Air masses create weather as they are moved by winds around the globe. Fronts develop at the boundary where two air masses with different temperatures”and, usually, different humidities”come into contact with each other.
How are fronts and air masses related?
A weather front is a transition zone between two different air masses at the Earth’s surface. Each air mass has unique temperature and humidity characteristics. Often there is turbulence at a front, which is the borderline where two different air masses come together. The turbulence can cause clouds and storms.
Warm fronts are at the leading edge of a warm air mass. Warm air mass move above cold air mass.
How are air masses related?
An air mass is a large body of air with generally uniform temperature and humidity. The area over which an air mass originates is what provides its characteristics. The longer the air mass stays over its source region, the more likely it will acquire the properties of the surface below.
If enough moisture is present, this can result in precipitation along and ahead of the front. With a warm front, the cool air ahead of it must retreat before the warm air behind it can advance.
In what primary ways do air masses differ from each other?
Tropical air masses form in low-latitude areas and are moderately warm. Polar air masses take shape in high-latitude regions and are cold. Equatorial air masses develop near the Equator, and are warm. Air masses are also identified based on whether they form over land or over water.
What is an air front quizlet?
Front. the boundary between air masses of different different densities and usually different temperatures. Air Mass. a large body of air that has similar temperature and moisture throughout.
What happens when two air masses crash into each other?
When two different air masses come into contact, they don’t mix. They push against each other along a line called a front. When a warm air mass meets a cold air mass, the warm air rises since it is lighter. At high altitude it cools, and the water vapor it contains condenses.
What is an air mass quizlet?
An air mass is a huge body of air in the lower atmosphere that has similar temperature,humidity, and air pressure at given height.
How are cold fronts different from stationary fronts?
Cold fronts form between two air masses that barely move, while stationary fronts form when a warm air mass is trapped between two cold air masses. Cold fronts form when a warm air mass moves over a cold air mass, while stationary air fronts form when a cold air mass moves over a warm air mass.
What do all air masses have in common?
Air masses have fairly uniform temperature and moisture content in horizontal direction (but not uniform in vertical). Air masses are characterized by their temperature and humidity properties.
How does wind and air masses affect climate?
The wind then blows the air mass towards different areas and makes the weather colder and drier in those places. It is the same for a warm air mass. As a tropical air mass travels, it brings warm air with it. This affects the weather by raising temperatures and creating sunny, warm spells.
What are the similarities and differences in weather patterns associated with cold fronts and warm fronts?
The similarities between a warm front and a cold front are: they are both fronts, they both form some type of clouds, they both produce some type of rain, they both make some kind of weather. Cold fronts are defined by cold air advancing, sliding under and displacing warmer air ” they are steeper and move more quickly.
Which air mass warm or cold is pushed above the other air mass as the front moves?
If the air mass that arrives third is colder than either of the first two air masses, that air mass slip beneath them both. This is called a cold occlusion. If the air mass that arrives third is warm, that air mass rides over the other air mass. This is called a warm occlusion.
How are air masses and pressure systems represented on a weather map?
Atmospheric pressure is measured with an instrument on the ground called a barometer, and these measurements are collected at many locations across the U.S. by the National Weather Service. On weather maps, these readings are represented as a blue “H” for high pressure or a red “L” for low pressure.
Which type of air are fronts associated with?
Warm fronts are often associated with high-pressure systems, where warm air is pressed close to the ground. High-pressure systems usually indicate calm, clear weather.
What are the three air fronts and what are characteristics of each?
The type of front depends on both the direction in which the air mass is moving and the characteristics of the air mass. There are four types of fronts that will be described below: cold front, warm front, stationary front, and occluded front.
How are continental tropical and continental polar air masses alike and how are they different?
Continental air masses are characterized by dry air near the surface while maritime air masses are moist. Polar air masses are characterized by cold air near the surface while tropical air masses are warm or hot. Arctic air masses are extremely cold.
What causes air masses to move?
An air mass has roughly the same temperature and humidity. Air masses form over regions where the air is stable for a long enough time. The air takes on the characteristics of the region. Air masses move when they are pushed by high level winds.
What happens when air masses of different temperatures meet quizlet?
What happens when air masses of different temperatures meet? Well-defined boundaries form between the air masses. What is occlusion in a midlatitude cyclone? Occlusion is the process by which a cold front overtakes a warm front.
What air mass is when cold air sinks?
A cold front is when a cold air mass pushes into a warm air mass. The heavier cold air sinks and slides in under the warm air. The cold air forces the warm air steeply upward along the front. This causes cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds to form.
What happens when two air masses collide and the fronts become distorted?
As air masses collide, the boundary between the fronts sometimes becomes distorted by surface features such as mountains or winds. When this happens, bends can happen along the front, and the air begins to swirl. What are cyclones? They are a swirling center of low air pressure.
What happens when two wind fronts converge?
Convergence: When two air masses of the same temperature collide and neither is willing to go back down, the only way to go is up. As the name implies, the two winds converge and rise together in an updraft that often leads to cloud formation.
What happens when two air masses collide quizlet?
What happens when two air masses meet? When two air masses meet, they form a front, which is a boundary that separates two air masses of different properties. How is a warm front produced? A warm front forms when warm air moves into an area formerly covered by cooler air.
What is the definition of a front quizlet?
Front. A boundary between two air masses.
What is an air mass choose all that apply quizlet?
What is an air mass? Choose all that apply. “Large body of air with similar temperature and moisture at any given altitude. -Large body of air usually 1600 kilometers or more across. How are air masses classified?
What are the various air masses quizlet?
Four major types of air masses influence the weather that occurs in North America: maritime tropical, continental tropical, maritime polar, and continental polar.
What’s the difference between stationary front and occluded front?
Stationary Front ” a front between warm and cold air masses that is moving very slowly or not at all. Occluded Front ” a composite of two fronts, formed as a cold front overtakes a warm or quasi-stationary front.
How are cold fronts different from stationary fronts quizlet?
Cold fronts are different from stationary fronts since: Colder air masses move towards a warmer air mass a cold front forms. Stationary Fronts: Warm and cold air masses are on opposite sides and they move towards each other.
How are fronts depicted on weather maps and what useful information can we get from weather maps?
Cold fronts are depicted by blue line with triangles pointing in the direction of motion. Cold fronts demarcate the leading edge of a cold air mass displacing a warmer air mass. Phrases like “ahead of the front” and “behind of the front” refer to its motion.
What are the two ways air masses are grouped?
Air masses are commonly classified according to four basic source regions with respect to latitude. These are Polar (cold), Arctic (very cold), Equatorial (warm and very moist), and Tropical (warm).
What are the two main characteristics of air masses?
What two main characteristics are used to classify air masses? Temperature and humidity are two characteristics used to classify air masses.
What are the two characteristics of an air mass that you need to know in order to classify it?
The two characteristics that are used to classify air masses, are temperature and humidity. Classify the four major types of air masses according to whether they are dry or humid.
What is air masses and fronts?
An air mass is a body of air with a relatively constant temperature and moisture content over a significant altitude. Air masses typically cover hundreds, thousands, or millions of square kilometers. A front is the boundary at which two air masses of different temperature and moisture content meet.
What is the difference between wind and air masses?
An air mass can be described by properties such as its density, temperature, pressure, and movement. Winds are currents of air that move across the earth’s surface and develop when two adjacent air masses have different densities.
What characteristics give warm fronts and cold fronts their names quizlet?
What characteristics give warm fronts and cold fronts their names? Different temperatures give fronts their names. Density can also determine whether or not you are dealing with a warm or cold front. How does Coriolis effect create an occluded front?
What is the weather associated with a cold front?
As soon as the cold front passes, the weather temperature starts becoming cooler and can drop by 4 degree Celsius or even more. It can also bring rain, thunderstorms or gusty winds. The cold fronts move twice as faster as compared to the warm fronts.
How does the weather caused by a warm front compare to the weather caused by a cold front quizlet?
Warm fronts cause thunderstorms in the summer, while cold fronts cause rain when the air is humid. Warm fronts cause several days of cloudy weather, while cold fronts cause heavy snow in the winter.
What do cold fronts seem to have in common?
Cold fronts seem to have cloud cover, cooler temperatures, and precipitation in common. Analyze: Cold air is denser than warm air. When cold air hits warm air it pushes the warm air up.
What happens when cold front and warm front meet?
When two different air masses come into contact, they don’t mix. They push against each other along a line called a front. When a warm air mass meets a cold air mass, the warm air rises since it is lighter. At high altitude it cools, and the water vapor it contains condenses.
How do warm and cold fronts affect weather?
With a warm front, boundary between warm and cold air is more gradual than that of a cold front, which allows warm air to slowly rise and clouds to spread out into gloomy, overcast stratus clouds. Precipitation ahead of a warm front typically forms into a large shield of steady rain or snow.
How do air masses move relative to each other at a warm front?
At a warm front, a warm air mass slides over a cold air mass (Figure below). When warm, less dense air moves over the colder, denser air, the atmosphere is relatively stable. Warm air moves forward to take over the position of colder air.
How do weather maps predict weather?
Why are fronts associated with low pressure?
Low pressure systems have warm, cold, stationary, and occluded fronts associated with them. They are found at the surface and indicate wind speed, temperature, and dew point changes. Warm fronts represent a warm airmass moving toward a colder one. They are found generally on the east side of low pressure systems.
What do weather maps display weather stations?
Surface weather maps show air temperature recorded at official stations. Depending on a map’s purpose, it may display the current temperature, the high or low temperature in the past day or the predicted temperatures.
What do all air masses have in common?
Air masses have fairly uniform temperature and moisture content in horizontal direction (but not uniform in vertical). Air masses are characterized by their temperature and humidity properties.