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* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Air Masses & Weather • Air Masses – A large body of air with the same temperature and amount of moisture at any altitude • Movement of Air Masses – As it moves, the characteristics of an air mass change and so does the weather in the area over which the air mass moves. Tornado Damage The force of wind during a tornado in Kansas was strong enough to drive this metal into a utility pole! Classifying Air Masses • Air masses are classified according to the surface over which they form Term Abbreviation Air will be… Maritime (Ocean) m Moist Continental (Land) c Dry Polar (Poles) P Cold Tropical (Equator) T Warm Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Weather in North America • Much of the weather in North America, especially weather east of the Rocky Mountains, is influenced by continental polar (cP) and maritime tropical (mT) air masses. Weather in North America • Continental Polar Air Masses – (cP): cool/dry Weather in North America • Maritime Tropical Air Masses – mT: warm/wet – Warm, loaded with moisture, and usually unstable. – The source most precipitation received in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. Weather in North America • Maritime Polar Air Masses – (mP): wet/cool – Begin as cP air masses in Siberia. The cold, dry air changes into mild, humid, unstable air during its long journey across the North Pacific. – They also originate in the North Atlantic off the coast of eastern Canada. Formation of a Maritime Polar Weather in North America • Continental Tropical Air Masses – (cT): dry/warm – Only occasionally do cT air masses affect the weather outside their source regions. – In the summer - extremely hot, droughtlike conditions in the Great Plains. – In the fall - mild weather in the Great Lakes region, often called Indian summer. Quick Review! 1. What kind of air would you expect to find in a mT air mass? 2. Which two air masses influence MOST of our weather in North America? 3. List the TWO defining features of an air mass?