Transcript Weather
Weather How do you determine the weather? Weather Refers to the state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. What does it look like outside right now? That is the weather. Weather This is a result of heat and Earth’s air and water. The amount of water vapor suspended in the air is the humidity. Relative humidity is how much water vapor is in the air vs. how much it can hold. The dew point is the temperature where the air is saturated and condensation forms. Clouds- Classified by shape Stratus- flat, smooth, or layered Cumulus- cotton balls or puffy Cirrus- thin and wispy, or feathered Clouds- Classified by Height Cirro- high clouds (usually ice crystals) Alto- middle clouds Strato- low level clouds Clouds by Height Cirro- Alto- Strato- How do clouds form? The sun heats the ground causing the heated air to rise. Warm air holds more water vapor. As the air rises, it cools down. The cooler air can hold less water vapor resulting in condensation and cloud formations. Jet Stream Narrow belts of strong winds. Jet streams are faster in the winter due to the differences between warm air and cold air are greater. Sea Breeze vs Land Breeze Air Masses Large bodies of air that have the similar properties to the part of Earth’s surface which it developed. Laymen’s Term*** Air mass that develop over land-Dry Air mass that develop over water-Wet Air mass that develop over Tropics-Warm Air mass that develop over polar area-Cold Fronts Boundary between two air masses of different temperatures, density, or moisture. Cold fronts are more dense and slide under warm fronts. Cold Front Warm Front