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CHAPTER 2
SECTION

Class

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2 Air Masses and Fronts

National Science Education Standards
ES 1j

Understanding Weather

BEFORE YOU READ

After you read this section, you should be able to answer these questions:

How is an air mass different from a front? How do fronts affect weather?

What Are Air Masses?

Have you ever been caught outside when it suddenly started to rain? What causes such an abrupt change in the weather? Changes in weather are caused by the movement of bodies of air called air masses. An air mass is a very large volume of air that has a certain temperature and moisture content. There are many types of air masses. Scientists classify air masses by the water content and temperature of the air. These features depend on where the air mass forms. The area over which an air mass forms is called a source region. One source region is the Gulf of Mexico. Air masses that form over this source region are wet and warm. Each type of air mass forms over a certain source region. On maps, meteorologists use two-letter symbols to represent different air masses. The first letter indicates the water content of the air mass. The second letter indicates its temperature. The figure below shows the main air masses that affect North America.

STUDY TIP
Summarize As you read, make a chart comparing the four kinds of fronts. In your chart, describe how each kind of front forms and what kind of weather it can cause.

READING CHECK 1. Identify How do scientists classify air masses?

2. Apply Concepts Describe the temperature and moisture content of a cT air mass.

TAKE A LOOK

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Understanding Weather

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Air Masses and Fronts continued

COLD AIR MASSES

READING CHECK 3. Identify What is the source region for cP air masses?

Most of the cold winter weather in the United States comes from three polar air masses. Continental polar (cP) air masses form over northern Canada. They bring extremely cold winter weather. In the summer, cP air masses can bring cool, dry weather. Maritime polar (mP) air masses form over the North Pacific Ocean. They are cool and very wet. They bring rain and snow to the Pacific Coast in winter. They bring fog in the summer. Maritime polar air masses also form over the North Atlantic Ocean. They bring cool, cloudy weather and precipitation to New England.
WARM AIR MASSES

4. Infer Why dont warm air masses form over the North Atlantic or Pacic oceans?

Critical Thinking

Four warm air masses influence the weather in the United States. Maritime tropical (mT) air masses form over warm areas in the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean. They move across the East Coast and into the Midwest. In summer they bring heat, humidity, hurricanes, and thunderstorms to these areas. Continental tropical air masses (cT) form over deserts and move northward. They bring clear, dry, hot weather in the summer.
Air mass cP from northern Canada mP from the North Pacic Ocean mT from the Gulf of Mexico How it affects weather

TAKE A LOOK

5. Identify Fill in the blank spaces in the table.

cT from the deserts

What Are Fronts?

The place where two or more air masses meet is called a front. When air masses meet, the less dense air mass rises over the denser air mass. Warm air is less dense than cold air. Therefore, a warm air mass will generally rise above a cold air mass. There are four main kinds of fronts: cold fronts, warm fronts, occluded fronts, and stationary fronts.
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Understanding Weather

READING CHECK 6. Dene What is a front?

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Air Masses and Fronts continued

COLD FRONTS

A cold front forms when a cold air mass moves under a warm air mass. The cold air pushes the warm air mass up. The cold air mass replaces the warm air mass. Cold fronts can move quickly and bring heavy precipitation. When a cold front has passed, the weather is usually cooler. This is because a cold, dry air mass moves in behind the cold front.

TAKE A LOOK
A cold front forms when a cold air mass pushes a warmer air mass away. The front moves in the direction that the cold air mass is moving.

7. Describe What happens to the warm air mass at a cold front?

WARM FRONTS

A warm front forms when a warm air mass moves in over a cold air mass that is leaving an area. The warm air replaces the cold air as the cold air moves away. Warm fronts can bring light rain. They are followed by clear, warm weather.
Warm front

READING CHECK 8. Dene What is a warm front?

Warm air mass

Cold air mass

Movement of front

A warm front forms when a warm air mass moves in and replaces a cold air mass. The front moves in the direction the warm air mass is moving.

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Understanding Weather

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Air Masses and Fronts continued

OCCLUDED FRONTS

An occluded front forms when a warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses. Occluded fronts bring cool temperatures and large amounts of rain and snow.

Warm air mass

Warm air mass

Occluded front

Occluded front
Cold air mass Cold air mass

TAKE A LOOK

9. Describe What happens to the warm air mass in an occluded front?

An occluded front forms when a warm air mass is trapped between two cold air masses. The cold air masses move together and push the warm air out of the way.

Movement of front

STATIONARY FRONT

A stationary front forms when a cold air mass and a warm air mass move toward each other. Neither air mass has enough energy to push the other out of the way. Therefore, the two air masses remain in the same place. Stationary fronts cause many days of cloudy, wet weather.

TAKE A LOOK

10. Infer What do you think is the reason that stationary fronts bring many days of the same weather?

A stationary front forms when air masses stay in one place.

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Understanding Weather

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Air Masses and Fronts continued

How Does Air Pressure Affect Weather?

Remember that air produces pressure. However, air pressure is not always the same everywhere. Areas with different pressures can cause changes in the weather. These areas may have lower or higher air pressure than their surroundings. A cyclone is an area of the atmosphere that has lower pressure than the surrounding air. The air in the cyclone rises. As the air rises, it cools. Clouds can form and may cause rainy or stormy weather. An anticyclone is an area of the atmosphere that has higher pressure than the surrounding air. Air in anticyclones sinks and gets warmer. Its relative humidity decreases. This warm, sinking air can bring dry, clear weather. Cyclones and anticyclones can affect each other. Air moving out from the center of an anticyclone moves toward areas of low pressure. This movement can form a cyclone. The figure below shows how cyclones and anticyclones can affect each other.

Critical Thinking

11. Compare Give two differences between cyclones and anticyclones.

TAKE A LOOK

12. Identify In which direction does air move: from a cyclone to an anticyclone, or from an anticyclone to a cyclone?

Anticyclone

Cyclone

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Understanding Weather

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Section 2 Review
SECTION VOCABULARY
air mass a large body of air throughout which temperature and moisture content are similar anticyclone the rotation of air around a high pressure center in the direction opposite to Earths rotation.

NSES

NSES ES 1j

cyclone an area in the atmosphere that has lower pressure than the surrounding areas and has winds that spiral toward the center front the boundary between air masses of different densities and usually different temperatures

1. Identify Relationships How are fronts and air masses related?

2. Compare Fill in the table to describe cyclones and anticyclones.

Compared to surrounding air pressure, the pressure in the middle is... ...lower than surrounding pressure. What does the air inside it do? What kind of weather does it cause?

Name cyclone

anticyclone

sinks and warms

3. List What are four kinds of fronts?

4. Identify What are the source regions for the mT air masses that affect weather in

the United States?

5. Describe What kind of air mass causes hot, clear, dry summer weather in the

United States?

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Understanding Weather

Weather and Climate Answer Key continued

Pollutant CFCs Source air conditioners and aerosol sprays vehicle exhaust that reacts with air burning of fossil fuels Negative effects holes in the ozone layer Solutions ban on CFCs

2.

Review 1. Possible answer: Water can condense from

Ozone

lung damage

driving limits, vehicle emission controls less fossil fuel use

Sulfur dioxide

acid rain

3. Answers include: soil, water, plants, animals,

buildings

air that is below its dew point. 2. the sun 3. Air rises and cools. When it cools below its dew point, water vapor condenses to form liquid water droplets or ice crystals. These droplets or ice crystals form a cloud. 4. Sleet forms when liquid water freezes in clouds and falls to the ground as ice. Snow forms when water vapor turns directly into a solid. 5. Name Altitude Shape Precipitation?
Cirro-stratus Altocumulus Nimbostratus Cumulonimbus high middle low low to middle layered puffy layered puffy no no yes yes

4. The thinning ozone layer lets harmful UV

radiation reach Earth. UV can cause skin cancer.

Chapter 2 Understanding Weather

SECTION 1 WATER IN THE AIR
1. Weather is a description of what is going on 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

SECTION 2 AIR MASSES AND FRONTS

1. 2. 3. 4.

7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

in the atmosphere at a certain time and place. condensation Warmer air can hold more water vapor. about 30 g/cm3 10 g/m3 23 g/m3 0.43 0.43 100 43% relative humidity Humidity is the absolute amount of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is a measure of how saturated with water vapor the air is. wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometers about 87% Water vapor condenses into liquid water. The glasses are as cold as the air outside. They absorb heat from the air inside. As a result, the air inside cools below its dew point. Water condenses on the glasses. water vapor in the air by shape and by altitude A nimbostratus cloud is producing precipitation. water that falls to Earth from clouds They get bigger. several ice crystals joined together when it is too heavy to be carried by updrafts

by water content and temperature of the air dry, warm northern Canada Warm air masses form over warm water or land, and the North Atlantic and Pacific are cold.
Air mass cP from northern Canada mP from the North Pacic Ocean mT from the Gulf of Mexico cT from the deserts How it affects weather very cold winter weather and cool, dry summer weather rain and snow in the Pacic in the winter, fog in the summer heat, humidity, hurricanes, thunderstorms in East Coast and Midwest clear, dry, hot weather in the summer

5.

6. a place where two or more air masses meet 7. It rises because the cold air pushes it up. 8. a place where a warm air mass moves over a 9. 10. 11.

12.
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cold air mass The cold air masses push it out of the way. Stationary fronts do not move, so the weather they bring stays in one place. Cyclones have lower pressures than surrounding areas, but anticyclones have higher pressures. Cyclones bring rainy or stormy weather, but anticyclones bring dry, clear weather. anticyclone to cyclone

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Weather and Climate

Weather and Climate Answer Key continued

2. The balloons transmit the data using radio 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Review 1. A front is a place where two air masses meet. 2. First row, from left to right: rises and cools;

cloudy, rainy, and stormy Second row, from left to right: ... higher than surrounding pressure; dry and clear 3. cold, warm, occluded, stationary 4. Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico 5. cT

SECTION 3 SEVERE WEATHER

1. It must contain enough water vapor to form 2.

signals. Possible answer: Wind direction can indicate which way a weather system is moving. a device that measures wind speed Locate weather systems; determine how much precipitation is being produced. NWS, NOAA 27F No, because the air temperature is above the dew point (temperature). The three Hs on the map should be circled.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

clouds. Electricity travels between an area with a positive charge and an area with a negative charge. sound produced by vibrations in expanding air that was superheated by lightning The center of the tornado has low pressure. when it touches the ground 74 mph to 112 mph Ocean water is too cold there. the Coriolis effect the center of the hurricane that contains warm, fairly calm air with low pressure a rise in sea level because of a storm to learn where the storm is and whether it is getting worse

Review 1. An anemometer measures wind speed; wind-

2. 3.

4. 5.

socks and wind vanes measure only wind direction. temperature, pressure, relative humidity tracking storms, imaging weather systems, measuring wind speed/humidity/temperature from different altitudes Station A has higher air temperatures and higher wind speeds. Station A: southwest Station B: north

Chapter 3 Climate
SECTION 1 WHAT IS CLIMATE?
1. temperature and precipitation 2. The suns energy is focused on a small area. 3. The equator receives about the same 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Review 1. Lightning superheats the air to produce 2. 3. 4.

5.

6. 7.

thunder. They can produce strong winds, tornadoes, hail, or flash floods. in the United States Cold, dry air from Canada meets warm, moist air from the Tropics, producing thunderstorms. Solar energy causes water to evaporate. As it rises, cools, and condenses, it releases the energy. Thunderstorms form, which can combine to form hurricanes. when they move over cooler water or land If you are outside, stay away from tall objects that can attract lightning. If you are in the open, crouch down. Stay away from water.

9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

SECTION 4 FORECASTING THE WEATHER

1. information on atmospheric conditions
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amount of sunlight all year round. differences in air pressure west to east Temperature decreases as elevation increases. The air cools as it rises and drops below its dew point. Water absorbs and releases heat more slowly than land, so the water helps to stabilize the temperatures on land. The cool water absorbs heat from the air, causing the temperature of the air to decrease. a warm current latitude tropical zone The climate of an area affects the organisms that live there. along the equator
Weather and Climate

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