Download Slide 1

*Large bodies of air
that have a uniform
temperature and
humidity throughout.
*Four Types of Air
Masses influence
weather in North
America
Maritime Tropical (mT) = warm & moist
Continental Tropical (cT) = warm & dry
Maritime Polar (mP) = cold & moist
Continental Polar (cP) = cold & dry
Air masses change their properties as they
move from their source region to different
locations…
One result of
this is lake is
lake effect
snow:
As you can
see…annual snowfall
totals around the Great
Lakes are drastically
higher than
surrounding areas.
The ice was caused by high winds
blowing water onto the street by Lake
Geneva in Switzerland...check this
out!
•Air masses are enormous bodies of air that have the same
temperature and humidity throughout.
•There are four types of air masses that affect weather in North
America…
•Maritime Tropical (mT) = Warm Moist
•Maritime Polar (mP) = Cold Moist
•Continental Tropical = Warm Dry
•Continental Polar = Cold Dry
Lake Effect Snow results from cold dry air moving across large
bodies of water, soaking up moisture, and depositing the
moisture in the form of snow on the lee side of the lakes.