Download Air Masses and Fronts Notes

Name: _____________________________________________ Date: __________________________ Core: ___________ Air Masses and Fronts Air Mass: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Four Types of Air Masses: 1) Maritime Tropical:________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Maritime Polar:___________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Continental Tropical:_____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4) Continental Polar:________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How do Air Masses Move? > Prevailing Westerlies: ___________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ > Jet Streams: ________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Front: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Four Types of Fronts: 1) Cold Fronts: > Air Mass Speeds: A rapidly moving _______________ air mass, meets a slow moving _______________ air mass. >Description: The denser, colder air slides beneath the lighter, warmer air and the warm air gets pushed up along the edge of the cold air, creating a cold front. >Weather During the Front: Since cold fronts tend to move quickly, they can cause _____________________ weather changes. They often cause strong __________________ and severe _______________________________. >Weather After the Front Passes: After a cold front passes through an area, _____________________, ___________________ air moves in, often bring clear skies, a shift in wind, and ______________________ temperatures. 2) Warm Fronts: > Air Mass Speeds: A rapidly moving _______________ air mass, overtakes a slow moving _______________ air mass. >Description: Since cold air is denser that warm air, the warm air moves over the cold air. >Weather During the Front: -­‐ IF THE WARM AIR IS HUMID: Light _________________ or _________________ falls along the front. -­‐IF THE WARM AIR IS DRY: Scattered ____________________ form. -­‐ Since warm fronts move ___________________, the weather may be rainy of cloudy for several days. >Weather After the Front Passes: After a warm front passes through an area, the weather is likely to be ___________________ and ______________________. 3) Stationary Fronts: > Air Mass Speeds: Not much movement! In this situation, a cold air mass and a warm air mass meet, but neither one can move over the other! >Description: Since neither air mass can move, they are stuck together at a standstill. >Weather During the Front: -­‐Where the warm and cool air meet, the __________________ air condenses into ________________, _________________, _____________ or _____________________. -­‐ Stationary fronts can “stall” over an area and bring multiple days of clouds and precipitation. 4) Occluded Fronts: >Most complex weather front! An occluded front involves two cooler air masses, with a warm air mass caught in-­‐between. >Description: The denser, cool air masses move underneath the less dense _________________ air mass, and push the warm air ___________________________. This sometimes allows the two cooler air masses to meet in the middle and mix. >Weather During the Front: -­‐The temperature near the ground becomes ___________________________, since the warm air mass is cut off from the ground. -­‐ As the warm air is forced upwards, it cools, and the weather may turn _______________________, and rain or __________________ may fall.