A measure of the amount of "spin" (or rotation) in the atmosphere.

A measure of the intensity of gusts given by the ratio of the total range of wind speed between gusts and the intermediate periods of lighter wind to the mean wind speed, averaged over both gusts and lulls.

Barometer in which pressure is determined by balancing air pressure against the weight of a column of mercury in an evacuated glass tube.

The lowest value of a measured quality at which a sensor responds. Compare to tracking.

A device used on certain types of instruments to prevent unwanted radiation from affecting the measurement of a quantity. Also called solar radiation shield.

A rainbow of angular radius of about 50

A diagram showing the intensity of the radiation field in all directions from a transmitting radio or radar antenna at a given distance from the antenna.

Same as instrument shelter.

A balloon-borne instrument for the simultaneous measurement and transmission of meteorological data. It includes transducers for the measurement of pressure, temperature, and humidity; a modulator for the conversion of the output of the transducers to a q ...

A pyranometer developed by M. Robitzsch. Its design utilizes three bimetallic strips which are exposed horizontally at the center of a hemispherical glass bowl. The outer strips are white reflectors and the center strip is a blackened absorber. The bimeta ...

An instrument which measures the spectral distribution of the intensity of direct solar radiation.

A measurement of atmospheric conditions aloft, above the effective range of a surface weather observation. Elements evaluated include temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and wind direction.

Any source of radiant energy, especially electromagnetic energy.

The direction, with respect to true north, from which the wind is blowing. Distinguish from magnetic wind direction. In all standard upper-air and surface weather observations, it is true wind direction that is reported.

A rain gauge which automatically records the amount of precipitation collected, as a function of time.

Any one of six gases, helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon, all of whose shells of planetary electrons contain stable numbers of electrons such that the atoms are chemically inactive.

An instrument for measuring the difference of the solar radiation falling on both sides of a horizontal surface from the whole hemisphere.

Same as photometer.

Same as rain-intensity gauge.

A generic term for any machine that enables a human being to communicate with a computer.