Volcanoes and Igneous Activity Earth - Chapter 4

1
Weather Patterns and Severe Storms
Weather - Part 3
2
Air Masses
? Air Masses
An air mass is an immense body of air that is
characterized by similar temperatures and amounts
of moisture at any given altitude.
? Movement of Air Masses
As it moves, the characteristics of an air
mass change and so does the weather in the area
over which the air mass moves.
3
Frigid Canadian Air Mass Moves Southward
4
Air Masses

• Air masses are classified according to the
  surface over which they form.
• Maritime (m) forms over water and is humid
• Continental (c) forms of land and is dry
• They are also classified according to the
  temperature of the region in which they form.
• Tropical (T) forms over the Tropics and is warm
• Polar (P) forms over the Polar regions and is
  cold

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Air Masses Are Classified by Region
6
Fronts
? When two air masses meet, they form a front,
which is a boundary that separates two air masses.
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Fronts
? Warm Fronts
A warm front forms when warm air moves into an
area formerly covered by cooler air.
? Cold Fronts
A cold front forms when cold, dense air moves
into a region occupied by warmer air.
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Formation of a Warm Front
Warm air moves into territory that had been
occupied by a cold air mass. Warm fronts
typically have a large, steady area of
precipitation.
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Formation of a Cold Front
Colder, denser air mass advances into and
displaces a warm air mass. Cold front usually
result in heavy precipitation and sometimes
storms.
10
Fronts
? Stationary Fronts
Occasionally, the flow of air on either side
of a front is neither toward the cold air mass
nor toward the warm air mass, but almost parallel
to the line of the front. In such cases, the
surface position of the front does not move, and
a stationary front forms.
? Occluded Fronts
When an active cold front overtakes a warm
front, an occluded front forms.
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Formation of an Occluded Front
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Cyclones

• A system of low pressure is called a cyclone or a
  low-pressure system.
• Air flows into the low pressure, center and is
  forced upward. The rising air produces clouds
  and precipitation.
• Cyclones are associated with
• rough weather.

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Anticyclones

• A system of high pressure is called an
  anticyclone or a high-pressure system.
• Air moves downward and outward from the
  anticyclone.
• Anticyclones are associated with
• fair skies and no precipitation.

http//dli.taftcollege.edu/streams/geography/Anima
tions/CycAntiCyc.html
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Cyclone and Anticyclone
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Movements of Air High in the Atmosphere
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Severe Storms
? A thunderstorm is a storm that generates
lightning and thunder. Thunderstorms frequently
produce gusty winds, heavy rain, and hail.
? Occurrence of Thunderstorms
At any given time, there are an estimated 2000
thunderstorms in progress on Earth. The greatest
number occur in the tropics where warmth,
plentiful moisture, and instability are common
atmospheric conditions.
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Severe Storms
? Development of Thunderstorms

• Thunderstorms form when warm, humid air rises in
  an unstable environment.
• Warm air rises into the troposphere where it
  cools and condenses to form a cloud.
• The cloud continues to rise into areas where the
  temperature is below freezing. Ice particles
  form in the cloud.
• Ice particles collide and one particle can rip
  off another electric charge.
• Charge build up eventually results in lightening
  which creates the sound waves that we hear as
  thunder.

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Severe Storms
? Tornadoes are violent windstorms that take the
form of a rotation column of air called a vortex.
? Most tornadoes form in association with severe
thunderstorms.
.
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Formation of a Tornado
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Severe Storms
? Whirling tropical cyclones that produce winds
of at least 119 kilometers per hour are known in
the United States as hurricanes.
? Occurrence of Hurricanes
Most hurricanes form between about 5 and 20
degrees north and south latitude. The North
Pacific has the greatest number of storms,
averaging 20 per year.
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Satellite View of Hurricane Katrina
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Severe Storms
? Development of Hurricanes

• Hurricanes develop most often in the late summer
  when water temperatures are warm enough to
  provide the necessary heat and moisture to the
  air.
• The eye is a zone of scattered clouds and calm
  averaging about 20 kilometers in diameter at the
  center of a hurricane.
• The eye wall is a doughnut-shaped area of intense
  cloud development and very strong winds that
  surrounds the eye of a hurricane.

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Cross Section of a Hurricane