Typhoon - A tropical cyclone located in the Northwest Pacific Ocean that has sustained winds of 74 mph or greater. When a typhoon has sustained winds of 150 mph or greater it is called a super typhoon. A super typhoon is only 7 mph short of what would be called a category 5 hurricane if it were located in the Atlantic Ocean.

Terminal Velocity - The maximum velocity that can be reached for a falling object. Terminal velocity is reached when the downward force of gravity and the upward force of air resistance become equal to each other. An object's fall speed becomes constant once it reaches terminal velocity. The terminal velocity of most raindrops is around 20 mph, while large hailstones have terminal velocities that can exceed 100 mph!

Refraction - The process by which light slows down when passing through a medium, resulting in a bending or change of direction. Refraction explains many atmospheric phenomenon that occur in the sky. For example, sun dogs are seen due to the refraction of sunlight that occurs when there are numerous ice crystals suspended in the sky. Rainbows are also produced by the refraction of sunlight when it passes through raindrops.

Altocumulus Clouds - Are mid-level clouds that are made of water droplets and appear as gray, puffy masses, sometimes rolled out in parallel waves or bands.

Windsock - A large, conical, open bag that is designed to indicate wind direction and relative speed. They are commonly seen at small airports.

METAR - METAR is an acronym for Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report. It's an international code used for reporting, recording, and transmitting weather observations. This protocol organizes the data in a specific format and ordering for each official weather observation that is taken around the world.

Computer Model - A system of computers which run complex physics equations on meteorological data to produce mathematical forecasts. Forecast models are first initialized with the current conditions in the atmosphere, and then thru a series of complex algorithms, they model what will be happening anywhere from 12 to 180 hours from the current time. There are several computer models that meteorologists utilize in predicting the weather.