Meridional flow - Meridional flow is a term that describes the direction of the upper level wind flow with respect to the Earth. When the upper level winds oscillate from north to south often, a meridional flow pattern is present. The opposite of meridional flow is zonal flow. In zonal flow, the upper level winds move in a more west to east fashion.

Virga - Any precipitation that is falling from the clouds, but doesn't make it to the ground. The reason that virga occurs is due to dry air that the precipitation cannot penetrate through to make it to the ground, as it evaporates into that layer. Meteorologists can verify virga by looking at where radar data is showing precipitation and then looking at nearby surface weather observation sites to see if any precipitation is being reported.

DAPE - An acronym that stands for Downdraft Available Potential Energy. This is a measurement of a thunderstorm's ability to produce strong currents of descending air that reach the surface, called downdrafts. Thunderstorms with high levels of DAPE, can produce intense downdrafts that can result in straight-line winds of over 100 mph.

Aleutian Low - a persistent low pressure center located near the Aleutian Islands on the mean charts of sea level pressure from late fall to late spring. It represents one of the main centers of action for atmospheric circulations in the northern hemisphere. Some of the strongest lows of the season are oftentimes Aleutian lows.

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.

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

Super-Typhoon - A tropical cyclone in the western Pacific basin that has one minute sustained wind speeds of a last 150 mph. This corresponds to what would be a category 4 or greater hurricane if the tropical cyclone were in the Atlantic or eastern Pacific.