Meteorological phenomena

thumb|upright=1.35|Cherry tree moving with the wind blowing about 22 m/sec (about 79 km/h or 49 mph) thumb|Sound of wind blowing in a pine forest at around 25 m/sec, with Wind gust|gust alterations Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hours, to global winds resulting from the difference in absorption of solar energy between the climate zones on Earth. The study of wind is called anemology.

thumb|Urban flooding in a street in Morpeth, England, 2008

upright=1.25|thumb|The night sky over Slovenia in July upright=1.25|thumb|cirrus cloud|Cirriform clouds and a quarter [[Moon in the blue daytime sky over Germany]]

rapidly rotating storm system that forms in the tropics

Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning produces rapid expansion of the air in the path of a lightning bolt. In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, often referred to as a "thunderclap" or "peal of thunder". The scientific study of thunder is known as brontology and the irrational fear (phobia) of thunder is called brontophobia.

A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing, with subsequent increased wildfire risks. Heat waves can significantly worsen drought conditions by increasing evapotranspiration. This dries out forests and other vegetation, and increases the amount of fuel for wildfires.

In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwealth usage), snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor (reaching 100% relative humidity), so that the water condenses and "precipitates" or falls. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation; their water vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate, so fog and mist do not fa

thumb|upright=1.3|An extratropical cyclone near Iceland

thumb|right|Aerosol of microscopic water droplets suspended in the air above a cup of hot tea after the water vapor has sufficiently cooled and condensed. Water vapor is an invisible gas, but the clouds of condensed droplets refract and scatter the sunlight and are thus visible. thumb|Droplets of water vapor in a pan. thumb|right|280px|Demonstration of evaporative cooling. When the sensor is dipped in ethanol and then taken out to evaporate, the instrument shows progressively lower temperature as the ethanol evaporates. thumb|Rain evaporating after falling on hot pavement

thumb|upright=1.25|Afterglow of the [[troposphere (orange), the stratosphere (blue) and the mesosphere (dark), at which atmospheric entry of objects begins, as in this case of a spacecraft reentry that leaves contrails.]]

prolonged period of excessively hot weather

boundary separating two masses of air of different densities

widespread body of air approximately homogeneous in its horizontal extent with vertical temperature and moisture variations that are approximately the same over its horizontal extent

region of the atmosphere in which atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding regions

thumb|right|260px|Water cycle of the Earth's surface, showing the individual components of transpiration and evaporation that make up evapotranspiration. Other closely related processes shown are runoff and [[groundwater recharge.]]

thumb|A whirlwind thumb|A dust devil at school ground thumb|Whirlwind, 61 km northeast of Broome, Western Australia

A latitude of 25 deg to 35 degree of both hemispheres is called horse latitude.

weather phenomenon

water temperature close to the ocean's surface

geographic direction from which a wind blows

meteorological term

region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet is greater than its surrounding environment

narrow corridor or filament of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere

turbulence without visual cues

uncomprehended phenomenon observed over Nuremberg in 1561

general condition of the free surface on a large body of water

weather phenomenon

thumb|Schematic of coastal downwelling in the Northern Hemisphere.|300x300pxDownwelling is the downward movement of a fluid parcel and its properties (e.g., salinity, temperature, pH) within a larger fluid. It is closely related to upwelling, the upward movement of fluid.

regions of high atmospheric pressure around the Earth's poles

hot, dry and sometimes dust-laden atmospheric layer

movement of colder, more dense air downwards within the atmosphere

variation between a high temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day

uncomprehended phenomenon observed over Basel in 1566

relative peak or lull in the sea level pressure distribution

sudden and violent windstorm at sea

Anticyclogenesis is the development or strengthening of an anticyclonic circulation in the atmosphere. It is the opposite of anticyclolysis (the dissolution or weakening of an anticyclone) and has a cyclonic equivalent known as cyclogenesis. Anticyclones are alternatively referred to as high pressure systems.

air that flows outwards from a storm system

cyclone aloft which has an associated cold pool of air residing at high altitude within the Earth's troposphere

thumb|Large ash cloud from the Mount Redoubt volcano. thumb|Lithometeor at sunset in [[Berlin on February 25, 2021, cloudless sky with Saharan dust.]]

former tropical cyclone

altitude in which the temperature is at 0 °C

weather system

increase in thermal energy of a space, object or structure as it absorbs incident solar radiation

amount of evaporation that would occur if a sufficient water source were available

relatively minor flow superimposed on the primary flowby inviscid assumptions

in meteorology, the flow of a fluid into a large collection of that fluid

short-term changes in the length of the day