Weather Patterns PPT
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Transcript Weather Patterns PPT
What Causes Wind?
Air is a fluid – it moves easily
Movement of air caused by
changing air pressure
Wind is movement of air from high
pressure to low pressure
Air Movement
Global Winds
Types of Air Masses
An air mass forms when a large amount of
air stays in the same place over an area
Continental air masses form over land and
are dry
Maritime air masses form over water and are
moist
Polar air masses are cold
Tropical air masses are warm
Types of Air Masses
There 4 air masses affecting North America
cT- continental tropical
cP – continental polar
mT – maritime tropical
mP – maritime polar
Fronts
Air masses move and bump into each other
Fronts appear at the edges of two air masses
where they are colliding with each other
Fronts
There are 4 types of fronts:
Cold fronts
Stationary fronts
Warm fronts
Occluded fronts
Cold front
Occurs when a cold air mass overtakes a
warm air mass
Cold air forces warm air to rise quickly
Resulting in strong winds, thunderstorms,
and large amounts of precipitation
Cold fronts usually bring cooler weather, clearing skies, and a sharp change in wind
direction.
http://www.suu.edu/faculty/colberg/hazards/weather/05_cnWfronts.html
Cold Front Diagrams
Warm Fronts
Occurs when a warm air mass overtakes
a cold air mass
Warm air slowly rises over the cold air
Starts with steady rain (8-12 hours) but
eventually clears when temperatures
rise
Warm fronts tend to move slowly are
far less violent then cold fronts
After warm front passes, weather becomes warm and humid, but generally clear
Warm Front
Warm Front Diagrams
Stationary Front
When neither air mass can move
the other
Similar to warm fronts and can
remain in same place days
Light wind and precipitation occur
across entire region affected
Occluded front
When a warm air mass gets trapped between two cold
air masses
Strong winds and heavy precipitation occur