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Weather Terms




          In this section you'll find many weather terms and their definitions. All of these weather terms are defined in as easy-to-understand terms as possible. Within each definition, if there is another word that has a meteorological definition, you can click-on it for its definition, as well. The weather terms are broken-up into alphabetical order by their first letter. These definitions come from valid meteorological sources. I invite you to see the bottom of this page for all the information sources I used to compile this list of definitions. If you have a weather term that is not listed on this site and you want to know what it means, e-mail the Webmaster for help.

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K


KATABATIC WIND

A wind that is created by air flowing downhill. When this air is warm, it may be called a foehn wind, and regionally it may be known as a Chinook or Santa Ana. When this air is cold or cool, it is called a drainage wind, and regionally it may be known as a mountain breeze or glacier wind. The opposite of an anabatic wind.

KATAFRONT

A front where the warm air descends the frontal surface (except in the low layers of the atmosphere).

KELVIN TEMPERATURE SCALE

A temperature scale with the freezing point of -273 degrees K (Kelvin) and the boiling point of +273 degrees K. It is used primarily for scientific purposes. Also known as the Absolute Temperature Scale. Proposed in 1848 by William T. Kelvin, 1st Baron of Largs (1824-1907), Irish-born Scottish physicist and mathematician.

K INDEX

The measure of thunderstorm potential based on the vertical temperature lapse rate, the moisture content of the lower atmosphere and the vertical extent of the moist layer.

KNOT

A nautical unit of speed equal to the velocity at which one nautical mile is traveled in one hour. Used primarily by marine interests and in weather observations. A knot is equivalent to 1.151 statute miles per hour or 1.852 kilometers per hour.









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