Download AIR MASSES AND FRONTS

AIR MASSES AND
FRONTS
Chapter 16 Section 2
Air masses take on the characteristics
of the area over which they form.
The temperature and moisture are
consistent throughout.
• Warm air forms over tropical regions near the
equator.
T- Tropical
•
Cold air forms over polar regions.
P- Polar
• Wet air masses form over water
m- maritime
• Dry air masses from over land.
c- continental
Continental
Polar cP
• Moisture content is noted by the first
letter.
m – maritime – wet
c – continental – dry
• Temperature is noted by the second
letter.
P – polar – cool
T – tropical - warm
Continental
Polar cP
• mP- maritime polar air mass
• cP – continental polar air mass
• mT – maritime tropical air mass
• cT – continental polar air mass
•
A front is a boundary between air
masses.
• Four types of fronts and map symbols
1.Cold front
2.Warm front
3.Occluded front
4.Stationary front
COLD FRONT
• What happens? Cold air mass meets a
warm air mass and pushes the warm air
mass out of its way.
• What kind of weather do they bring? Bring
thunderstorms, rain or snow, followed by
cooler, drier air.
• Most tornadoes develop from
thunderstorms on the edge of a cold front.
WARM FRONT
• What happens? Warm air mass meets
a cold air mass and pushes the cold air
mass out of the way.
• What kind of weather does it bring?
Brings drizzly precipitation, followed by
clear warm weather
OCCLUDED FRONT
• What happens? Warm air caught
between two cold air masses.
• What kind of weather does it bring?
Brings cool temperatures with large
amounts of rain or snow
STATIONARY FRONT
• What happens? Cold air meets warm
air, without enough force to move either
front.
• What kind of weather does it bring?
Many days of cloudy, wet weather
Cold Front, Warm Front and
Occluded Front Animation
• http://www.3villagecsd.k12.ny.us/Murphy/me
dina/weather.html
• http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_scien
ce/terc/content/visualizations/es2002/es2002
page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization
• Click on the above links.
• Area with lower pressure than surrounding area
• Winds spiral toward the center
• Rising air causes stormy weather
• Hurricanes that from over the Indian Ocean are
called cyclones.
– Tornadoes are also called cyclones; they just aren’t tropical
in nature.
• Rotation of air around high pressure
center.
• Dry, clear weather
Quiz: Take this on the paper provided.
1. Describe a maritime polar (mP) air mass, in terms of
moisture and temperature.
2. What is the name of an air mass that forms over
water?
3. What is the name of an air mass that forms over land?
4. What is the name of an air mass that forms in a cold
region?
5. What is the name of an air mass that forms in a warm
region?
6. Describe a continental tropical (cT) air mass, Moisture
and temperature.
Quiz: Take this on the paper provided.
7. The boundary between two air masses is called a
______________________.
8. A cold air mass meets and pushes a warm air mass out of the way.
What type of front am I?
9. A warm air mass is trapped between to cold air masses.
What type of front am I?
10. A warm air mass meets and pushes a cold air mass out of the way.
What type of front am I?
11. I am a front that brings drizzly rain and am followed by warm clear
weather. Name me.
12. A cold air mass meets a warm air but neither is very strong. They are
separated and many days of wet , cloudy weather occur.