Tag Archives: interest-weather

  1. There’s A Word For That: Our Dictionary Additions For Winter 2024

  2. new words square

    New Words Drop! Get The First Look At Our Fall 2023 Collection Of Dictionary Additions

    Information pollution, jawn, decision fatigue, jolabokaflod, grandfamily, NIL, algo, amalgagender. Unbox the new terms and meanings just added to Dictionary.com. by Nick Norlen, Senior Editor, and Grant Barrett, Head of Lexicography Our fall new words drop is here!  The words don’t stop coming, so we’re updating the dictionary more frequently than ever. And not just with any words: this update includes an incredibly useful concentration …

  3. Cyclone vs. Typhoon vs. Hurricane vs. Tornado: Are They All The Same?

    Cyclone, hurricane, and typhoon are all terms for big storms. Are they all the same thing? What’s the difference? Join us on this whirlwind tour as we answer these questions and more: What’s the difference between a cyclone, a hurricane, and a typhoon? What’s the difference between a tropical cyclone, a tropical depression, and a tropical storm? Why are some tropical cyclones called hurricanes and …

  4. climate change words

    The Words You Need To Know To Talk About Climate Change Today

    Every year on April 22, we celebrate Earth Day and the big blue marble that we all call home. First commemorated in 1970 and now recognized in more than 190 countries, Earth Day is a perfect occasion to think about one of the biggest dangers facing our planet: climate change. As a dictionary, we use this date as an opportunity to document and describe the …

  5. What’s The Difference Between Weather vs. Climate?

    “Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” This pithy quote by famed science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein (among earlier variations) nicely frames the basic difference between climate and weather: climate refers to average, long-term conditions, while weather refers to specific, short-term conditions. Of course, it’s more complicated than that. We talk a lot about climate these days, especially in the context …

  6. Wild Weather Words You Need To Know

  7. polar bear on melting ice, blue filter.

    The Changing Language Of Climate Change

    The language surrounding climate change is changing right alongside the climate itself. But, it all began with global warming … Climate change was first known to many of us as global warming, a phrase dating to the 1950s that indicates “a longterm rise in Earth’s average atmospheric temperature.” The idea that global warming exists and could be attributed to human behavior, however, was first put forward in 1896 …

  8. What Do Hurricane Category Numbers Mean?

    Part of the drama of hurricane season revolves around the predicting and changing of the severity—or category—of the storm. What category will the hurricane be when it hits land? What kind of damage might it inflict? What is a hurricane category? There are a few classification scales that meteorological agencies use to determine the intensity of hurricanes. The Saffir-Simpson scale is used to measure the strength of …

  9. Who Picks Hurricane Names?

    Nobody can guess how serious the next hurricane will be, but you can find out what it will be named. An important thing to note is that weather events aren’t eligible for a name until they transform from a tropical depression into a tropical storm. When tropical storms reach a certain velocity, they become cyclones, which North Americans call hurricanes. How are hurricanes named? Then, the name of …

  10. What Is The Difference Between Snow Flurries vs. Snow Showers?

    Snow refers to the partially frozen water vapor which falls in flakes. The expression snow flurries refers to light, intermittent snowfall without significant accumulation. Snow flurries tend to come from stratiform clouds.Snow showers is the label used to refer to a short period of light-to-moderate snowfall, also characterized by a sudden beginning and ending. There is some accumulation with snow showers, and they fall from convective or cumuliform clouds. A snow squall is …