Air masses

An air mass is a large body

of air with consistent
temperature and moisture
characteristics
throughout.
Two air masses that
affect the United States
are the continental polar
air mass and the maritime
tropical air mass.

How do air masses move?
. Changing
conditions and
global winds cause
these air masses
to move.

Prevailing
westerlies push air
masses from west
to east.
Fronts
When air masses
meet, a front is
formed; the collision
often causes storms
and weather
changes.
A front may be 15 to
200 kilometers wide
and extend as much
as 10 kilometers up
to the troposphere.


There are four types of fronts.
Cold Fronts.
Warm Fronts.
Stationary
Fronts.
Occluded
Fronts.
Cold Fronts
A cold front occurs when cold air moves in
and replaces warm air.
Warm Front
A warm front occurs when warm air moves in
and replaces cold air.
Stationary Fronts
Sometimes cold and
warm air masses
meet but neither one
has enough force to
move.
Where the warm and
cold air meet, water
vapor in the warm air
turns into rain, snow,
fog, or clouds.
Occluded Fronts
A warm air mass is
caught between two
cooler air masses.
As warm air cools
and its water vapor
condenses, the
weather may turn
cloudy, rainy, or
snowy.
Cyclones
As warm air at the
center of a cyclone
rises , the air
pressure decreases.
winds in a cyclone spin
counterclockwise in
the Northern
Hemisphere & clock
wise in southern
hemisphere.
As air rises in a
cyclone the air cools
forming clouds and
precipitation Hurricanes
are very large cyclones.


Anticyclones
Winds spiral outward
from the center of
an anticyclone,
moving towards
areas of low
pressure.
Winds in an
anticyclone spin
clockwise in the
Northern
Hemisphere.

Vocabulary
Air mass- a huge body of air that has
similar temperature, humidity, and
pressure.
Front- the area where the masses meet
and do not mix.
Cyclone- a swirling center of low air
pressure.
Anticyclone- area of high pressure
centers of dry air.


Section 1 Review
1.) Which two main characteristics
are used to classify air masses?

Temperature
Humidity
Section 1 Review
2.) What's a front? Name and describe the four fronts.
Front- the area where the masses meet but do not
mix.
Cold Fronts- when a rapidly moving cold air mass runs
into a slowly moving air mass, the denser cold air
slides under the lighter warm air.
Warm Fronts- a moving warm air mass collides with a
slowly moving cold air mass.
Stationary Fronts- sometimes cold and warm air
masses meet but neither one has enough force to
move.
Occluded Fronts- a warm air mass is caught between
two cooler air masses.


Section 1 Review
3.) What is a cyclone? What kind of
weather does it bring?
Cyclone- a swirling center of low air
pressure.
A cyclone usually brings precipitation
and usually forms clouds.
Difference between tropical and
temperate cyclone
Temperate cyclone
the temperate cyclones
are those which occur in
mid latitudes i.e. 40
0
to
60
0
N & S.

These are formed due
to convergence of the
warm (tropical) and Cold
(Polar) airmasses.


Tropical cyclone
the tropical cyclones are
those which occur in lower
latitudes, normally 10
0
to
30
0
N & S latitudes.

are caused due to the low
pressure centre where
convergence of warm dry and
warm moist airmasses. These
cyclones do not experience
fronts