Weather and climate vocabulary: 15 terms with definitions

The layer of gases that surrounds Earth.

The lowest layer of the atmosphere, where we live and where almost all weather happens.

The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere, which holds the ozone layer.

A form of oxygen; the ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs much of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet light.

The amount of water vapor in the air.

The weight of the air pressing down on Earth's surface; falling pressure often means stormy weather is coming.

An instrument that measures air pressure.

The boundary where two air masses of different temperatures meet, often bringing clouds and rain.

The usual weather of a place, measured over many years.

Water that falls from clouds as rain, snow, sleet or hail.

Warm air or water rising and cooler, denser air or water sinking, which carries heat around.

A powerful tropical storm with winds of at least 74 miles per hour that forms over warm water in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific.

A violently spinning column of air that reaches from a thunderstorm down to the ground.

A large storm of winds spinning around a center of low pressure; over the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, it is the name for a hurricane.

A seasonal change of wind that brings a long rainy season, as in South Asia every summer.