
warmer, more humid
precipitation
weather

Name: _______________________________
SEASONS
SOLSTICE
the year is divided into 4
2 days in the year when
seasons based on
hours of daylight or darkness
weather patterns and
are at their greatest; theres
daylight hours; result
a summer solstice and a
from the Earths tilt.
winter solstice
TILT
a sloping position or
direction (not straight);
the Earth is tilted 23.50 on
its axis

TORNADO
a destructive, whirling, fastmoving storm that forms
over land; it forms in humid
conditions when warm and
cool air meet making a
spinning tube of wind that
touches the ground

WEATHER
current conditions in the
atmosphere, including
humidity, clouds,
temperature, wind, and
rain

WEATHER MAP
maps created by computer
model to show atmospheric
conditions like pressure,
fronts, or precipitation using
symbols