Weather and Severe Storms Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on physical meteorology, weather mechanisms, air masses, front dynamics, mountain effects, and severe storm/tornado terminology based on lecture materials.

Weather

The short-term, day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere.

Climate

The long-term average (multi-decadal) of weather conditions and extremes.

RADAR

An acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging, a system that transmits electromagnetic radio wave pulses at the speed of light to calculate precipitation distance and intensity.

Virga

Rain that evaporates before hitting the ground, typically observed beyond the useful radar range of approximately $100\,\text{miles}$.

Cone of Silence

The blind spot directly above or near a RADAR station where data cannot be detected.

Wind

Air movement from high pressure to low pressure that occurs as warm air rises and cool air moves in to fill the vacant space.

Maritime Polar (mP)

An air mass characterized by cool, moist air.

Continental Polar (cP)

An air mass characterized by cold, dry air.

Continental Tropical (cT)

An air mass characterized by dry, hot air.

Maritime Tropical (mT)

An air mass characterized by warm, moist air.

Cold Front

A boundary where cold air replaces warm air in a bulldozer-shaped collision, advancing rapidly at $30\,\text{to}\,60\,\text{mph}$ and generating heavy precipitation and Cumulonimbus (Cb) clouds.

Warm Front

A boundary where warm air moves over cold air in a ramp-shaped collision, moving gradually at $10\,\text{to}\,25\,\text{mph}$ and producing moderate precipitation.

Orographic Lifting

The forced ascent of airflow as it passes over a mountain range.

Rain Shadow

A dry region located on the leeward side of a mountain range.

Adiabatic Heating and Cooling

Temperature changes within an air parcel driven solely by changes in air pressure without any heat exchange with the surrounding environment.

Thunder

A shockwave created when super-heated air molecules at $50,000^\circ\text{F}$ expand rapidly and rub together, traveling at approximately $1000\,\text{ft/s}$ ($1\,\text{mile}$ per $5\,\text{seconds}$).

Vortex

A spinning column of air at the center of a storm rapidly pulling hot air upwards.

Mesocyclone

A gigantic vortex of rotating air contained within a storm.

Supercell Storm

A severe thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a rotating updraft.

Enhanced Fujita Scale

A scale rating tornado intensity based on wind speed and damage severity, ranging from EF0 ($65\,\text{to}\,85\,\text{mph}$) to EF5 ($>\!200\,\text{mph}$).

Tri-State Tornado of 1925

The deadliest tornado in U.S. history, occurring on March 18, 1925, which caused $695$ fatalities across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana along a $219\,\text{mile}$ track.

2011 Joplin Tornado

An EF-5 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, featuring winds exceeding $200\,\text{mph}$ and a maximum width of $1\,\text{mile}$, which killed $161$ people in $38\,\text{minutes}$.

El Reno Tornado

The largest recorded tornado in history, occurring on May 31, 2013, with a maximum width of $2.6\,\text{miles}$, wind speeds of $302\,\text{mph}$, and a path length of $16.2\,\text{miles}$.