Unit 4

Weather and Climate Lesson 3 & 4 Vocab

Lesson 3

v Air mass- a large body of air throughout which temperature and moisture content are similar

v Jet stream- a narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere

v Front- the boundary between air masses of different densities and usually different temperatures

Lesson 4

v Thunderstorm- a usually brief, heavy storm that consists of rain, strong winds, lightning, and thunder

v Hurricane- a severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more than 119km/h spiral toward the intensely low-pressure storm center

v Lightning- an electric discharge that takes place between two oppositely charged surfaces, such as between a cloud and the ground, between two clouds, or between two parts of the same cloud

v Storm Surge- a local rise in sea level near the shore that is caused by strong winds from a storm, such as those from a hurricane

v Thunder- the sound caused by the rapid expansion of air along an electrical strike

v Tornado- a destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and they may be visible as a funnel- shaped cloud