Term
| National Weather Service (NWS) |
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Definition
| The agency of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration responsible for weather data acquisition, data analysis, weather forecasting & dissemination, & storm watches & warnings. |
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Term
| National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
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Definition
| The administrative unit within the U.S. Department of Commerce that oversees the National Weather Service. |
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Term
| World Meteorological Organization (WMO) |
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Definition
| The agency of the Untied Nations that coordinates weather data collection & analysis by 185 member nations & territories; based in Geneva, Switzerland. |
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Term
| National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) |
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Definition
| Centers responsible for the interpretation of weather maps & charts, & the generation of forecasts & other guidance products for the nation & for exchange with other nations. Part of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Weather Service. |
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Term
| National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) |
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Definition
| Operates a network of automated weather stations attached to moored buoys in offshore locations & at lighthouses, fishing piers & offshore oil platforms. Part of NOAA/National Weather Service. |
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Term
| Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) |
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Definition
| Formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time, the time along the prime meridian, zero degree longitude. |
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Term
| Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) |
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Definition
| Meteorological sensors, computers, & fully automated communication ports that record & transmit atmospheric conditions automatically. A network of ASOS units feeds observational data to National Weather Service Forecast Offices & local airport control towers 24-hrs per day. |
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Term
| NWS Cooperative Observer Network |
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Definition
| Consists of more than 10,400 weather stations across the United States that record daily precipitation & maximum/minimum temperatures for hydrologic, agricultural, & climatic purposes. These manned stations complement observations from the Automated Surface Observing System. |
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Term
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Definition
| A small balloon-borne instrument package equipped with a radio transmitter that takes altitude readings (soundings) of temperature, air pressure, & humidity in the atmosphere. |
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Term
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Definition
| A specified pattern for entering, on a weather map, the meteorological symbols that represent the state of the weather at a particular observing station. |
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Term
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Definition
| Lines plotted on a map joining locations reporting the same air pressure. Drawing an isobar on a map of sea-level air pressures requires interpolation between reporting weather stations. |
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Term
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Definition
| Flow of air across regional isotherms from relatively cool locations to relatively warm locations. |
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Term
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Definition
| The flow of air across regional isotherms from a relatively warm locality to a relatively cool locality. |
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Term
| Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) |
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Definition
| A computerized workstation that receives & organizes Automated Surface Observing System data & other analysis & guidance products from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction & enables National Weather Service meteorologists to display, process, & overlay images, graphics, & other data. |
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Term
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Definition
| A numerical model which generates several forecasts each based on slightly different sets of initial conditions. |
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Term
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Definition
| To optimize the accuracy of weather forecasts, a comparison is made among forecasts from several different numberical models. If they all agree, then the forecast is issued with a relatively high level of confidence. |
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Term
| National Hurricane Center (NHC) |
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Definition
| Part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction located in south Florida that is responsible for forecasting tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Basin, Gulf of Mexico, & the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. |
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Term
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Definition
| A linkage between changes in atmospheric circulation occurring in widely separated regions of the globe, often many thousands of kilometers apart. |
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Term
| Single-Station Forecasting |
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Definition
| Weather forecasts based on observations at one location. |
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Term
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Definition
| The observation that fair-weather days outnumber stormy days almost everywhere. |
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Term
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Definition
| Tendency for weather episodes to continue for some period of time. |
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Term
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Definition
| Study of climate, its controls & spatial & temporal variability. |
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Term
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Definition
| Issued by the NWS, a watch, such as a severe thunderstorm watch or winter storm watch, indicates when hazardous weather is possible based on current or anticipated atmospheric conditions. People are advised to be more alert but not interrupt their schedules. |
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Term
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Definition
| Issued by the NWS, a warning, such as a tornado warning or heavy snow warning, indicates when hazardous weather is possible based on current or anticipated atmospheric conditions. People are advised to be more alert but not interrupt their schedules. |
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