Weather — page 32 of 38

3,760 terms including subtopics (3,094 terms filed directly here)

Subtopics

Weather terms

  1. spectral width A measure of the spread of the Doppler spectrum and consequently is sensitive to the spread in the particle size spectra.
  2. Spectrum Width This WSR-88D radar product depicts a full 360 degree sweep of spectrum width data indicating a measure of velocity dispersion within the radar sample…
  3. Spectrum Width Cross Section This WSR-88D radar product displays a vertical cross section of spectrum width on a grid with heights up to 70,000 feet on the vertical axis and distance…
  4. Speed Shear The component of wind shear which is due to a change in wind speed with height, e.g.
  5. speleothem a mineral deposit formed in caves. Two types of speleothems are stalagmites and stalactites.
  6. SPENES NESDIS Satellite Precipitation Estimates
  7. Sphere Calibration Reflectivity calibration of a radar by pointing the dish at a metal sphere of (theoretically) known reflectivity.
  8. Spillway A passage for surplus water to flow over or around a dam.
  9. Spillway Crest The lowest level at which water can flow over or through a spillway.
  10. Spin-Up Slang for a small-scale vortex initiation, such as what may be seen when a gustnado, landspout, or suction vortex forms.
  11. SPKL Sprinkle
  12. Split Flow A flow pattern high in the atmosphere characterized by diverging winds. Storms moving along in this type of flow pattern usually weaken.
  13. Splitting Storm A thunderstorm which splits into two storms which follow diverging paths (a left mover and a right mover).
  14. SPLNS Southern Plains
  15. Sporadic E In solar-terrestrial terms, a phenomenon occurring in the E region of the ionosphere, which significantly affects HF radiowave propagation.
  16. SPOTNIL In solar-terrestrial terms, a spotless disk.
  17. Spotting Outbreak of secondary fires as firebrands or other burning materials are carried ahead of the main fire line by winds.
  18. Spray An ensemble of water droplets torn by the wind from an extensive body of water, generally from the crests of waves, and carried up into the air in such…
  19. SPRD Spread
  20. Spring The point at which the water table meets Earth's surface, causing water to flow from the ground.
  21. Spring equinox Spring equinox See equinox.
  22. Spring Tide A tide higher than normal which occurs around the time of the new and full moon.
  23. SPS Severe Weather Potential Statement
  24. SQLN Squall Line
  25. Squall A strong wind characterized by a sudden onset in which the wind speed increases at least 16 knots and is sustained at 22 knots or more for at least one…
  26. Squall Line A line of active thunderstorms, either continuous or with breaks, including contiguous precipitation areas resulting from the existence of the…
  27. SRF (Surf Zone Forecast) - A National Weather Service routine or event driven forecast product geared toward non-boating marine users issued for an area…
  28. SRH Storm-Relative Helicity
  29. SRN Southern
  30. SS Southshore
  31. SSHS Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale
  32. SST Sea Surface Temperature
  33. ST Stratus
  34. St Lawrence Freeze-Up Outlook A National Weather Service forecast product to keep mariners informed of the projected freeze-up date of ice the St. Lawrence River.
  35. St. Elmo's Fire The glow on a masthead produced by an extreme buildup of electrical charge. Unprotected mariners should immediately move to shelter when this phenomena…
  36. stability Tendency of systems, especially ecosystems, to persist, relatively unchanged, through time; also, persistence of a component of a system.
  37. Stability Index The overall stability or instability of a sounding is sometimes conveniently expressed in the form of a single numerical value.
  38. Stable Non-radioactive.
  39. Stable air mass Stable air mass Air mass having static stability in its lower layers; it is free from convection, has a low degree of turbulence and may have stratiform…
  40. Stable Boundary Layer The stably-stratified layer that forms at the surface and grows upward, usually at night or in winter, as heat is extracted from the atmosphere's base in…
  41. Stable Core Post-sunrise, elevated remnant of the temperature inversion that has built up overnight within a valley.
  42. stable isotope different species of an element that have the same atomic number, but different atomic mass, that are not affected by radioactive decay.
  43. stable state a steady condition in which the recently observed behavior is expected to continue unchanged in the future.
  44. Staccato Lightning A Cloud to Ground (CG) lightning discharge which appears as a single very bright, short-duration stroke, often with considerable branching.
  45. Stage The extent of a cancer in the body. Staging is usually based on the size of the tumor, whether lymph nodes contain cancer, and whether the cancer has…
  46. Stair Stepping The process of continually updating river forecasts for the purpose of incorporating the effects rain that has fallen since the previous forecast was…
  47. Standard Atmosphere A hypothetical vertical distribution of atmospheric temperature, pressure, and density that, by international agreement, is taken to be representative of…
  48. Standard Synoptic Times The times of 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 UTC. Also known as the main synoptic times.
  49. State Forecast Product This National Weather Service product is intended to give a good general picture of what weather may be expected in the state during the next 5 days.
  50. State Weather Roundup This is a National Weather Service tabular product which provides routine hourly observations within the state through the National Weather Wire Service…
  51. Station ID Five-digit WMO Station Identifier used by the Buoy Data Center since 1976. ID's can be reassigned to future deployments within the same 1 degree square.
  52. Station Model A specified pattern for plotting, on a weather map, the meteorological symbols that represent the state of the weather at a particular observing station.
  53. Station Pressure The absolute air pressure at a given reporting station. The air pressure is directly proportional to the combined weight of all air in the atmosphere…
  54. Stationary Front A front between warm and cold air masses that is moving very slowly or not at all.
  55. stationary pressure A front between warm and cold air masses that is moving very slowly or not at all.
  56. STBL Stable
  57. Steam Fog Fog formed when water vapor is added to air which is much colder than the source of the vapor.
  58. Steepness In marine terms, on a buoy report, wave steepness is the ratio of wave height to wave length and is an indicator of wave stability.
  59. Steering Currents Same as Steering Winds; a prevailing synoptic scale flow which governs the movement of smaller features embedded within it.
  60. Steering flow Steering flow A basic fluid flow which exerts a strong influence upon the direction of movement of disturbances embedded in it.
  61. Steering Winds Same as Steering Currents; A prevailing synoptic scale flow which governs the movement of smaller features embedded within it.
  62. Steppe Habitat dominated by shrubs and grasses.
  63. Stepped Leader A faint, negatively charged channel that emerges from the base of a thunderstorm and propagates toward the ground in a series of steps of about 1…
  64. STFR Stratus Fractus
  65. STG See Steam turbine generator
  66. Still gas Any form or mixture of gases produced in refineries by distillation, cracking, reforming, and other processes.
  67. Stilling Basin Concrete portion downstream from conduit, tunnel, or control structure. A pool, usually lined with reinforced concrete, located below a spillway, gate, or…
  68. STJ Subtropical Jet - this jet stream is usually found between 20° and 30° latitude at altitudes between 12 and 14 km.
  69. STLT Satellite
  70. STM Stratiform
  71. STNRY Stationary
  72. Stoplogs Large logs, planks, cut timbers, steel or concrete beams placed on top of each other with their ends held in guides between walls or piers to close an…
  73. Storm Any disturbed state of the atmosphere, especially affecting the Earth's surface, and strongly implying destructive and otherwise unpleasant weather.
  74. Storm Data This National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) monthly publication documents a chronological listing, by states, of occurrences of storms and unusual weather…
  75. Storm Motion The speed and direction at which a thunderstorm travels.
  76. Storm Relative Measured relative to a moving thunderstorm, usually referring to winds, wind shear, or helicity.
  77. Storm Relative Mean Radial Velocity Map (SRM): This WSR-88D radar product depicts a full 360º sweep of radial velocity data with the average motion of all identified storms subtracted out.
  78. Storm Relative Mean Radial Velocity Regi (SRR): This WSR-88D radar product depicts a 27 nm by 27 nm region of storm relative mean radial velocity centered on a point which the operator can…
  79. Storm Scale Referring to weather systems with sizes on the order of individual thunderstorms. See synoptic scale and mesoscale.
  80. Storm Surge An abnormal rise in sea level accompanying a hurricane or other intense storm, whose height is the difference between the observed level of the sea…
  81. Storm Tide The actual level of sea water resulting from the astronomic tide combined with the storm surge.
  82. Storm Total Precipitation This radar image is an estimate of accumulated rainfall since the last time there was a one-hour, or more, break in precipitation.
  83. Storm Tracking Information This WSR-88D radar product displays the previous, current, and projected locations of storm centroids (forecast and past positions are limited to one hour…
  84. Storm Warning A warning of sustained surface winds, or frequent gusts, in the range of 48 knots (55 mph) to 63 knots (73 mph) inclusive, either predicted or occurring…
  85. Stormwater Discharge Precipitation that does not infiltrate into the ground or evaporate due to impervious land surfaces but instead flows onto adjacent land or water areas…
  86. Straight-Line Hodograph The name pretty well describes what it looks like on the hodograph. What causes this shape is a steady increase of winds with height (vertical wind shear).
  87. Straight-line Winds Generally, any wind that is not associated with rotation, used mainly to differentiate them from tornadic winds.
  88. Stratiform Having extensive horizontal development, as opposed to the more vertical development characteristic of convection.
  89. Stratiform Rings and Bands These occur between the active convective bands of a hurricane outside of the eye wall.
  90. Stratocumulus Low-level clouds, existing in a relatively flat layer but having individual elements. Elements often are arranged in rows, bands, or waves.
  91. Stratopause The boundary between the stratosphere and mesosphere.
  92. Stratosphere The region of the atmosphere extending from the top of the troposphere to the base of the mesosphere, an important area for monitoring stratospheric ozone.
  93. Stratospheric Ozone In the stratosphere, ozone has beneficial properties where it forms an ozone shield that prevents dangerous radiation from reaching the Earth's surface.
  94. Stratus A low, generally gray cloud layer with a fairly uniform base. Stratus may appear in the form of ragged patches, but otherwise does not exhibit individual…
  95. Stream line An imaginary line within the flow which is everywhere tangent to the velocity vector.
  96. Streamflow Discharge that occurs in a natural channel.
  97. STRFM Stratiform
  98. Striations Grooves or channels in cloud formations, arranged parallel to the flow of air and therefore depicting the airflow relative to the parent cloud.
  99. Strike Strike means a labor dispute wherein employees engage in a concerted stoppage of work (including stoppage by reason of the expiration of a collective…
  100. Strip mining Cutting deep trenches to remove minerals such as coal and phosphate found near the earth's surface in flat or rolling terrain. See surface mining.

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