air
1 A mixture of gases that makes up the Earth's atmosphere. It comprises about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, less than 1% of carbon dioxide and other gases, and varying amounts of water vapour that humans ...
blizzard
A wind, over 50 kph, which whips up particles of ice and dry, powdery snow, reducing visibility to less than 200 m. See Poulos et al. (2002) Weather & Fcst 17, 5.
calm
Condition of general lack of wind, indicated by a wind speed of less than 1 knot (0.5 m/s). See also beaufort scale.
depression
An area of low pressure (roughly, below 1 000 mb); see mid-latitude depression. Depression tracks are influenced by the courses of jet streams, energy sources—such as warm seas—and mountain barriers.
Francis Beaufort
(1774–1857) British hydrographerBeaufort was born in Navan in Ireland; his father was a cleric of Huguenot origin who took an active interest in geography and topography, publishing in 1792 one of ...
gale warning
An advisory notification issued by a forecasting office that wind speeds reaching force 8 on the Beaufort scale, or gusts over 43 knots, may be expected at sea or on exposed coasts.
hurricane force
A surface wind whose average speed exceeds 64 knots (force 12 on the Beaufort scale.)
mistral
Strong, cold, northerly wind that blows offshore with great frequency along the Mediterranean coast from northern Spain to northern Italy, and that is particularly frequent in the lower Rhône valley. ...
monsoon
From the Arabic mausim meaning ‘season’, a seasonal change of wind direction and properties associated with widespread temperature changes over land and water in the subtropics. Seasonal alternations ...
squall
Short-lived condition with strong winds, which increase by at least 16 knots (30 km/hr). It may include thunder and heavy precipitation. See also line squalls.
storm
Common term for gales, squalls, rainstorms, or thunderstorms. It is used specifically for conditions associated with the active areas of low-pressure systems. ‘Storm-force winds’ are, by definition, ...
tropical cyclone
A general term for all cyclonic circulations originating over the warm waters of the tropics, which includes tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
tropical depression
In the tropics or subtropics, an organized, but non-frontal, system of convective clouds around a low-pressure centre, with closed isobars and circulation. These systems tend to occur where there is ...
wind
The winds are often shown personified, e.g. Tower of the Winds (Horologium of Andronicus of Cyrrhus), Athens (c.50 bc), published by Stuart and Revett and copied widely in C18.
wind arrow
A symbol used for station plots on a synoptic chart to indicate wind direction and strength. The symbol consists of a shaft, drawn upwind of the station symbol, its direction representing the wind ...
