Download 1260744Air Masses and Fronts Activity

Air Masses and Fronts Activity
Name______________________________
An air mass is a huge section of air in the troposphere that has the same weather
conditions. An air mass may be as large as thousands of miles across, and a couple of miles
high. Each air mass has similar temperatures and humidity’s throughout the air mass.
The air masses that reach the North American continent come mainly from these areas:
mT - Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, middle Atlantic Ocean
cT - desert region of southwestern United States
cP - central and northern Canada
mP - North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean
Fill in the following chart:
Name
Abbreviation
Location
continental
polar
maritime
tropical
maritime
polar
continental
tropical
Why do air masses not mix well?
Another name for a high pressure system:
Another name for a low pressure system:
Which air masses bring
cold or cool temperatures?
hot or warm temperatures?
moist air?
dry air?
cloudy skies?
chance of precipitation?
Temperature
Moisture
Sky Condition
Use the maps below to trace the outline of the air masses. You can locate an air mass by
looking at the differences in temperatures. Because a single air mass is relatively the same
temperature, anytime there is a large difference in temperatures (10 degrees or more) that can
mean a boundary between two air masses.
Trace the outline of the mP Airmass and the cT Airmass
Label the mP airmass.
Label the cT airmass.
If the mP airmass is moving
toward the cT airmas, will the
front be a cold or warm front?
Draw the front boundary, using
the correct symbol
Trace the outline of the cP Airmass and the mT Airmsass
Label the cP airmass
Label the mT Airmass
If the mT Airmass is moving
toward the cP Airmass, will the
front be a cold or warm front?
Draw and label the front
boundary using the correct
symbol
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