Download what to know about meteorology list

What to know about Meteorology
1. Air moves clockwise and outward from a high. (“High to Low”) (In the northern hemisphere)
2. Air moves counter-clockwise and into a low (“High to Low”) (In the northern hemisphere)
3. Remember: “The flow will go from high to low”.
4. As moisture increases, air pressure decreases (“wet” air is less dense/lighter than “dry” air).
5. Air pressure decreases with altitude; temperature does too!
6. Highs are cool and dry; lows are warm and wet. Remember: “High and Dry”.
7. Wind blows from high to low pressure. Closer isobars on a map mean faster winds.
8. Earth rotates and causes the Coriolis Effect, which deflects/curves winds (right in NH and left in SH).
9. Wind is named for the direction it is coming from … the direction you are facing when facing into the wind.
10. The closer the air temperature is to the dew point, the greater the chance for precipitation.
11. The closer the air temperature is to the dew point, the higher the relative humidity.
12. Know this Process: Air is warmed, becomes less dense due to expansion; is forced upwards; expands and
cools as it rises; temperature falls to the dew point; condensation (onto condensation nuclei) of clouds
occurs. **Making air rise will almost always make clouds; air rises along fronts, in a low pressure system,
up a mountain or just because it is heated so ALL these things are associated with precipitation!
13. Orographic Effect: Windward side of a mountain has a wet, cool climate; leeward (downwind) side has a
hot, dry climate (desert).
14. Condensation requires some particle (condensation nucleus) to occur.
15. The air masses that mainly affect our weather are mT (warm and moist from Gulf of Mexico) and cP (cool
and dry from Canada).
16. Weather moves from southwest to northeast in the eastern United States (including NY) because that’s
the way prevailing winds blow (between 30°N and 60°N).
17. Cold fronts usually move the fastest.
18. To convert station symbol air pressure in millibars:
If number is less than 500, put a “10” in front and a decimal point to the left of the last digit.
If number is greater than 500, put a “9” in front & a decimal point to the left of the last digit.
19. Water takes longer than land to heat up/cool off because water has a higher specific heat/”heat capacity”.
Be able to sketch a land breeze and sea breeze with high and low pressure and wind direction.
20. Water bodies moderate temperature (smaller temperature range) so cities near large bodies of water have
milder summers and winters.
21. Summers are hottest because the sun’s angle of insolation and duration of insolation are greatest.
22. Black, rough and dull surfaces are the best absorbers of heat.
23. Good absorbers of heat are also good radiators of heat.
24. Know what instruments are used to measure pressure, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, relative
humidity and amount of precipitation.
25. Insolation means incoming solar radiation.
26. Be able to read ESRT pages 1, 12,13,14. (Find DP and RH, draw a station model, convert temp. and
pressure, know what characteristics air masses have, read layers of the atmosphere or wind diagram).
27. Ozone is in the stratosphere and absorbs ultraviolet rays from the Sun. It is broken down by
chlorofluorocarbons, which is why they are banned from use.
28. Hurricanes form over warm water and are MUCH larger than tornadoes. Tornadoes form from
thunderstorms over land.
29. In the event of a natural disaster, be informed, make a plan and have an emergency kit.