Meteopedia — Weather glossary

Weather encyclopedia with 342 terms

Browse detailed definitions of atmospheric phenomena, cloud types, measurement instruments, regional winds, meteorological scales, climatology and more.

342 Meteopedia 16 categories
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D

Derecho

Line of storms that produces a swath of destructive straight-line winds over hundreds of kilometres.

Cyclones and severe storms

Downburst

A concentrated downdraft that produces destructive winds upon impacting the ground, with a damage area exceeding 4 km.

Cyclones and severe storms

E

Eye of the hurricane

Circular zone of calm at the centre of a tropical cyclone, with partly clear skies, light winds, and the lowest pressure in the system.

Cyclones and severe storms

G

Gustnado

Weak, short-lived vortex forming along a thunderstorm gust front, without direct connection to the cloud base, weaker than a tornado.

Cyclones and severe storms

H

Hurricane

Tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 119 km/h or more, formed over warm tropical oceans.

Cyclones and severe storms

M

Medicane

Quasi-tropical cyclone that forms over the Mediterranean Sea.

Cyclones and severe storms

Mesocyclone

Region of organised rotation within a convective storm, 2 to 10 km in diameter, a precursor to tornadoes in supercells.

Cyclones and severe storms

Mesoscale convective system

An organised complex of thunderstorms spanning 100 km or more, lasting several hours and capable of producing torrential rainfall.

Cyclones and severe storms

Microburst

Intense, localised downdraft that produces destructive winds upon hitting the ground.

Cyclones and severe storms

S

Squall line

An organised line of severe thunderstorms that moves as a front, producing destructive winds along a narrow band.

Cyclones and severe storms

Supercell

Thunderstorm with persistent rotation (mesocyclone), the most severe of all storms.

Cyclones and severe storms

T

Tornado

Violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm cloud to the ground.

Cyclones and severe storms

Typhoon

Tropical cyclone with sustained winds exceeding 118 km/h forming in the western Pacific, equivalent to a hurricane in the Atlantic.

Cyclones and severe storms

W

Waterspout

Rotating column of air forming over the sea, similar to an aquatic tornado.

Cyclones and severe storms