Transpiration - The process by which water escapes plants into the air and turns into water vapor. The rate at which plants lose water to the air increases as the temperature increases. Corn plants transpire at a rate higher than most plants. This means that corn needs more moisture to survive compared to most plant life.

Thermosphere - The atmospheric shell extending from the top of the mesosphere to outer space. It is a region of more or less steadily increasing temperature with height, starting at around 50 miles above the surface. This layer is around 320 miles thick and temperatures in this layer can reach 4,500 F. The International Space Station orbits the Earth in this region of the atmosphere!

Squall - A sudden increase in wind speed, usually associated with lines of convective thunderstorms. A squall can also be used when describing quick-hitting, heavy lake-effect snow bands.

Freezing Drizzle - A drizzle that falls as a liquid but then freezes into a light glaze or rime upon contact with the cold ground. Freezing drizzle is different than freezing rain because it accumulates at a much slower rate. Freezing drizzle tends to be localized and not widespread, which makes it more difficult to predict.

Bright-Banding - Term used in radar interpretation to describe an area of stronger than expected radar echoes. This signature occurs in the location of the melting level in the atmosphere, which is where snowflakes are melting into raindrops. During this transition, the snowflakes become large and very wet, causing the radar to see them as very large raindrops. Bright-banding is commonly seen as a concentric ring of anomalously high reflectivities centered on the radar site.

Tornado Warning - One is issued by the National Weather Service when a tornado is indicated by the WSR-88D radar or sighted by spotters; therefore, people in the affected area should seek safe shelter immediately. They can be issued without a Tornado Watch being already in effect. Tornadic thunderstorms commonly produce large hail and damaging winds as well.

Warm Air Advection - A transport of warm air that occurs due to winds blowing from a region of warmer air into an area of cooler air. When warm air advection occurs, the warmer air will rise over the cooler air, due to the higher density of cold air. Meteorologists look for regions of strong warm air advection when diagnosing where air will be rising in the atmosphere.