Air Masses
a body of ___ that has about the same temperature and moisture throughout its whole area - when different ___ _____ meet, weather events happen
What is an air mass?
____ ___ tends to be more dense and flows under warm air.
What is cool/cold air?
This kind of air will rise due to its higher temperature.
What is warm/hot air?
The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place - including the pressure, temperature, and humidity of the air at that time and place.
What is weather?
This is the curving away of air and wind from straight paths due to the rotation of the Earth.
What is the Coriolis Effect?
__________ _____ are air masses that are dry because they form over land and are cold because they form closer to the poles than the equator.
What are continental polar air masses?
This kind of front brings lots of clouds and rain for a long time and then warmer weather afterward.
What is a warm front?
This kind of air will sink due to its lower temperature.
What is cool/cold air?
This is a weather front between two air masses, when neither air mass is moving into the other. This kind off front will have clouds and/or rain at the front for hours or days until one air mass moves on.
What is a stationary front?
These are the three largest global wind bands. The separation of two of them at the range of 30-35 degrees latitude is called the Horse Latitudes. The separation of one of them at the Equator is called the Doldrums.
What are the Polar Easterlies, the Westerlies, and the Trade Winds?
_________ _____ are air masses that are wet because they form over water and are warm because they form closer to the equator than the poles.
What are maritime tropical air masses?
This kind of front brings big thunderstorms, heavy rain and other kinds of precipitation, and then cooler weather afterward.
What is a cold front?
____ ___ tends to be less dense and gets pushed above cooler air.
What is warm/hot air?
This is a weather front formed when a cold front overtakes a warm front, and separates the warm air from the ground below it.
What is an occluded front?
This high-altitude, extremely fast-moving air can separate large air masses and flows between the boundaries of the polar easterlies and the westerlies convection cells/wind belts.
What is the Jet Stream?
___________ _____ are air masses that are dry because they form over land and are warm because they form closer to the equator than the poles.
What are continental tropical air masses?
a ___ ___ pressure weather system tends to bring warmer air into an area after light rain and other precipitation - this warmer air allows for higher humidity levels and more big puffy clouds to form
What is a low pressure weather system?
These are circular patterns caused by the rising and sinking of air because of the uneven heating of the Earth.
What is a convection cell?
This is what we call the phenomenon of air moving from high pressure to low pressure due to differences in the heating of the atmosphere from direct and indirect light energy coming from the sun.
What is wind and how is it generated?
This fast-moving, deep-ocean water current causes the western coast of Great Britain to have a warmer winter climate than Canada, even though they are both the same distance from the Equator, and the same distance from the North Pole.
What is the Gulf Stream?
__________ _____ are air masses that are wet because they form over water and are cold because they form closer to the equator than the poles.
What are maritime polar air masses?
a ___ ___ pressure weather system tends to bring colder air into an area after intense rain and other precipitation - this air will clear the skies and there will be no clouds for a while
What is a high pressure weather system?
These form when less dense, warm air rises into the atmosphere and takes water vapor with it. The water vapor condenses at the higher altitude because of the cooler temperature at this height and forms ______.
Why do clouds form?
This is what happens to the Earth's atmosphere because of its spherical shape and axis tilt. Air masses form and wind belts are generated at 30-degree latitude intervals on the Earth because of this phenomena.
What is the uneven heating of the Earth?
Two air masses meet. One is moving from the north pole over the land of the United States at 10 mph. The other is moving from the equator over the Gulf of Mexico at 2 mph. When the two air masses meet, this kind of weather front will form.
What is a cold front?