Found on every continent on Earth, arid climates are dry and often very hot and/or very cold. Representing the opposite concept of humidity, aridity is a term that has more to do with climate than the weather. Engineers have to consider wind shear when designing skyscrapers and other tall structures. ![]() Measured both horizontally and vertically, wind shear is much more significant at the higher reaches of the atmosphere. Wind shear is a measurement of wind, and it's defined as a difference in direction and speed of wind over a specific distance in the atmosphere. Those winds are usually severe, and they're known to bring rain and snow and cause flooding and storm surges. Nor'easters are named for the direction that the storm's most intense winds blow. Geography, however, is not where these storms get their name. Nor'easters are major, dangerous storms that are exclusive to the Northeastern United States. Svitlana Pimenov / Shutterstock Nor'easter It, too, is associated with irregular and sometimes severe weather patterns. It warms the oceans and creates the opposite effect in terms of not just ocean temperatures, but atmospheric pressure. The opposing "warm" half of ENSO is called El Niño (The Boy), which occurs irregularly every two to seven years and is often followed closely by a La Niña pattern. La Niña is known for its disruptive impact on weather, specifically heavy rainfall and an increase in low-pressure systems. One half of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, La Niña (The Girl) is a global weather pattern that describes a dramatic cooling of ocean temperatures in the Western Hemisphere. According to the National Weather Service, both terms refer to opaque cloud coverage between three-eighths to five-eighths. Some people might assume that "partly cloudy" and "partly sunny" are different ways to say the same thing, and they'd be right. Stepan Bessmelnitsin / Shutterstock Partly cloudy/partly sunny You may also like: Notable weather events from the year you were born Here's a look at the phrases, words, and terminology that dominate weather reports, which are correct far more frequently than the people who craft them are given credit for. Stacker used a variety of scientific sources to compile a list of 50 common weather terms. Global-warming deniers often cite anomalies like warm spells in the winter as evidence backing their point of view, when they are referencing the weather, not the climate. Climate, on the other hand, measures average weather patterns over several decades. Weather describes the short-term-day-to-day and hour-to-hour-state of the atmosphere, including temperature, precipitation, wind, and visibility. It's important to note that "climate" and "weather" are not interchangeable terms. If someone had told Aristotle that human beings would one day be able to accurately predict the weather nine times out of 10, five days in advance, he likely would have laughed at their overactive imagination. When weathermen and women issue seven-day forecasts, they're accurate about 80 percent of the time-90 percent for five-day forecasts. The reality, however, is that meteorologists are right in astonishing percentages. Weather forecasters are easy targets because, like football referees, people tend to take notice only when they get it wrong. ![]() In 2019 alone, more than 67,000 weather events killed 570 people in the United States and injured more than 1,700 more with flash floods, tropical storms, heat, tornadoes, ice storms, and thunderstorms doing most of the damage. ![]() America's GDP can fluctuate by more than $1.34 trillion depending on the weather. Despite all the advanced technology of modern society, humans are still pretty much at the mercy of the elements. Modern weather forecasting is a $7 billion a year industry-and for good reason. ![]() Although it was a far cry from the Weather Channel, "Meteorologica" was the start of something that had eluded human beings for time immemorial: the ability to understand-and even predict-the weather. In the year 350 B.C., the Greek philosopher Aristotle gave one of the earliest descriptions of weather patterns in a text called "Meteorologica," which translates into "Meteorology." It included some of mankind's first attempts to observe and record natural phenomena like water evaporation and earthquakes.
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