What causes the earth's winds to curve to the right in the N. Hemisphere?
coriolis effect
What causes the Coriolis Effect?
Earth's rotation
How many wind circulation cells does Earth have?
3
spins counterclockwise in Northern hemisphere. Known as a cyclone
low pressure system
associated with cloud formation and storms. Known as anti-cyclone
low pressure system
air is pulled from upper atmosphere towards the ground
high pressure system
air is "sucked up" from ground to upper atmosphere
low pressure system
associated with clear skies and nice weather
high pressure system
spins clockwise in Northern Hemisphere
high pressure system
0 - 30 N/S of equator, blow from NE to SW
trade winds
60N/S to the poles, NE to SW wind
polar easterlies
high altitude, high speed winds that border wind zones found in upper troposphere
jet streams
cold, dense air replaces warm air
cold front
border of two air masses that have not mixed
front
warm air replaces cold air
warm front
low pressure, fasting moving storms
cold front
slow moving, rain for a few days, long flat clouds
warm front
cold air crashes into warm air, lifting it off of ground
occluded front
two air masses meet and stall out
stationary front
can determine direction and distance of precipitation
radar
can determine direction, speed and distance of precipitation
Doppler radar
tool used to measure temperature
thermometer
tool used to measure air pressure
barometer
tool used to measure relative humidity
hygrometer
Used to gather upper atmosphere weather data (weather balloon)
radiosonde
Radio detection and ranging
radar
satellites and water vapor imagery help track
clouds and precip.
used to map cloud cover and surface temperature
infrared imagery
a shorhand record of weather conditions at a particular place
station model
On a station model, the flag shows
wind direction and speed
on a station model, a barometic pressure reading of 012 means
1001.2
isotherm connect areas of equal
temperature
isobars connect areas of equal
pressure
If isobars are close together, this means big pressure differences causing winds
TRUE
which forecast is more reliable
short term
forecast that uses numerical data
digital
forecast that compares current weather to historical data
analog
The study of atmospheric phenomena
meteorology
The current state of the atmosphere
weather
Climate data is collected over
30 years
Which area of the earth receives the most direct sunlight
equator
air masses take on a region's
temp, pressure,and humidity
MP
maritime polar
MT
maritime tropical, wet and warm
CP
Continental Polar - dry, cold air
CT
Continental Tropical - dry, warm air
What happens to air masses that move to a region different than the source region
they take on the region's characteristics
Which of the following areas experiences veritcal air movement
intertropical convergence zone
Prevailing westerlies affect the weather in which area?
North America
source region
area over which an air mass forms. Air mass will take on these characteristics initially
prevailing westerlies
winds that blow west to east between 30 and 60 degrees in the northern and southern hemispheres
weather satellites
can detect clouds and energy but not precipitation