The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 categorization based on the intensity of the hurricane at the indicated time. The scale provides examples of the type of damage and impacts in the United States associated with winds of the indicated intensity. A detailed description of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which was revised in early 2010, is available at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/sshws.shtml. Source: NOAA-NHC.

The amount of chemical salts (compounds that include Na, K, Mg, Ca) contained in a solution. Source: US NPS

When the roots of the plant come in contact with more salt in the soil then they can cope with.

Spray of salt or salt water that forms when ocean waves crash.

The region (actually in the horse latitudes) of the North Atlantic Ocean to the east and south of the Gulf Stream system. This is a region of convergence of the surface waters, and is characterized by clear, warm water, a deep blue color, and large quantities of floating sargassum or “gulf weed.” Source: (c) 1999, American Meteorological Society. Used with permission.

A man-made device orbiting around the earth, moon, or another planet. Satellites are used for research, communications, weather information, and navigation.

In meteorological terms, a condition in which air at a specific temperature contains all the water vapor it can hold. At this point, the air cannot absorb any more water vapor, and additional amounts of the vapor will appear as precipitation.

The spreading of waves, such as light, over a range of directions as a result of encountering a rough boundary (water) or collisions with particles.

The average height of the ocean.

The atmospheric pressure at sea level at a given location. Once calculated, horizontal variations of sea level pressure may be compared for location of high and low pressure areas and fronts.

The term refers to the mean temperature of the ocean in the upper few meters. Source: NOAA-NWS

Statistical Hurricane Intensity Forecast, a type of statistical model. Source: HSS

Statistical Hurricane Intensity Prediction Scheme, a type of statistical-dynamical model. Source: HSSM

Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges by Hurricanes, a computer model used by the National Hurricane Center to estimate storm surge heights and winds resulting from historical, hypothetical, or predicted hurricanes by taking into account pressure, size, forward speed, track, and winds. Source: NOAA (See www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/surge/slosh.shtml, Jelesnianski et al., 1992)

A "see-saw" in surface pressure in the tropical Pacific characterized by simultaneously opposite sea level pressure anomalies at Tahiti, in the eastern tropical Pacific and Darwin, on the northwest coast of Australia. The SO was discovered by Sir Gilbert Walker in the early 1920s. Walker was among the first meteorologists to use the statistical techniques to analyze and predict meteorological phenomena. Later, the three-dimensional east-west circulation related to the SO was discovered and named the "Walker Circulation". The SO oscillates with a period of 2-5 years. During one phase, when the sea level pressure is low at Tahiti and High at Darwin, the El Niño occurs. The cold phase of the SO, called La Niña, is characterized by high pressure in the eastern equatorial Pacific, low in the west, and by anomalously cold sea surface temperature (SST) in the central and eastern Pacific. This is called El Niño Southern Oscillation or ENSO. Source: NOAA Jetstream

A numerical index measuring the state of the Southern Oscillation. The SOI is based on the (atmospheric) pressure difference between Tahiti and Darwin, Australia. It is highly correlated with tropical sea surface temperature anomaly indices recorded in El Nino/La Nina.

Bands of thunderstorms and intense rain that wrap around a hurricane. Source: Canadian Hurricane Centre

Are based on historical relationships between hurricane-specific information, such as the location and time of year, and the behavior of historical hurricanes. These models are much simpler than dynamical models, and they can produce a computer-generated forecast much more quickly, often within seconds. Source: HSS

Statistical-dynamical models blend both dynamical and statistical techniques by making a forecast based on established historical relationships between storm behavior and atmospheric variables provided by dynamical models. Source: HSS

A stable condition where a system has numerous properties that are unchanging in time, or in which a change in one direction is continuously balanced by a change in another direction.

(Or steering current) A prevailing synoptic scale flow which governs the movement of smaller features embedded within it. Source: NOAA-NWS

An abnormal rise in sea level accompanying a hurricane or other intense storm, and whose height is the difference between the observed level of the sea surface and the level that would have occurred in the absence of the cyclone. Storm surge is usually estimated by subtracting the normal or astronomic high tide from the observed storm tide. Source NOAA-NHC.

A warning that significant wind-forced flooding is to be expected along low-lying coastal areas if weather patterns develop as forecast.

The actual sea level resulting from astronomical tide combined with the storm surge. This term is used interchangeably with hurricane tide. Source: NOAA-NWS SRH

A warning of 1-minute sustained surface winds of 88 km/h (55 mph) or greater, either predicted or occurring, not directly associated with tropical cyclones. Source NOAA-NHC.

The second major layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down.

For any particular location, a hurricane strike occurs if that location passes within the strike circle of the hurricane, a circle of 230 km (144 mi) diameter, centered 23 km (14 mi) to the right of the hurricane center (looking in the direction of motion). This circle is meant to depict the typical extent of hurricane force winds, which are approximately 139 km (86 mi) to the right of the center and 93 km (57 mi) to the left. Source NOAA-NHC.

A subtropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed (using the U.S. 1-minute average) is 33 kt (38 mph or 62 km/hr) or less. Source NOAA-NHC.

One of the two bands of high atmospheric pressure that are centered near 30°N and 30°S latitudes.

A non-frontal low pressure system that has characteristics of both tropical and extratropical cyclones. This system is typically an upper-level cold low with circulation extending to the surface layer and maximum sustained winds generally occurring at a radius of about 100 miles or more from the center. In comparison to tropical cyclones, such systems have a relatively broad zone of maximum winds that is located farther from the center, and typically have a less symmetric wind field and distribution of convection. Source: NOAA-NHC.

A subtropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed (using the U.S. 1-minute average) is 63 km/h (39 mph) or more. Source NOAA-NHC.

Weather reconnaissance mission flown to provide vital meteorological information in data sparse ocean areas as a supplement to existing surface, radar, and satellite data. Synoptic flights better define the upper atmosphere and aid in the prediction of tropical cyclone development and movement. Source NOAA-NHC.