Download Air Masses

Air masses are classified based on their
and amount of
Air masses get their characteristics based
on
The abbreviations used to classify air masses
use the following letters: c, m, T, P, and A.
For each letter, describe its property:
Word
c
continental
m maritime
T Tropical
P Polar
A Arctic
Means
dry
moist
warm
cold
very cold
warm and moist
cold and dry
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es2001/es2001page01.cfm?chapter_no=20
cP air mass
mT air mass
dry, cool air
warm, moist air
High Pressure
Area
Low Pressure
Center
cP air mass
mT air mass
dry, cool air
warm, moist air
High Pressure
Area
Low Pressure
Center
cP air mass
mT air mass
dry, cool air
warm, moist air
High Pressure
Area
Low Pressure
Center
cP air mass
mT air mass
dry, cool air
warm, moist air
High Pressure
Area
Low Pressure
Center
cP air mass
mT air mass
dry, cool air
warm, moist air
High Pressure
Area
Low Pressure
Center
Pressure Systems, Fronts,
and Weather
• Complete the following notes from your
book. You may work with a partner.
• We will come back and go over these note
and make sure you have written them
correctly.
Fronts
• Warm front
Fronts
• Warm fronts
– Form when warm air moves into an
area formerly covered by cold air
– Shown on a weather map by a red line
with semi-circles pointing toward the
colder air
Warmer air
Colder air
Fronts
• Warm fronts
– As the warmer, less dense air
rises, it cools
This produces clouds and frequent
precipitation
–Warm fronts move slowly, so the
precipitation is light-to-moderate
over a large area for a long
period of time
Fronts
• Cold Front
Fronts
• Cold fronts
– Form when cold, dense air moves into
an area formerly occupied by warmer
air
– Shown on a weather map by a blue
line with triangles pointing toward the
warmer air
Colder air
Warmer air
Fronts
• Cold Fronts
– Move much more quickly than warm
fronts
– Associated with heavy precipitation
that is short-lived
Fronts
• Stationary Fronts
– Form when the flow of air is neither
toward the cold air mass, nor toward the
warm air mass
– The front does not move
– Shown by blue triangles on one side
and red semicircles on the other
– Gentle to moderate precipitation
Fronts
• Occluded Front
– Forms when a cold front overtakes a
warm front
– Complex weather patterns
– Precipitation is common on both sides
of an occluded front
Pressure Systems
• Low Pressure
– Air moves in a counter-clockwise
direction
– Made of rising warm air that flows
inward
– Associated with clouds and
precipitation
• High Pressure
– Air moves in a clockwise direction
– Made of sinking cold air that flows
outward
– Associated with fair weather
F
Cloud Cover
Temperature
76
Current Weather
..
138
-30\
55
Dewpoint
Barometric
Trend
Wind Direction
&
Speed
Barometric
Pressure