Chapter 3 Flashcards
What air masses are commonly moved by in the US
Prevailing westerlies and jet streams
Four major types of air masses
Maritime tropical continental polar maritime polar continental tropical
What colliding air masses can form
Fronts
Four types of fronts
Cold fronts warm fronts occluded fronts stationary fronts
Warm front
A fast moving warm front overtakes a slow moving cold front, causes snow if air is warm or clouds If the air is dry (weather is warm after it passes by)
Cold front
A rapidly moving cold front runs into a slowly moving warm front, the cold air slides under the warmer air and pushes the warm air along the leaning edge of the cold air ( can cause snow, cloudy skies, and thunderstorms) air becomes cold after it passes through
Stationary fronts
Warm and cold air masses meet but neither can move the other, water vapor in the warm air condensed and forms water Vapor ( can bring days of rain, snow, fog, and clouds)
Occluded fronts
A warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses, the cooler air masses move underneath the warm air and pushes it upward, the cooler air masses may mix and the temp At the ground is cooler ( clouds, rain, or snow may fall
Maritime tropical(mT)
Over the ocean, moist, warm
Continental tropical(cT)
Over land, dry, warm
Maritime polar(mP)
Over ocean, moist, cold
Continental polar(cP)
Over land, dry, cold
Prevailing westerlies
Major wind belts over US that push air masses west/east
Jet streams
Within prevailing westerlies and are bands of high speed winds that blow from west-east (about 10km above earths surface)
Thunderstorms
Form in cumulonimbus clouds
What to avoid in storms
Objects that can conduct electricity, such as metal objects, and bodies of water
Tornadoes
Formed in thick cumulonimbus clouds
Where to go in tornadoes
Storm shelter or basement of a well built building
Hurricane
Begins over warm ocean water as a low pressure area or tropical disturbance
What to do about a hurricane
Evacuate and leave the area immediately
What most precipitation begins as
Snow
What meteorologists use to predict weather
Maps charts computers
What has been improved to predict weather
Technological improvements in gathering weather data and using computers
What shows fronts areas of high and low pressure types of precipitation and temperatures
Standard symbols on weather maps
Isobars
Lines joining places in the map that have the same pressure
Isotherm
Lines joining places that have the same temperature
