Bob Coutts
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As a WEATHER OBSERVER, you can either measure weather elements directly
or use Internet resources to acquire information collected by other observers.
Several sites on the Internet contain daily measurements which you can
print out for your records. One of the most useful types of information
is pictures
of cloud cover all over the world. These pictures enable you to see weather
patterns travel across the globe.
Local weather information
is important to every one and is up-dated frequently as conditions change.
Everyone is interested in the weather! In addition to up-to-date pictures
of cloud cover, beautiful pictures of all different kinds and types of
weather
phenomena are available: tornados
, hurricanes,
thunderstorms,
lightning,
snow
levels, rainfall amounts, cloud
types, and other exciting
weather elements. Much of the change in our weather comes about as
a result of the sun's influence on the earth's
upper
atmosphere. Energy from the sun arrives in the atmosphere and changes
its properties . The sun influences both weather here on earth and space
weather between here and the sun. Visit the Internet to see where the
energy comes from to make changes in our atmosphere, when these changes
happen and what happens when the sun's energy reaches the Earth. See if,
through daily observations of Earth weather and space weather, you can
make a connection between the two! Welcome to the world of
our Earth's WEATHER!
WEATHER TERMS
TERM | DEFINITION |
Hurricane | a large ( several states across ), spinning, spiral shaped, flat air mass hundreds of kilometers across with speeds exceeding hundreds of kilometers per hour, typically existing out in the ocean |
Tornado | a tall spinning column of air, close to a kilometer across, with air speeds of over one hundred or more kilometers per hour, usually existing over land |
Barometric
Pressure |
air pressure in the atmosphere caused by the weight of the air |
Lightning | super high wattage discharge of static electricity between the ground and clouds ( very large sparks ) |
Space weather | conditions in space between earth and the sun, determined by discharge of energy and charged particles from the sun |
Humidity | the relative amount of water in the form of molecules, in the air |
Trough | a long narrow zone of low pressure which may extend across one or more states ( other weather can force it's way into this low pressure area ) |
Front | the leading edge of a large air mass, as in cold front or warm front |
Ridge | a long narrow zone of high pressure which may extend over more than one state ( forces other weather away ) |
Wind Chill | how cold the air feels when the effects of temperature and wind speed are combined |
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