Glossary

A

Ablation
Absolute humidity
Accretion
Accuracy
Acid precipitation
Advection
Advection fog
Aerosol
Air mass
Air temperature
Albedo
Alberta Low
Aleutian Low
Altocumulus
Altostratus
Analysis
Anemometer
Anemorumbograph
Anemorumbometer
Aneroid barometer
Anomaly
Anticyclone
Anticyclonic circulation
Arctic
Arctic air mass
Arctic Circle
Arctic front
Arctic haze
Arctic high
Arctic mist
Arctic Oscillation
Arctic sea smoke
Atmosphere
Atmospheric circulation
Atmospheric phenomenon
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric radiation
Aurora
Average value

B

Barograph
Barometer
Blizzard
Buoy weather station

C

Circumpolar vortex
Cirrocumulus
Cirrostratus
Cirrus
Clear_sky
Climate
Climate change
Climate model
Climate variability
Climatological atlas
Climatology
Cloud
Cloud amount
Cold front
Cold low
Condensation
Convection
Convection cloud
Coriolis force
Cryosphere
Cumulonimbus
Cumulus
Cyclogenesis
Cyclolysis
Cyclone
Cyclone movement
Cyclonic circulation

D

Depression
Depth of snow
Dew point
Diamond dust
Drift of ice
Drifting buoy
Drifting snow
Drifting stations

E

Earth radiation
Effective terrestrial radiation
Equinox
Error
Evaporation

F

Field
Floe
Fog
Front
Frost
Frost point
Fusion

G

Gauge
General circulation
General Circulation Model
Geostrophic wind
Glaze
Global Observing System
Global Telecommunication System
Gradient wind
Gravity wave
Greenland High
Grid

H

Halo
Haze
Heat balance
Heat balance of the Earth-atmosphere system
Heat budget
Heat flux
Heat sink
Heat source
High
High-level clouds
Hoarfrost
Humidity
Hydrometeor
Hygrometer

I

Ice
Ice blink
Ice patrol ship
Icelandic Low
Icing
Infrared radiation
Insolation
Instrument shelter
Inversion
Isobar
Isohyet
Isotherm

J

Jet stream

K

Katabatic wind

L

Land sky
Lapse rate
Large-scale atmospheric processes
Latent heat
Longwave radiation
Low
Low-level clouds

M

Magnetic pole
Marine climate
Mercury barometer
Meridional circulation
Mesopause
Mesosphere
Meteorological element
Meteorology
Middle-level clouds
Mixed precipitation

N

Net terrestrial radiation
Nimbostratus
North American High
North Atlantic Oscillation

O

Observation
Observational network
Ozone
Ozone shield

P

Parameter
Past weather
Permafrost
Polar day
Polar explorer
Polar low
Polar night
Polar vortex
Precision
Precipitation
Present weather
Pressure
Pressure tendency
Psychrometer
Psychrometric tables

R

Radiation
Radiosonde
Rawinsonde
Relative humidity
Ridge
Rime

S

Saturation
Scale
Sea-level pressure
Sea smoke
Sea surface temperature
Semipermanent anticyclone
Semipermanent depression
Sensible heat
Shield
Shortwave radiation
Siberian High
Sleet
Smog
Snow blink
Snow cover
Snowstorm
Solar radiation
Solstice
Specific humidity
Spring equinox
Stable air mass
Station pressure
Steering flow
Stratocumulus
Stratopause
Stratosphere
Stratus
Sublimation
Surface observation
Surface wind
Synoptic analysis
Synoptic chart
Synoptic code
Synoptic hour
Synoptic meteorology
Synoptic-scale
Synoptic weather observation

T

Temperature
Terrestrial radiation
Thermograph
Thermometer
Tropopause
Troposphere
Trough

U

Ultraviolet radiation
Unstable air
Upper air observation
Upper atmosphere

V

Visibility

W

Warm front
Water sky
Water vapor
Weather
World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization program
World Weather Watch

Glossary

This glossary of meteorological terms, in English and Russian, was prepared by Nina A. Zaitseva for the Arctic Climatology Project Arctic Meteorology and Climate Atlas.

Contact information:

Nina A. Zaitseva, Ph.D.
Secretary for Science
Division of Oceanology, Atmospheric Physics and Geography
Russian Academy of Sciences
Tel: 7-095-938-5199
Fax: 7-095-938-1859
e-mail: nina@orm.mipt.ru

Primary sources used:

Huschke, Ralph E., ed. Glossary of Meteorology. Boston: American Meteorological Society, 1959.

Khromov, S.P. and L.A. Mamontova, Glossary of Meteorology [in Russian] Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1974.

World Meteorological Organization. International Meteorological Vocabulary. Geneva: World Meteorological Organization, 1992.