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Meteorology
Branch of the natural sciences that deals with the Earth’s _________________ & its related
_________________.
 The 4 Factors that Cause _________________:
 Temperature
 Air _________________
 Wind
 Moisture
 The Atmospheric _________________
Earth’s Atmosphere:
79_________________
20% Oxygen
_________________Everything Else
Variable Components
Water _________________
Aerosols--suspended solid & liquid _________________ in the atmosphere
_________________--(O3) absorbs harmful UV radiation
Atmospheric _________________
Troposphere - bottom layer where ____________________________.
* _________________ occurs here.
* Gets colder w/ _________________.
____________________—2nd layer
* Contains the Jet _________________& Ozone layer
* Gets _________________ w/ altitude.
Mesosphere—3rd layer
* Gets _________________ w/ altitude.
Thermosphere– 4th layer
* Ionosphere-lower part, made of charged _________________.
* ______________upper part, satellites orbit at this location.
* Van _________________ Radiation Belts-layers of high radiation that help block _________________
particles.
Heating of the Earth
_________________Heating of the Earth
Direct Sunlight Energy (comes at a 90º angle) causes more _________________. It occurs most often at
the equator.
Indirect Sunlight Energy (comes in at an angle less than 90º) doesn’t _________________ as much heat.
Heat Transfer
Radiation
 Sun gives off light energy because of nuclear _________________. (Fusing of 2 _________________
atoms into a single helium atom)
 Atmosphere absorbs most of the _________________.
 _________________ absorbs the rest.
 Conduction--the direct transfer of _________________ energy from one substance to
_________________.

**The warmth of the Earth’s surface slightly warms the _________________that it comes in contact
with.
 Convection--the _________________of heat energy in a gas or liquid

**_________________ air rises, cold air sinks
 “Greenhouse Effect”-- CO2 collects in the atmosphere & traps heat energy at the _________________.
(CO2 is 0.036%)
 Air _________________
Air has mass, so its weight (_________________) pushes down on the earth causing pressure.
Movement of Air
 Warm air _________________, making it less dense so it rises causing _________________ pressure.
Warm air holds more moisture.
 Colder air contracts, making it more dense so it sinks causing _________________ pressure. Cold air
holds less _________________.
 LOW Pressure is usually associated w/ _________________, rainy weather.
 HIGH Pressure is usually _________________ w/ good/fair weather.
 _________________ Pressure
 Barometer (Mercury or Aneroid) measures the change in air pressure in either _________________ or
millimeters/inches of _________________.
Wind
the movement of air from one place to _________________
Air _________________ from an HIGH pressure to LOW pressure.
Global Winds
 Created by the _________________heating of the Earth’s surface, difference in air pressure& the Earth’s
rotation.
Coriolis Effect--due to the Earth’s rotation, moving objects such as air and water will _________________in a
certain direction.
Global Wind Belts
 _________________ Winds – winds that blow from east to west on either side of the _________________.
Separated by the Doldrums
 Prevailing _________________ – winds that blow from west to east between 30o & 60o north & south
latitudes.
 Polar Easterlies - winds that blow from east to west in the _________________regions.
Jet Stream
 A narrow _________________ of high pressure wind found in the lower stratosphere.
 Pushes large air masses across the _________________.
Measuring Wind
 Wind Speed—_________________
 Wind Direction--Wind Vane
 Measured in mi/hr, km/hr, and _________________.
Moisture
Humidity
The measure of the amount of water vapor in the _________________.
Specific Humidity--measure of the _________________mass of water vapor in a given mass of air.
_________________ Humidity--ratio/percentage of the actual amount of water vapor in a given mass of air
compared to the maximum amount of water vapor that air can hold at a given _________________.
Psychrometer--a type of _________________ that has a wet bulb thermometer & a dry bulb thermometer
Dew Point Temperature--the temperature to which air has to be _________________in order to be completely
saturated (filled) with _________________.
Clouds: Suspended droplets of water that collect on aerosols.
-Formation of clouds depend on the amount of moisture & aerosols in the air, the air temperature, & the
stability of the air (air pressure.)
• Cirrus – high clouds that are thin & _________________. Made of ice crystals.
• Stratus – _________________level clouds that have a layered look.
• Cumulus – large, fluffy clouds of vertical development.
• The prefix ___________is added to the name of clouds formed in the middle cloud layer.
• The prefix/suffix nimbus- is added to the name of a cloud that produces _________________.
Precipitation
Rain
Hailstones
 Form in _____________________ clouds
 Strong winds carry rain drops above the freezing _________________.
 Rain drops freeze into ice _________________ & fall.
 _________________ the wind, the larger the hailstone.
Sleet
Rain freezes into an ice _________________ as it falls through a _________________ of freezing air.
Freezing Rain
Rain falls to the _________________ and freezes on _________________with the surface.
Snow
This occurs when cloud droplets freeze in the clouds and stick together forming _________________.
Air Masses: a large body of air that is the _________________ throughout
Types
**Named _________________ on where the air formed, its temperature, and its _________________
Maritime Polar--it forms over the Northern _________________ and Pacific Oceans.
*Brings _________________, MOIST air
Maritime Tropical--it forms near the equator. It brings _________________, MOIST air.
*If it comes in _________________with cooler air from the North, storms will form.
Continental Polar--it forms over northern _________________. It brings COLD, DRY air.
*Causes extremely _________________ temperatures in the United States.
Continental Tropical--it forms over land in Mexico. It brings _________________, DRY air.
Fronts: the _________________ where two air masses collide.
 The front is named for the _________________ air mass.
Cold air _________________and replaces a mass of warm air.
 Fast in speed.
 Form _________________ clouds.
 _________________ frontal zone
 Short, _________________ weather
Warm Front: Warm air mass _________________ and moves over a cold air _________________.
 Slow _________________
 _________________ stratus clouds
 Wide frontal _________________
 _________________periods of drizzle
 Overcast _________________
 _________________ Front--neither air mass moves

* No bad weather
 Occluded Front--a cold front _________________ up with a warm front and _________________ it

* Weather can be _________________ and the conditions can change.
Dry Line: Dry air _________________ moist air.
 Fast moving
 Narrow _________________ zone
 _________________ cumulus clouds
 Severe weather in most _________________
Severe Weather
 Weather that can be considered life _________________ and can cause _________________ to
buildings
 Includes thunderstorms, _________________, tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes, etc.
 _________________ and Warnings
 Watches – a watch is issued when the conditions for a certain type of _________________ weather are
possible, but not necessarily occurring at the _________________.
 _________________ – a warning is issued in a specific area where a type of severe weather is
_________________ at that given moment.
Thunderstorms
-Fast moving _________________ that can produce strong winds, _________________, heavy rainfall,
lightning & tornadoes.
Lightning – static electricity caused by the _________________ of electrical charges by the collisions of rain
drops & strong winds.
-The positive & negative charges seek each other out. When they connect, an _________________discharge
occurs creating a lightning _________________.
-Thunder – the heat generated by the lightning bolt _________________ the surrounding air causing it to
expand so rapidly that it causes a _________________ boom.
-Tornadoes
 _________________ of high speed circulating winds
 High winds & updrafts _________________ creating a circulating low pressure.
 The cloud begins to lower below the cloud base (_________________ cloud.)
 The low ________________ extends to the ground picking up dust & debris forming a tornado.
-Hurricanes
 _________________ cyclone that has a low pressure center (eye) with several _________________
thunderstorms & strong winds around it.
 Start as tropical _________________ over warm water in the oceans. Storm builds _________________
as it travels over the warm water.
-Flooding
 Kills more people in the U.S. than any other type of _________________ weather.
 _________________ by too much rain over an extended period of time. It causes lakes,
_________________, rivers, etc. to overflow.
-Flash Flooding
 Flooding that mainly occurs in _________________ or cities.
 A rainstorm that _________________ several inches of rain over a short period of time causes it.
 It is too much for the ground to _________________ up.
 It causes low lying areas to overflow and rushing water in other _________________.