I'm building a glossary of weather terms

Hi all, I’ve started building a glossary of weather terms on my site. Would you kindly check it out and let me know if what I have so far is correct? I’m trying to use my own terminology insteading of copying text from other sites or dictionaries but I may need a little help from some of you. :slight_smile:

http://portcoquitlamweather.ca/glossary.php

It’s probably going to be an ongoing thing… the more things I think about to put there, the bigger it will get. :slight_smile:

Thanks!
Dan

Hi Dan,
I have to admit I would not do this myself (simply because it will take a lot of time :smiley: - eg: Meteotemplate (but of course I did not write this myself, it is compiled from many sources).

However, it is nice that you are making something authentic and I encourage you in doing it.

Just a few things Im not sure are correct:

Record: a new weather measurement that has been surpassed by a previous old measurement.
Shouldn

Thanks Jachym, all good points, and I have corrected those and added a couple more terms.

Dew: the atmospheric temperature (varying according to pressure and humidity combination) below which water droplets begin to condense.

That’s the definition of dewpoint, dew is the condensed water.

In Baro pressure I would add that it’s normally reported as adjusted to sea level.

Precipitation - Virga is precip too

There’s a term I’ve never heard before, but yes, you are correct. This isn’t something that forecasters can normally forecast, it’s just considered rain.

You learn something new every day. :slight_smile:

Virga is a big deal here in the warmer latitudes :wink:

That’s a new one on me as well, had to Google it :wink: Surely virga cannot be measured by a rain gauge as it has evaporated before reaching the ground, although it is precipitation. (I know I’m being picky :wink: )

Stuart

You’re correct, not recorded as rain, but it is included in the definition of precip. Most often the term comes up here because on the radar it will look like it’s raining, but nothing is reaching the ground.

I guess that one measurement can’t be used as a medium to judge temperature outside…

Jane Curtain - Weekend Update - Saturday Night Live

"Well, everybody talks about the weather, especially this cold winter, but many times they are inaccurate. A spokesperson for the Association of American Witches & Warlocks said today, “A witches’ breast is no colder than the average American woman’s breast.” More on this story as it develops. "

Can someone please check the definition in my glossary for “record high low” and “record low high” to make sure I don’t have them backwards?

I’ve added quite a few more terms. If you see something that isn’t right, please let me know.

I’ve made all the previously noted corrections.

Thanks.

Do we really track those? Anyway, try these alternatives which might be clearer.

Record high low: When the lowest temperature observed is higher than the highest previously recorded lowest temperature.
Record low high: When the highest temperature observed is lower than the lowest previously recorded highest temperature.

P.S. At risk of sending Devil to Oxford again, I was taught that you should have a capital after a colon, it’s like a period, but not after a semi-colon which is like a comma. But the rules are flexible these days :smiley:

Under precip you have virga reaching the ground. Virga doesn’t reach the ground.

rick

Mist - visibility is between 1 mile to 6 miles. Fog is visibility below 1 mile.

Advection fog when the wind blows over the water between 13 to 17 knots. eg. “Advection fog is fog produced when air that is warmer and more moist than the ground surface moves over the ground surface. The term advection means a horizontal movement of air. Unlike radiation fog, advection fog can occur even when it is windy.” The normal fog we see is radiation fog.

rick

Are you staying with scientific only terms or generally accepted terms ? A friend of mine living in Washington state used to refer to a Williwaw as a type of wind blast.

Cool that you are working on this project.

I have never heard of a “Williwaw” before either! BC is right above Washington, but I’m originally from southern Ontario, so I believe this is why I’ve never seen this term before.

I think I’m done with my glossary, finally. Any changes needed?

Is “Partly Sunny” also considered to be “Mostly Cloudy”? This is a bit confusing. And what’s the difference between “Mainly Cloudy” and “Mostly Cloudy”?

http://w1.weather.gov/glossary/

Partly Sunny
Between 3/8 and 5/8 of the sky is covered by clouds. The term “Partly Sunny” is used only during daylight hours.

Mostly Cloudy
When the 6/8th to 7/8ths of the sky is covered by with opaque (not transparent) clouds. Same as Considerable Cloudiness.

Hi Dan,

How about adding Trade Winds?

Trade Winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth’s atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth’s equator. The trade winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere, strengthening during the winter and when the Arctic oscillation is in its warm phase. Trade winds have been used by captains of sailing ships to cross the world’s oceans for centuries, and enabled European empire expansion into the Americas and trade routes to become established across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Regards,

–Stan Y.
Maui, Hawaii

Hi Stan, Trade Winds don’t usually happen in Canada, which is why I was trying to publish terms heard in Canadian forecasts. We do get Pineapple Express winds coming up from your area though…is that the same thing?

Dan