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WeatherWise - Glossary |
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Celsius: |
A scale of temperature based on one introduced in 1742 by Celsius, a Swedish astronomer and physicist, who divided the interval between the freezing and boiling points of water into 100 parts, the lower fixed point being marked 100. The present system, where the freezing point is marked 0 and the boiling point is marked 100, was introduced by Christin of Lyons, in 1743. This latter scale is now referred to as the Celsius scale; alternative names are the centigrade scale, and less commonly the centesimal scale. |
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Chinook: |
See 'föhn'. |
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Climate: |
The long-term average weather pattern of a region. |
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Cloud: |
A structure formed in the lower atmosphere by condensed water vapour and ice particles. |
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Cold Front: |
The boundary between two different air masses where cold air pushes warm air out of the way and brings colder weather. |
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Condensation: |
The process by which water vapour becomes liquid water. |
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Condensation Nucleus: |
A microscopic particle of dust or salt, upon which water vapour condenses in the atmosphere. |
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Conduction: |
The process of heat transfer through materials and adjoining substances. |
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Continentality: |
The tendancy for the middle regions of continents to have a wider temperature range than coastal areas. |
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Convection: |
The process of heat transfer through fluids by means of rising currents. |
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Coriolis Force: |
An effect caused by the Earth's rotation, which causes winds and currents to follow a curved path across the Earth's surface - to the right (clockwise) in the northern hemisphere, to the left (anti-clockwise) in the southern hemisphere. |
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Cyclone: |
A large area of low atmospheric pressure, characterised by inward-spiralling winds. a "low" - also called a "depression". Also the name used for a hurricane in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. |
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