Weather terms starting with B

171 terms

101. Blackbody Radiation The electromagnetic radiation emitted by an ideal blackbody adhering to the radiation laws; it is the theoretical maximum amount of electromagnetic…
102. BLD Build
103. BLDUP Buildup
104. Blizzard (abbrev. BLZD)- A blizzard means that the following conditions are expected to prevail for a period of 3 hours or longer: Sustained wind or frequent gusts…
105. Blizzard Warning Issued for winter storms with sustained or frequent winds of 35 mph or higher with considerable falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces…
106. BLO Below
107. Blocked Flow Flow approaching a mountain barrier that is too weak or too stable to be carried over the barrier.
108. Blowing A descriptor used to amplify observed weather phenomena whenever the phenomena are raised to a height of 6 feet or more above the ground
109. Blowing Dust or Sand Strong winds over dry ground, that has little or no vegetation, can lift particles of dust or sand into the air.
110. Blowing Snow Blowing snow is wind-driven snow that reduces surface visibility. Blowing snow can be falling snow or snow that has already accumulated but is picked up…
111. Blowing Snow Advisory Issued when wind driven snow reduces surface visibility, possibly, hampering traveling.
112. Blue Watch or Blue Box [Slang], a severe thunderstorm watch.
113. Blustery Same as Breezy; 15 to 25 mph winds.
114. BLV before
115. BLZD Blizzard- A blizzard means that the following conditions are expected to prevail for a period of 3 hours or longer: Sustained wind or frequent gusts to 35…
116. BN Blowing Sand
117. BNDRY Boundary
118. BOD5 The amount of dissolved oxygen consumed in five days by biological processes breaking down organic matter. See biochemical oxygen demand.
119. Bomb Popular expression of a rapid intensification of a cyclone (low pressure) with surface pressure expected to fall by at least 24 millibars in 24 hour.
120. Bora A regional downslope wind whose source is so cold that it is experienced as a cold wind, despite compression warming as it descends the lee slope of a…
121. Border Ice An ice sheet in the form of a long border attached to the bank or shore.; shore ice.
122. Boreal Living in and adapted for living in the extreme northern areas of the world. This area is located just below tundra conditions.
123. Borehole Any exploratory hole drilled into the Earth or ice to gather geophysical data. Climate researchers often take ice core samples, a type of borehole, to…
124. Boundary Layer In general, a layer of air adjacent to a bounding surface. Specifically, the term most often refers to the planetary boundary layer, which is the layer…
125. Bounded Weak Echo Region (BWER) (Also known as a vault.) Radar signature within a thunderstorm characterized by a local minimum in radar reflectivity at low levels which extends upward…
126. BOVC Base of Overcast
127. Bow Echo A radar echo which is linear but bent outward in a bow shape. Damaging straight-line winds often occur near the "crest" or center of a bow echo.
128. Bowen Ratio For any moist surface, the ratio of heat energy used for sensible heating (conduction and convection) to the heat energy used for latent heating…
129. Box Model A computer model used to calculate air pollution concentrations. A box model is based on the assumption that pollutants are emitted into a box through…
130. Boyle's law When the temperature is held constant, the pressure and density of an ideal gas are directly proportional.
131. BR Mist
132. Brackish Ice Ice formed from Brackish water.
133. Braided Stream Characterized by successive division and rejoining of streamflow with accompanying islands. A braided stream is composed of anabranches.
134. Brash Ice Accumulation of floating ice made up of fragments not more than 2 meters across; the wreckage of other forms of ice.
135. BRD Blackrock Depths
136. Breach 1. The breaking or violating of a law, right or duty, either by an act or omission. 2. The failure to carry out any condition of a contract.
137. Breakers Waves that break, displaying white water. Depends on wave steepness and bottom bathymetry.
138. Breakup The time when a river whose surface has been frozen from bank to bank for a significant portion of its length begins to change to an open water flow…
139. Breakup Date Date on which a body of water is first observed to be entirely clear of ice and remains clear thereafter.
140. Breakup Jam Ice jam that occurs as a result of the accumulation of broken ice pieces.
141. Breakup Period The period of disintegration of an ice cover.
142. Breezy 15 to 25 mph winds
143. BRF Brief
144. Bright Band The enhanced radar echo of snow as it melts to rain.
145. Bright Surge on the Disk (BSD) In solar-terrestrial terms, a bright gaseous stream (surge) emanating from the chromosphere.
146. Bright Surge on the Limb (BSL) In solar-terrestrial terms, a large gaseous stream (surge) that moves outward more than 0.15 solar radius above the limb.
147. Brightness A basic visual sensation describing the amount of light that appears to emanate from an object, or more precisely, the luminance of an object
148. Brisk 15 to 25 mph winds
149. Brisk Wind Advisory A Small Craft Advisory issued by the National Weather Service for ice-covered waters.
150. British thermal unit The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree of Fahrenheit at or near 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
151. BRK Break
152. BRN (Bulk Richardson Number) A non-dimensional number relating vertical stability and vertical shear (generally, stability divided by shear).
153. Broadband Communications of high capacity and usually of multimedia content.
154. Brocken Specter An optical phenomenon sometimes occurring at high altitudes when the image of an observer placed between the sun and a cloud is projected on the cloud as…
155. Broken Level A layer of the atmosphere with 5/8 to 7/8 sky cover (cloud cover).
156. BS Blowing Snow
157. BTR Better
158. BTWN Between
159. Bubble High A mesoscale area of high pressure, typically associated with cooler air from the rainy downdraft area of a thunderstorm or a complex of thunderstorms.
160. Bubbler Gage A water stage recording device that is capable of attaching to a LARC for data automation purposes.
161. BUFKIT A software tool used by forecasters to examine the vertical profile and other aspects of the atmosphere.
162. Bulk Richardson Number A non-dimensional (i.e., no units) number relating vertical stability to vertical shear (generally, stability divided by shear).
163. Bunker fuel Fuel supplied to ships and aircraft for international transportation, irrespective of the flag of the carrier, consisting primarily of residual and…
164. Buoy weather station Buoy weather station A buoy, either fixed or floating, which carries instruments for sensing various meteorological elements and for transmitting the data…
165. Buoyancy The tendency of a body to float or to rise when submerged in a fluid; the power of a fluid to exert an upward force on a body placed in it.
166. Burst In solar-terrestrial terms, a transient enhancement of the solar radio emission, usually associated with an active region or flare.
167. Bus A parallel circuit that connects the major components of a computer, allowing the transfer of electric impulses from one connected component to any other.
168. Bust To get a total greater than 21. Automatically a loss.
169. Buttress Dam A dam consisting of a watertight upstream part (such as a concrete sloping slab) supported at intervals on the downstream side by a series of buttresses…
170. BWER Abbreviation for Bounded Weak Echo Region; a radar signature within a thunderstorm characterized by a local minimum in radar reflectivity at low levels…
171. BYD Beyond