Robin adjusts the SWIR camera as the sky darkens in 2001.
large body of air with a uniform temperature and moisture
an instrument for measuring wind speed
the blanket of air that surrounds Earth and lies between its land or oceans and outer space
also called air pressure; the weight of the air from the ground (or water’s surface) to the top of the atmosphere
convective available potential energy; a storm’s fuel
the process by which water vapor becomes a liquid; the opposite of evaporation
the cone of cloud droplets that forms from a combination of the pressure drop inside a tornado and the ingestion of moist air
a circular pattern of gas or liquid rising and falling as it’s heated and cooled
a device for counting raindrop numbers and measuring their sizes
southern region of the United States where frequent destructive tornadoes occur; lower Mississippi River and Tennessee River valleys including much of Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi
a type of radar that uses radio frequency changes to measure wind speed and direction
a localized current of downward-moving air
the process by which liquid water becomes water vapor
the boundary between two different air masses
a rotating column of air that is not in contact with the ground
the amount of water vapor in the air
a tropical cyclone on either side of the Americas with winds of at least 74 miles per hour (119 kph)
an instrument that measures humidity
an idea or explanation for some thing that is based on known facts but has not yet been proven
the column of vertically rising, spinning air inside a supercell thunderstorm
A large rotating storm cluster, much larger than a supercell
a scientist who studies weather
National Severe Storms Laboratory
National Weather Service
Portable in Situ Precipitation Station
water falling out of the air in either liquid (rain, drizzle) or solid (hail, snow) form
short for radio detection and ranging; it’s a technology for detecting distant objects like aircraft, but also detects rain, clouds, and storms
a package of weather-measuring instruments that travel through the air
a strong downward flow of air on the backside of a supercell thunderstorm
Situational Awareness for Severe Storm Intercept
a thunderstorm with winds faster than 58 miles per hour (93 kph), hail larger than three-quarters of an inch (2 cm) across, or tornadoes
a set of weather measurements (temperature, humidity, pressure, winds, etc.) at a given time
a thunderstorm with a mesocyclone inside it
Severe Weather Institute and Radar & Lightning Laboratories
a violently rotating column of air coming down from a thunderstorm cloud and in contact with the ground
central region of the United States where frequent destructive tornadoes occur; South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas
the top boundary of the troposphere layer of the atmosphere
a hurricane that forms in the northwest Pacific Ocean
a current of upward-moving air
spinning air (the plural is vortices)
Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment
a lowered part of a thunderstorm cloud that sometimes spins and (more rarely) produces tornadoes
the gas form of water
a tornado that is at least as wide as it is tall
the difference in wind speed and/or direction between two heights
Robin adjusts the SWIR camera as the sky darkens in 2001.