I'm building a glossary of weather terms

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

Hi Dan,

Another Hawaii type weather term that our NWS office uses here.

Kona Storms (also called Kona Lows) are a type of seasonal cyclone in the Hawaiian Islands, usually formed in the winter from winds coming from the westerly “kona” (normally leeward) direction.[1] They are mainly cold core cyclones, which places them in the extratropical cyclone rather than the subtropical cyclone category. Hawaii typically experiences two to three annually, which can affect the state for a week or more. Among their hazards are heavy rain, hailstorms, flash floods and their associated landslides, high elevation snow, high winds which result in large surf and swells, and waterspouts.

Regards,

–Stan Y.
Maui, Hawaii

Hi Dan,

Okay on building terms dealing with Canada. This is just for some info.

As far as the Pineapple Express is as follows:

Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated with heavy precipitation from the waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location along the Pacific coast of North America. A Pineapple Express is an example of an atmospheric river, which is a more general term for such narrow corridors of enhanced water vapor transport at mid-latitudes around the world.

This usually is affected by the Pacific Northwest down to Californina.

Regards,

–Stan Y.
Maui, Hawaii

Solar Radiation: The measurement of radiant energy from the sun on a horizontal surface.

That’s really the definition of “Global Solar Irradiance”, which is what the Davis sensor records. There are a number of different solar radiation measurements.

I’m just above the Pacific Northwest. British Columbia is right above Washington State, and we do get weather brought on by the Pineapple Express.

What would your definition of Solar Radiation be?

There are so many different solar terms, how about something like:

Solar Irradiance: The total electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun. Typically 1367 Watts per square meter (W/m2) at the top of the atmosphere, it is reduced to approximately 1000 W/m2 when it reaches the earth’s surface. See Solar Radiation Sensor.

Solar Radiation Sensor: Instrument measuring solar irradiance. Many different types are available, the one most commonly used by weather stations measures Global Radiation - direct and diffuse solar irradiance received by a horizontal surface.

UV Index:
Ultraviolet Index. The international standard measurement of the strength of sunburn-producing radiation.

How about the Alberta Clipper?

The chinook works because wet air cools off at 5c per kilometer. Once it hits the tops of the mountains it is dry and warms up at 10c per kilometer. So at 4 km high on the west side the temp at 5c equals a temp of 20c on the eastern side. The names are the saturated adiabatic lapse rate and the dry adiabatic lapse rate. Hope I’m not boring you.

rick

Hi Dan,

Here is another possible one for your project:

El Ni

Here’s a copy of the 217 I have on my site in MySQL/MariaDB format (structure and all). Some of them are technical related.

http://tiffinweather.com/files/glossary.sql

Does anyone have a good definition of “Stratus Cloud” I can use in my glossary?

Thanks!
Dan

layered cloud
often seen with a warm front

Stratus Cloud: Layered cloud. Looks like a gray blanket hanging low in the sky. Often mean rain if warm, snow if cold. Usually stratus clouds and fog form when it has been cold out and then warmer wet air blows in.

Adapted from: http://quatr.us/physics/weather/stratus.htm and Brian.

Thanks guys!