Download File

Science Vocab
Nov 22-Dec 1 Pretest Nov 28
1. Advisory - A forecast issued by the National Weather Service to highlight
conditions that require caution, but are not thought to be immediately life
threatening.
2. Air - The mixture of gases, which form the atmosphere of the Earth.
3. Air Pollution – Chemicals or substances in the atmosphere that are directly or
indirectly harmful to living things.
4. Alberta Clipper - A fast-moving low pressure system that occurs during the winter
and sweeps southeast from Alberta, Canada, across the northern Great Plains and
Midwest of the United States. These storms usually bring a few inches of snow.
5. Almanac - A calendar that uses astronomical information and weather data.
Almanacs list tide data, give the positions of the stars and forecast weather each
day.
6. Anticyclone - A high-pressure system that moves in a clockwise motion. These bring
you sunny skies.
7. Arctic Air - An air mass that originates over Canada and brings us cold
temperatures.
8. Aurora Borealis - It’s often called the "northern lights". It occurs 50 to 100 miles
above the earth, when energetic particles from a solar storm cause the gases in the
upper atmosphere to glow. Auroras can last between a few minutes to several hours.
It’s common across Alaska and northern Canada.
9. Avalanche - A large body of snow, ice or rock and debris sliding down a mountain.
Worldwide, about one million snow avalanches occur per year.
10. Backing Wind - A wind that changes its direction in a counter clockwise motion. For
example, a northwest wind changing to a west wind.
11. Beaufort Wind Scale - A system of estimating and reporting wind speeds. It is
based on the Beaufort Force or Number, which is composed of the wind speed, a
descriptive term, and the visible effects upon land objects and/or sea surfaces.
The scale was devised by Sir Francis Beaufort (1777-1857), hydrographer to the
British Royal Navy.
12. Bermuda High - It’s a weather system that often dominates the eastern United
States during the summer. A semi-permanent subtropical high-pressure system
over the North Atlantic Ocean brings in warm and humid air for many days or weeks
at a time. It gets its name because it is sometimes centered near Bermuda. It
contributes to U.S. heatwaves when it extends west into the Gulf of Mexico and
across the Deep South.
13. Blizzard - An intense winter storm with winds of 35 m.p.h. or higher with falling
and/or blowing snow to reduce visibility below 1/4 mile for at least three hours.