The Describer's Dictionary by David Grambs

Author:David Grambs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2014-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

WEATHER, FORCES OF NATURE, AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM

WEATHER AND FORCES OF NATURE

characterized by good weather

fair, clear, pleasant, lovely, balmy, halcyon, temperate, springlike, summer-like, summery

characterized by bad weather

nasty, foul, inclement, wintery, winter-like, smoggy

sunny

bright, cloudless, glorious, sunshiny

intensely bright

glary, glaring, dazzling, blinding

cloudy

cloud-covered, nebulous, partly sunny

covered or blanketed with clouds

overcast, lowering, gray, gloomy, clouded up

foggy

misty, thick, murky, vaporous, brumous

permeated by a heavy haze of fog mixed with smoke and atmospheric chemical pollutants

smoggy

windy

breezy, gusty, blowing, blowy, howling, roaring, turbulent, blustery, zephyrous

stormy

tempestuous, raging, angry, dirty

threatening

lowering, darkening, looming, black

damp

humid, muggy, dank, steamy, moist

rainy or wet

precipitating, drizzly, drippy, torrential, showering, pouring

dewy

roric, roriferous

wet and cold

raw, bleak

wet and messy underfoot

slushy, sloppy

dry

arid, parched, desiccated, bone-dry, waterless

very warm

hot, torrid, burning, blazing, scorching, blistering, broiling, baking, searing, roasting, tropical, pitiless

hot and humid

sultry, steamy, sweltering, stifling

cool

chill, chilly

refreshingly cool or chill

crisp, bracing, brisk, autumnal, fall-like

cold

chilly, nippy, sharp, algid

very cold

biting, piercing, bone-chilling, freezing, numbing

snowing

snowy, niveous, nival

frosty

rimy, hoary

icy or frozen

frigid, freezing, gelid

multi-colored (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) arc of light (on the side of the sky opposite to the sun—the higher the sun, the lower the arc) produced when sunlight is reflected inside raindrops

rainbow

visibly dense mass or stratum of fog seen from a distance formed above the sea

fog bank

rainbow-like arc of diffracted white light sometimes visible in fog

fogbow, fogdog, fogeater, seadog

hazy glow of light sometimes visible just before dawn or just after sunset

zodiacal light

visible coronal (electrical) discharge, during a thunderstorm, seen on a pointed object, such as part of the tip of a tree, the wing of a plane, or the mast of a ship

St. Elmo’s fire, St. Elmo’s light, corposant

transitional zone between two air masses differing in temperature or density

front

edge of a warm air mass that is advancing

warm front

rising current of warm air (used by birds, balloonists, and glider pilots to gain altitude)

thermal

brief spell of briskly cold weather

cold snap

edge of a cold air mass that is advancing

cold front

mixed front occurring when a cold front overtakes a warm front and lifts the warm air

occluded front

transitional zone between two differing air masses, neither of which is forceful enough to replace the other

stationary front

elongated area having low barometric pressure

trough

ocean low-pressure area near the equator having characteristic calms, light winds, and squalls

doldrums

two regions or belts, at about 30° North and 30° South, known for having high pressure, calms, and baffling winds

horse latitudes

predominant, continual wind of the tropics and subtropics blowing toward the equator from the northeast (between the doldrums and the northern horse latitudes) or the southeast (between the doldrums and the southern horse latitudes)

trade wind, trade

narrow band of high-speed winds 10 to 15 miles (the upper atmosphere) above the earth from a generally westerly direction

jet stream

marked shift in wind speed and direction over a short area

wind shear

rising current of air

anabatic wind

downward-flowing current of air

katabatic wind

lying on or coming from the other side of a mountain range

tramontane

brief, violent downdraft over a small area

microburst, downburst

strong wind

gale

brief, violent windstorm, often bringing rain or snow

squall

storm of wind-borne clouds of sand, as in a desert

sandstorm

wall of dust resulting from a microburst

haboob

cold and dry northerly wind of southern France

mistral

hot, dry, dust-laden wind from

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