Aerosols - Tiny liquid or solid particles that become suspended in the atmosphere. Some sources for aerosols are volcanoes, wild fires, desert wind storms, and the burning of fossil fuels.

Short waves - Relatively small, short-wavelength ripples that occur in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere. These are basically small-scale troughs that can produce bands of precipitation as they induce upward vertical motions. Short waves tend to move quickly along the prevailing winds and are a common occurrence in the vicinity of a jet stream.

Blue Moon - Term used when a full moon occurs twice in the same calendar month. It happens once every 2.7 years. An alternate definition is when the moon actually has a bluish tint to it caused by smoke or dust particulates in the atmosphere.

Celsius - A temperature scale in which zero is the freezing point of water and one hundred is the boiling point. This scale is directly based on the states of water at different temperatures. This is in opposition to the Fahrenheit scale which is based on alcohol and mercury thermometers.

Horse Latitudes - Areas of calm or light and variable winds located between 30 and 35 degrees north and south of the equator. This region's weather is influenced by converging air flows aloft from the tropics, thereby creating regions of high pressure at the surface. Hot and windless conditions can last for weeks at a time in the horse latitudes. When ships would travel to the New World, this region was known for creating delays in shipping that could create food and supply shortages for merchant ships.

Chionophobia - A person who suffers from Chionophobia has an irrational fear of snow or snow storms.

Arctic Oscillation - A climate phase that looks at the strength of the winds surrounding the arctic region. During a positive phase of the arctic oscillation, the ring of winds around the arctic remain strong, thereby holding the coldest air masses near the pole. During the negative phase these upper level winds weaken, allowing for the bitter cold arctic air masses to head further south across the northern hemisphere. Each switch in phase can last weeks or even months.