inversions

Inversions

A temperature increase with altitude- warm air is found aloft

Ground inversions

Formed either at night as the surface layer cools, or at other times by warmer air moving over cooler surfaces.

Subsidence inversions

Common in high pressure areas, where the descending dry air warms faster than the static environment air

Frontal inversions

Form when warm less dense air flows up and over cooler, denser air

Valley inversions

Are formed at night when cooler denser air sinks and pools in the valley, displacing warm air aloft.

Friction layer inversion

Created by turbulent mixing in modifying the surface layer lapse rate