| Section E | E index | 351-359 of 498 terms |
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equinoctial rainsRainy seasons that occur regularly in many places within a few degrees of the equator at or shortly after the equinoxes. This characteristic of two distinct annual precipitation maxima is found chiefly within a tropical rain forest climate. The main regions are the Congo Valley, the greater Amazon Valley, and the East Indies. In most places, the spring maximum is the greater. Compare zenithal rains.
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equinoctial storm(Also called line storm, line gale.) Severe storms in the United Kingdom and North America that are popularly believed to accompany the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. The belief may have originated in the mid-1700s when sailors observed the West Indian hurricanes, which are most frequent at about the autumnal equinox. Statistics of gale frequency do not show that storms are especially frequent in temperate latitudes about 22 September, though it does sometimes happen that the first severe storm of the winter half-year occurs toward the end of September. The belief has been extended by analogy to the vernal equinox, about 21 March.
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equinoctial tideTide occurring when the sun is near equinox. During this period, spring-tide ranges are greater than average.
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equinox1. Either of the two points of intersection of the sun's apparent annual path and the plane of the earth's equator, that is, a point of intersection of the ecliptic and the celestial equator. 2. Popularly, the time at which the sun passes directly above the equator; the “time of the equinox.” In northern latitudes the vernal equinox falls on or about 21 March, and the autumnal equinox on or about 22 September. These dates are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere. Compare solstice.
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equiparte(Also called equipatos.) In Mexico, during October to January, heavy, cold rains that last for several days.
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equipotential lineA line along which hydraulic potential remains constant.
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equipotential surfaceA surface defined by the function  where Φ is the potential function associated with any field that can be written  Examples are gravitational, electrostatic, and magnetostatic equipotential surfaces.
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