Weather Vocabulary

A body of air extending over a large area (1,000 miles or more) that develops and retains specific characteristics of pressure, temperature, and humidity

• Air Mass

• Global Winds

• Wind

• Jet Stream

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

Similar weather for a certain number of days

• Radar

• Wind

• Weather Pattern

• Hazardous Weather

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

An air mass with greater atmospheric pressure than the surrounding air masses; air moves away from the center of the high pressure

• Global Winds

• High-Pressure Air Mass

• Low-Pressure

  Air Mass

• Hazardous Weather

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

A narrow zone of strong winds in the upper level of the atmosphere 

• Catastrophic Events

• Hazardous Weather

• Global Winds

• Jet Stream

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

Extreme weather events such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes; classified by the extent and intensity of their impact on the ecosystem

• Global Winds

• Catastrophic Events

• Hazardous Weather

• Weather Pattern

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

Directional movements of ocean water; surface currents result from steady winds over the ocean surface; deep currents result from density variations due to temperature and salinity differences

• Global Winds

• Radar

• Ocean Currents

• Hazardous Weather

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

Winds that act as a heat transfer system due to the unequal heating of Earth’s surface

• Global Winds

• Hazardous Weather

• Weather Pattern

• Radar

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

A system for bouncing electromagnetic waves off objects to locate them; used to track weather patterns 

• Hazardous Weather

• Wind

• Weather Pattern

• Radar

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

An air mass with less atmospheric pressure than the surrounding air masses; air moves toward the area of low pressure

• High-Pressure

  Air Mass

• Low-Pressure

  Air Mass

• Jet Stream

• Wind

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

Severe or dangerous weather phenomena that threaten life and property

• Catastrophic Events

• Global Winds

• Weather Pattern

• Hazardous Weather

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2