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teardrop balloon—A sounding balloon that, when operationally inflated, resembles an inverted teardrop. This shape was determined primarily by aerodynamic considerations of the problem of obtaining maximum stable rates of balloon ascension. Such balloons are not commonly used for operational soundings.
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teeth of the gale—An old nautical term for the direction from which the wind is blowing (upwind, windward). To sail into the teeth of the gale or into the eye of the wind is to sail to windward.
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Tehuano—A Spanish term frequently used to denote a burst of strong offshore (southward) wind, lasting a day or more, that blows from the Gulf of Mexico across the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Tehuano events are associated with winter surges of cold air that spread southward from the United States across the Gulf of Mexico behind strong weather fronts. Tehuanos produce much local cooling of the gulf waters and frequently cause anticyclonic warm-core ocean eddies to form and propagate west-southwestward near 12°–14°N. See papagayo.
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tehuantepecer—A violent squally wind from north or north-northeast in the Gulf of Tehuantepec (south of southern Mexico) in winter. It originates in the Gulf of Mexico as a norther that crosses the isthmus and blows through the gap between the Mexican and Guatemalan mountains. It may be felt up to 160 km (100 miles) out to sea. Compare papagayo; see mountain-gap wind, jet-effect wind.
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telecommunication—A communication using an electronic (radio, telephone, telegraph) transmission system. Used to imply rapid and distant communication.
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teleconnection—1. A linkage between weather changes occurring in widely separated regions of the globe. 2. A significant positive or negative correlation in the fluctuations of a field at widely separated points. Most commonly applied to variability on monthly and longer timescales, the name refers to the fact that such correlations suggest that information is propagating between the distant points through the atmosphere.
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telegraphic equation—(Also called telegrapher's equation.) A partial differential equation usually written in the form  where t is a time coordinate, x is a space coordinate, and a and b are positive constants. This is the equation governing the flow of electricity in a cable. When b < 0, the equation applies to the motion of long gravitational waves in a rotating ocean.
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telemetry—The process of measuring a quantity or quantities, transmitting the measured value to a distant station, and there interpreting, indicating, or recording the quantities measured. Typically, spacecraft telemetry includes parameters, such as spacecraft temperature, power supply, and orbital information, that are transmitted to earth to monitor the status of spacecraft.
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