Storm Surge - An abnormal rise of the sea along a shoreline created by the onshore winds of a tropical storm. Storm surges are the most dangerous aspect of hurricanes as most fatalities can be attributed to them. During strong hurricanes the rise in water levels along the shore can be over 15 ft. The highest storm surge on record to hit the US occurred in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina. As Katrina made landfall along the southern coast of Louisiana, the storm surge reached as high as 27.8 feet.

Isotach - A line of equal wind speed on a weather map. The most common use for isotachs is finding the location of upper level jet streams and jet streaks. For example, the polar jet stream in the northern hemisphere is located by analysing isotachs at around 30,000 ft. Isotachs in the polar jet stream can indicate winds speeds of over 200 mph at times.

Pluie - This is the french word for rain. To say, "it is raining today" one would say, "Il pleut aujourd'hui."

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.

Scintillation - The apparent twinkling of a star due to its light passing through regions of differing air densities in the atmosphere. This results in the light being refracted and scattered before it reaches the viewer.

Lilapsophobia - This is the fear of tornadoes/hurricanes. People that have lived through the occurrence of a severe hurricane or tornado are most susceptible to this phobia.

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