Weather Maps

Weather

the day-to-day state of atmosphere

What are the three most important factors that effects the Weather?

Air Temperature, Air pressure, and the amount of moisture in the air (humidity)

_______________ is unequally absorbed by Earth’s waters and landmasses due to the varying surfaces on Earth.

Radiant Energy

____________ causes global wind patterns by the warmer air rising and the cooler air sinking.

Convection Currents

The result in the formation of wind is by _______________________________________.

The different in air temperatures will cause differences in air pressure.

What is Air Pressure?

The forced everted by the atmosphere on Earth’s surface by the weight of the air above the surface.

Air is…

Matter and is made of atoms, has mass, and has volume.

How is air made of matter?

Matter is pulled into the Earth’s surface by gravity.

More matter means…

Higher air pressure

Less matter…

Lower air pressure

How can you notice air pressure?

People notice air pressure when they experiment it such as: flying and mountain climbing

A ____________ area has __________ because atmosphere above is denser.

High air pressure; more air pressure

A ____________ area has ___________ because the atmosphere above is less dense

Low air pressure; lower air pressure

Air Masses can:

Be large enough to cover a continent; take a combination of characteristics: cool/warm, dry or moist.

Air masses’ ___________ and _________ content are nearby the same throughout the entire air mass.

Temperature; moisture

Air masses’ ___________ and _________ content are nearby the same throughout the entire air mass.

Temperature; moisture

Air masses tend to form in high air pressure areas because…

There’s stable conditions that allows air masses to remain in one location—long enough to take on the characteristics on surface below.

Polar Air masses forms:

Over poles in cold air

Tropical Air Masses forms:

Near the Equator and in warm air

Maritime Air Masses forms:

Over water and in more humid areas.

Continental Air Masses forms:

Over land in dry air.

Over time, air masses move over new surfaces to…

Blend with each other.

When original characteristics change, how are they named?

Named after them

What is a Front?

A boundary between air masses/zones of transition

Fronts extends from low pressure systems because…

air flows into low pressure areas.

What is a Warm Front?

Warm air mass pouches a cooler air mass.

Warm fronts:

Moves slowly

Warm fronts produces:

Light scattered clouds and showers where conditions may remain cloudy with scattered precipitation for several days.

What is the warm front symbol?

A line with half circles where the circles point toward direction of movement

What is a Cold Front?

Cold air mass pushes warmer air mass.

Cold Fronts:

Usually fast moving

Cold Fronts produces:

Heavy cloud cover and short, but intense precipitation

What’s the cold front symbol:

A line with triangles that points toward the direction of movement.

What’s a stationary front?

Warm air mass and cool air mass push against each other

Stationary fronts:

Does not move one way to another; they stall

How stationary fronts work:

As boundary line moisture in warm air mass condenses causing precipitation and cloud cover.

How Cold fronts work:

pushes warmer, less dense air up quickly to higher altitudes where it cools and moisture condenses.

How Warm Fronts work:

warm air slides up and over time dense, cool air cools and moisture condenses.

Stationary Fronts conditions:

Can remain in place for several days

What’s Stationary Map symbol?

A line with alternating half circles and triangles on opposite side of line

What’s an Occluded Front?

Warm air mass gets trapped between two cooler air masses.

Occluded Fronts:

Most complex

How Occluded Fronts work:

Warm, moist air becomes trapped between two cooler air masses. Since warm air is less dense, it rises, and two cooler air masses move underneath. Moisture in warm air cools and condenses in high altitudes.

Global Wind Patterns are caused by:

Earth is round and is heated unevenly and causes global wind belts.

3 sets of convective wind movements that are _______________ strongly influence the climate and daily weather in regions they blow.

semi-permanent

The Coriollis Effect forces convection cells of sinking air to __________________________.

deflect in both hemispheres causing two bonds of global wind movement.

What are jet streams?

Relatively band of fast moving air in the atmospheres

Jet streams controls:

the direction of air mass

The direction of the winds in the Northern Hemisphere in order are:

Easterlies, Westerlies, and Tradewinds

The direction of the winds in the Southern Hemisphere in order are:

Tradewinds, Westerlies, and Easterlies

A wind vane is an instrument that measures:

Wind direction

An anemometer is an instrument that measures:

Wind Speed

Easterlies and Tradewinds blows:

East to West

Westerlies blows:

West to East