Lake Breeze/Sea Breeze - A sea or lake breeze develops due to temperature differences between the surface of the sea and land. Because water temperatures over a large body of water are more constant than land temperatures, a density gradient develops when the land heats up during the afternoon, thereby inducing a cool breeze that blows from the sea over the land. The opposite of a sea breeze is a land breeze. This occurs during calm nights when the land cools and becomes colder than the sea surface temperatures. A land breeze blows from the land out to sea.

Isobars - Isobars are lines on a weather map joining points that have the same air pressure at a given altitude. Isobars are typically drawn in for surface plots. When isobars are tightly packed, windy conditions can be expected.

Hydrometeor - Any product of condensation or deposition of atmospheric water vapor, whether formed in the free atmosphere or at the earth's surface. Sea spray blown into the air is also composed of hydrometeors. Raindrops, snowflakes, and all other types of precipitation qualify as hydrometeors.

sounding - A sounding is the graphical output taken by a rawindsonde which is launched with a weather balloon to record various atmospheric variables in differing altitudes. Temperature, moisture, and wind speed/direction are most commonly measured when a sounding is taken. The data can be plotted on a diagram called a skew-t diagram which can give important details on the atmosphere such as how stable or unstable it is.

Albedo - The percentage of solar radiation that is reflected by a surface. An albedo of 100 means that 100% of the sun's energy is reflected back to space, while an albedo of 0 refers to a surface that absorbs all the sun's energy. The whiter the surface is, the higher the albedo will be. Snowpack has a high albedo.

Rain Gauge - An instrument used to measure the amount of rainfall that occurs over a specific site. A standard rain gauge can measure up to 8 inches. The first known device that was used for measuring rainfall was invented in Korea in 1441.

Back Door Cold Front - Most cold fronts in the Northern Hemisphere come in from the north, northwest, or west. They are usually found on the backside of a low pressure system. Back door cold fronts come in from the northeast or east, and are often driven by Canadian based high pressure systems.