Precipitation from a cumuliform cloud. Characterized by the suddenness of beginning and ending, by the rapid change in intensity, and usually by a rapid change in the condition of the sky. The solid or liquid water particles are usually bigger than the co ...

check chamber-A chamber use to check the sensing elements of radiosonde equipment.

An air-launched balloon designed to be released in the eye of a tropical cyclone, float within the eye at predetermined levels, and transmit radio signals for RDF positioning.

Integrated Flood Observing and Warning System. National Weather Service flood warning program.

The flux of visible radiation, so weighted as to account for the manner in which the response of the human eye varies with the Wavelength of radiation. The basic unit for luminous flux is the lumen,

An instrument developed by K. Angstrom for measuring the effective terrestrial radiation. It consists of four manganin strips, of which two are blackened and two are polished. The blackened strips are allowed to radiate to the atmosphere while the polishe ...

Electromagnetic radiation lying within the wavelength interval to which the human eye is sensitive, the spectral interval from approximately 0.4 to 0.7 microns (4000 to 7000 angstroms). Bounded on the short-wavelength end by ultraviolet radiation and on t ...

A unit of power equal to one joule per second or 10' ergs per second.

Wind with a speed between 48 and 55 knots (55 and 63 mph), Beaufort scale number 10.

The ceiling classification which is applied when the ceiling height is determined by timing the ascent and disappearance of a ceiling balloon or pilot balloon.

In general, the transformation of data from a "raw" form to some useable form. In meteorology, this often refers to the conversion of the observed value of an element to the value which it would theoretically have at some selected or standard level. The m ...

In general, solar radiation received at the earth's surface. Contracted from incoming solar radiation.

A scale of yellows, greens, and blues for recording the color of sea water, as seen against the white background of a Secchi disk.

Any emission of light at temperatures below that required for incandescence.

An instrument, dropped from high attitude and carried by a stable parachute. used to measure the vertical component of turbulence aloft.

A graphical device used for the determination of the speed of the geostrophic wind from the isobar or contour-line spacing on a synoptic chart.

A technique for making winds aloft observations in which two theodolites located at either end of a baseline follow the ascent of a pilot balloon. Synchronous measurements of the elevation and azimuth angles of the balloon. taken at periodic intervals, pe ...

See approximate absolute temperature scale, Celsius temperature scale, centigrade temperature scale, Fahrenheit temperature scale, Kelvin temperature scale, Rankine temperature scale, Reaumur temperature scale,

An anemometer utilizing the principle that the pitch of the aeolian tones generated by air moving past an obstacle is a function of the speed of the air. Largely a curiosity and has been put to no practical application in modem meteorology.

Any and all forms of water particles, liquid or solid, that fall from the atmosphere and reach the ground.