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Glossary

HTML dl Tag A / B / C / D / E / F / G / H / I / J / K / L / M / N / O / P / Q / R / S / T / U / V / W / X / Y / Z

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This page will continuously be updated as new terms come up. Please contact us with suggestions or questions.

A

Advisory
Highlights special weather conditions that are less serious than a warning. They are for events that may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.
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B

Barometric Pressure
The pressure exerted by the atmosphere at a given point. Its measurement can be expressed in several ways. One is in millibars. Another is in inches or millimeters of mercury (Hg). Also known as atmospheric pressure. Pressure is used in how strong a storm is or to determine if one is approaching or exiting the area.
Black Ice
Thin, new ice on fresh or salt water that appears dark in color because of its transparency. Also refers to thin, transparent ice on road surfaces.
Blizzard
A severe weather condition characterized by low temperatures, winds 35 mph or greater, and sufficient falling and/or blowing snow in the air to frequently reduce visibility to1/4 mile or less for a duration of at least 3 hours. A severe blizzard is characterized by temperatures near or below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, winds exceeding 45 mph, and visibility reduced by snow to near zero.
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C

Climate
The historical record and description of average daily and in seasonal weather events that help describe a region. Statistics are generally drawn over several decades.
Cloud
A visible collection of minute particle matter, such as water droplets and/or ice crystals, in the free air. A cloud forms in the atmosphere as a result of condensation of water vapor.
Cold Front
The leading edge of an advancing cold air mass that is underrunning and displacing the warmer air in its path. Generally, with the passage of a cold front, the temperature and humidity decrease, the pressure rises, and the wind shifts (usually from the southwest to the northwest). Precipitation is generally at and/or behind the front.
Cyclone
An area of closed circulation with rotating and converging winds, with the center being the lowest air pressure. The circulation is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
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D

Dew Point
The dew point is the temperature at which dew would form assuming all other conditions remained the same. The dew point is a function of the air temperature and humidy. The dew point temperature can never be higher than the air temperature. If the dew point temp and air temp are the same, than the humidity must be 100%. Okay, that's fine, but what does it really mean? The dew point is a very good measure of comfort. If the dew point is high, the temperature and humidity must also be high, and you are probably sweating profusely even while standing still. If the dew point is low, then either the temperature or humidity or both are very low, and you are feeling quite comfortable. This is a better guage for comfort than temperature or humidity alone. It could be quite warm but very dry (low dew point) and you would feel comfortable. It could also be very humid but cool or cold (low dew point) and you would feel comfortable. Dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled at a constant pressure to become saturated.
Drought
Abnormal dry weather for a specific area that is sufficiently prolonged for the lack of water to cause serious hydrological imbalance.
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E

El Nino
The cyclical warming of East Pacific Ocean sea water temperatures off the western coast of South America that can result in significant changes in weather patterns in the United States and elsewhere.
Evaporation
The physical process by which a liquid, such as water, is tranformed into a gaseous state, such as water vapor. It is the opposite physical process of condensation.
Eye
The center of a tropical storm or hurricane, characterized by a roughly circular area of light winds and rain-free skies. An eye will usually develop when the maximum sustained wind speeds exceed 78 mph. It can range in size from as small as 5 miles to up to 60 miles, but the average size is 20 miles. In general, when the eye begins to shrink in size, the storm is intensifying. Then it often increases in size once intensification is complete.
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F

Fahrenheight Temperature Scale
A temperature scale where water at sea level has a freezing point of +32 degrees F (Fahrenheit) and a boiling point of +212 degrees F. More commonly used in areas that observe the English system of measurement. Created in 1714 by Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (1696-1736), a German physicist, who also invented the alcohol and mercury thermometers.
Flash Flood
A flood that rises and falls quite rapidly with little or no advance warning, usually as the result of intense rainfall over a relatively small area. Flash floods can be caused by situations such as a sudden excessive rainfall, the failure of a dam, or the thaw of an ice jam.
Flood
High water flow or an overflow of rivers or streams from their natural or artificial banks, inundating adjacent low lying areas.
Fog
A visible aggregate of minute water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the surface of the earth, reducing horizontal visibility. It is created when the temperature and the dew point of the air have become the same, or nearly the same.
Front
A boundary between two air masses, typically between warm and cold air.
Frost
The covering of ice crystals that forms by direct sublimation on exposed surfaces whose temperature is below freezing.
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G

No entries

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H

Hail
Precipitation that originates in convective clouds, such as cumulonimbus, in the form of balls or irregular pieces of ice, which comes in different shapes and sizes. Hail is considered to have a diameter of 5 millimeter or more; smaller bits of ice are classified as ice pellets or snow pellets.
Heat Index
The combination of air temperature and humidity that gives a description of how the temperature feels. This is not the actual air temperature.
Heat Stroke
Introduced to the body by overexposure to high temperatures, particularly when accompanied by high humidity. The signs of heat stroke include when an individual's body temperature is greater than 105 degrees Fahrenheit, the skin is hot and dry, there is a rapid and irregular pulse, perspiration has stopped, and one has lost consciousness. Seek immediate medical aid.
Heat Wave
A period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot weather. It could last from several days to several weeks.
Humidity
The amount of water vapor in the air. It is often confused with relative humidity or dew point. Types of humidity include absolute humidity, relative humidity,and specific humidity.
Hurricane
A tropical cyclone that has strengthened to winds of 74 mph or greater.
Hypothermia
Occurs when the core temperature of one's body falls below normal. It is the failure of the body to maintain adequate production of heat under conditions of extreme cold.
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I

Ice
The solid form of water. It can be found in the atmosphere in the form of ice crystals, snow, ice pellets, and hail, for example.
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J

Jet Stream
A narrow band of strong winds usually found at elevations from 20000 to 50000 feet. The position and orientation of jet streams vary from day to day. General weather patterns (hot/cold, wet/dry) are related closely to the position, strength and orientation of the jet stream (or jet streams). A jet stream at low levels is known as a low-level jet.
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K

No entries

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L

Lightning
A sudden and visible discharge of electricity produced in response to the build up of electrical potential between cloud and ground, between clouds, within a single cloud, or between a cloud and surrounding air.
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M

Moisture
Refers to the water vapor content in the atmosphere, or the total water, liquid, solid or vapor, in a given volume of air.
Muggy
A subjective term for warm and excessively humid weather.
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N

Nor'Easter
A cyclonic storm occurring off the east coast of North America. These winter weather events are notorious for producing heavy snow, rain, and tremendous waves that crash onto Atlantic beaches, often causing beach erosion and structural damage. Wind gusts associated with these storms can exceed hurricane force in intensity. A nor'easter gets its name from the continuously strong northeasterly winds blowing in from the ocean ahead of the storm and over the coastal areas.
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O

No entries

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P

Precipitation
Any and all forms of water, liquid or solid, that falls from clouds and reaches the ground. This includes drizzle, freezing drizzle, freezing rain, hail, ice crystals, ice pellets, rain, snow, snow pellets, and snow grains.
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Q

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R

Rain
Precipitation in the form of liquid water droplets greater than 0.5 mm.
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S

Severe Storm
A storm with one or more of: winds 58 mph or more, hail one inch (quarter size) in diameter or more, or a tornado (a tornado is much worse).
Shower
Precipitation from a convective cloud that is characterized by its sudden beginning and ending, changes in intensity, and rapid changes in the appearance of the sky. Also used to indicate a briefer period of rain or other preicipitation
Sleet
Also known as ice pellets, it is winter precipitation in the form of small bits or pellets of ice that rebound after striking the ground or any other hard surface.
Slush
Snow or ice on the ground that has been reduced to a softy watery mixture by rain and/or warm temperatures.
Snow
'
Frozen precipitation in the form of white or translucent ice crystals in complex branched hexagonal form. It can occur even if temperatures are above 32 degrees F but typically won't stick unless it is under 32 degrees.
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T

Temperature
The measure of molecular motion or the degree of heat of a substance.
Thunder
The sound emitted by rapidly expanding gases along the channel of a lightning discharge. Over three-quarters of lightning's electrical discharge is used in heating the gases in the atmosphere in and imsfimagestely around the visible channel. Temperatures can rise to over 10,000 degrees Celsius in microseconds, resulting in a violent pressure wave, composed of compression and rarefaction. The rumble of thunder is created as one's ear catches other parts of the discharge, the part of the lightning flash nearest registering first, then the parts further away.
Thunderstorm
Produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, it is a microscale event of relatively short duration characterized by thunder, lightning, gusty surface winds, turbulence, hail, icing, precipitation, moderate to extreme updrafts (see "U") and downdrafts, and under the most severe conditions, tornadoes
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with and extending between a convective cloud and the surface of the earth. It is the most destructive of all storm-scale atmospheric phenomena. They can occur anywhere in the world given the right conditions, but are most frequent in the United States in an area bounded by the Rockies on the west and the Appalachians in the east.
Twister
A slang term used in the United States for a tornado.
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U

Updraft
A small scale current of air with vertical motion. If there is enough moisture, then it may condense, forming a cumulus cloud, the first step towards thunderstorm development.
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V

No entries

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W

Warm Front
The leading edge of an advancing warm air mass that is replacing a retreating relatively colder air mass. Generally, with the passage of a warm front, the temperature and humidity increase, the pressure rises, and although the wind shifts (usually from the southwest to the northwest in the Northern Hemisphere), it is not as pronounced as with a cold frontal passage. Precipitation, in the form of rain, snow, or drizzle, is generally found ahead of the surface front, as well as convective showers and thunderstorms. Fog is common in the cold air ahead of the front. Although clearing usually occurs after passage, some conditions may produced fog in the warm air.
Warning
A forecast issued when severe weather has developed, is already occurring and reported, or is detected on radar. Warnings state a particular hazard or imminent danger, such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash and river floods, winter storms, heavy snows, etc.
Wind
Air that flows in relation to the earth's surface, generally horizontally. There are four areas of wind that are measured: direction, speed, character (gusts and squalls), and shifts. Surface winds are measured by wind vanes and anemometers, while upper level winds are detected through pilot balloons, rawin, or aircraft reports.
Wind Chill (Factor)
The perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. You cannot have a windchill factor when the temperature is above 50°F.
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X, Y, Z

no entries for x, y and z

Seasons

Winter
Generally from December 21 - March 20. The coldest time of the year, especially in February.
Spring
Generally from March 21 - June 20. An increase in temperatures typically occurs.
Summer
Generally from June 21 - September 20. Temperatures usually peak in mid to late July.
Fall/Autumn
Generally from September 21 - December 20. Temperatures generally decrease during this time.
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Some terms and definitions are taken from or based on KlesterMeters' Weather Glossary . Some others are taken from or are based on the National Weather Service Glossary

Comments

MinyanCast: Today's Minyanim

Wednesday | June 14

This product is updated daily at 10:30pm for the next day, and when conditions warrant throughout the day

Shacharis

6:00 - 9:00 am

60 rising to 67

Increasing clouds

Mincha

2:00 - 8:00 pm

77 dropping to 74

Decreasing clouds

Mincha/Maariv

8:00 - 9:00 pm

74 dropping to 68

Mostly clear

Maariv

9:00 - 11:30 pm

68 dropping to 60

Clear skies

MinyanCast: Shabbos Minyanim

Shabbos | Parshas Korach | June 16-17

This product is updated daily for the upcoming Shabbos

Friday Evening

6:00 - 9:00 pm

77 dropping to 73

Some clouds

To Shacharis

7:00 - 9:30 am

57 rising to 66

Sunny

From Shacharis

9:30 am - 12:30 pm

66 rising to 78

Sunny

Mincha

2:00 - 8:30 pm

83 dropping to 81

Mostly sunny

Maariv

9:00 - 10:00 pm

80 dropping to 78

Partly clear

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