Download Synoptic Weather Vocabulary

Synoptic Weather Vocabulary
Station Model: This model gives a summary of weather observations in a coded format.
Synoptic Weather Map: A weather map that is a summary of various weather variables.
Isobars: These isolines connect equal values of pressure.
Air Mass: Huge body of air with uniform temperature and moisture levels.
Continental Arctic: This air mass originates in central Canada.
Continental Tropical: An air mass that originates in Texas.
Maritime Polar: An air mass originates NE of New York in the cold Atlantic Ocean.
Maritime Tropical: An air mass that originates in the Gulf of Mexico.
Fronts: A boundary between two air masses.
Cold Front: This occurs when cold air digs under warm air causing it to rise creating a
large cumulonimbus clouds and strong thunderstorms.
Warm Front: This type of front is associated with persistent but light rain for a long
period of time and has predictable sequence of clouds.
Stationary Front: This type of front does not move and separates warm and cold air.
Occluded Front: This type of front occurs when a cold front overtakes a warm front and
is usually associated with the worst part of the storm.
Cyclone: The winds around this low pressure system are convergent and move in a
counterclockwise motion.
Anticyclone: The winds around this high pressure system are clockwise and divergent.
Mid-Latitude Cyclone: A low pressure that moves across the middle of the country, it
usually last three to four days.