Anemometer

Barometer:

A barometer is an instrument used to measure air pressure. Air pressure is usually expressed in units of millibars (mb) or inches of mercury (in. Hg.). At sea level, standard air pressure is 1013.25 mb. or 29.92 in. Hg. Changes in the air pressure or barometric pressure mean a change in weather. Barometers are used to predict the weather depending on whether the air pressure is rising or falling. Higher pressures usually mean clear weather because air is sinking toward the earth. Lower pressures usually mean bad weather because air is rising.

Fronts:

A front is the transition zone between two different air masses with different temperatures and humidity levels. There are several different types of fronts: 1) Warm Front - an area in which warm, moist air from tropical areas is replacing colder, dryer air from the poles. Warm fronts are drawn on a weather map as a solid red line with half circles indicating the direction the front is moving. Warm fronts typically move at about half the speed of cold fronts. 2) Cold Front - an area in which cold, dry air from the poles is replacing warm, moist tropical air. A cold front is shown on a weather map as a solid blue line with triangles showing the direction the front is moving. Cold fronts typically move twice as fast as warm fronts. 3) Stationary Front - a front that has no movement, with cold air on one side and warm air on the other. This front is indicated on a weather map by an alternating red and blue line. 4) Occluded front - when a cold front overtakes a warm front. This type of front is shown on the weather map as alternating cold-front triangles and warm-front half circles.

Air Pressure:

Air pressure, also known as atmospheric pressure, is the weight of air above a given point. Air pressure is usually measured with an instrument called a barometer (see Barometer). Changes in the air pressure or barometric pressure mean a change in weather. Barometers are used to predict the weather depending on whether the air pressure is rising or falling. Higher pressures usually mean clear weather because air is sinking toward the earth. Lower pressures usually mean bad weather because air is rising.

Anenemoter:

An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed, and is a common weather station instrument. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind, and is used to describe any airspeed measurement instrument used in meteorology or aerodynamics. The first known description of an anemometer was given by Leon Battista Alberti around 1450.[1] Anemometers can be divided into two classes: those that measure the wind's speed, and those that measure the wind's pressure; but as there is a close connection between the pressure and the speed, an anemometer designed for one will give information about both.

Cloud Formation :

Clouds form as air rises, expands and cools. This expansion and cooling causes condensation to occur. Condensation is simply the process by which water vapor turns to water. If there is dust, pollution or small particles in the air, the water vapor will condense around these small particles and form clouds.

Cold Front

Cold Front - an area in which cold, dry air from the poles is replacing warm, moist tropical air. A cold front is shown on a weather map as a solid blue line with triangles showing the direction the front is moving. Cold fronts typically move twice as fast as warm fronts.

Conduction:

Conduction is the transfer of heat from an area of warmer temperature to an area of colder temperature. Heat is transferred from a substance or through a substance by molecular activity. A hot parking lot or a warm ocean can conduct heat to the air above it.

Convection:

Convection is the motion of air upward, caused by heating. For example a hot parking lot can heat the air above it and this heating causes the air to rise.

Humidity:

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor that is currently in the air compared to how much the air can hold at a specific temperature. Relative humidity is measured in percents, with 100% being the highest amount of water vapor the air can hold at a particular temperature. Fifty percent humidity would be half the amount of water vapor the air can hold at the same temperature. Humidity is measured using a hygrometer. Humidity can greatly contribute to your discomfort on a hot, muggy day. Have you ever heard the phrase, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity"? Humidity can make a hot day seem hotter since humidity prevents sweat from evaporating from out bodies as fast as it would in low humidity. When sweat evaporates, it cools us. So a very humid day can feel a lot hotter than a day of the same temperature with low humidity.

Occluded Front

Occluded front - when a cold front overtakes a warm front. This type of front is shown on the weather map as alternating cold-front triangles and warm-front half circles.

Precipitation:

Precipitation is any form of water that comes out of the atmosphere and hits the ground. Precipitation could be drizzle, rain, snow, sleet or hail. The form the precipitation takes is determined by the temperature of the air near the ground and up in the atmosphere where the clouds are. Did you know that much of the precipitation the world over begins as snow but thaws before it reaches the ground as rain? If the air below such clouds weren't warm, imagine how many snow days you might take off school! Precipitation is often measured using a rain gauge.

Radiation:

Radiation is also known as radiant energy. On earth, most radiant energy comes from the sun and is responsible for warming the air and the land. The majority of the sun's energy is reflected back into the atmosphere, but some is absorbed by land, water, air and clouds.

Stationary Front

Stationary Front - a front that has no movement, with cold air on one side and warm air on the other. This front is indicated on a weather map by an alternating red and blue line.

Thermometer:

Temperature is measured using a thermometer and the units of temperature are usually given as degrees Fahrenheit or degrees Celsius, also known as Centigrade (although that term is not used much anymore). Most scientists use Celsius units, as do meteorologists in other countries. People in the United States seem to prefer Fahrenheit, so most TV weather people use that scale.

Temperature:

Temperature is the amount of heat (hotness or coldness) of an object or substance such as, you guessed it, air! Temperature can also be thought of as a measure of the speed of atoms and molecules. As energy is added, molecules and atoms move faster and the temperature increases. As energy is released, atoms and molecules move more slowly and the temperature decreases. This is an important idea to remember when it comes to weather! It explains a lot of what happens when weather changes and why it changes the way it does. The sun is the source of the energy that warms the air, oceans and land surfaces on earth. Temperature is measured using a thermometer (see Thermometer).

Warm Front

Warm Front - an area in which warm, moist air from tropical areas is replacing colder, dryer air from the poles. Warm fronts are drawn on a weather map as a solid red line with half circles indicating the direction the front is moving. Warm fronts typically move at about half the speed of cold fronts.

Wind:

Wind is air moving over the earth's surface. Most winds are caused by either topography or the movement of high and low pressure systems, or fronts. If two fronts come together that are not very different in humidity and temperature, gentle winds will result. In areas where fronts of very different temperature and humidty come together, high winds will result. Winds on the ground can be very different from winds high up in the atmosphere. Winds that are high up are affected by the rotation of the earth more than by high and low pressure systems.