Synoptic Charts Flashcards
Weather?
includes all daily changes in temperature,
precipitation, wind, sunshine, humidity and
atmospheric pressure.
Climate?
is the average weather experienced in a
place over many years, dependent on latitude,
altitude, closeness to oceans, ocean currents and
seasons.
WHat is rainfall?
Rainfall is when the cold air cannot hold as much moisture as the warm air, so the water vapour turns back into liquid water, which may be carried onto the air by the winds, as the air cools further and can no longer hold the condensed droplets they fall as rain.
When does rainfall occur?
When the wet air is forced to rise.
What is orographic rainfall?
When air is forced to rise due to the height of the landmass, producing rain as the air begins to fall from the high land, it warms up creating dry regions.
Convectional Rainfall
Temperatures during the day warm the ground causing warm air to rise and condense at high altitudes causing heavy rain.
Frontal Rainfall
Two air masses meat and the cooler air wedges itself under the warmer air mass, causing condensation and rain along a distinct line.
What is a cold front?
A cold front occurs when a mass of cold air moves into where warm air is present, creating a sloping boundary between them.
What is a warm front
A warm front forms when a relatively moist, warm air mass slides up and over a cold air mass.
What is a synoptic chart?
They provide info on the movement and patterns or air pressure, rainfall, winds and temperature. They predict the weather and report the current weather.
What is air pressure measured by?
hectopascals, (hPa)
What is the coriolis effect?
Where storms swirl clockwise in the southern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the northern hemispher.
What are iso bars?
Lines joining places of equal pressure, the close the iso bars, the stronger the winds.
What is the high pressure system?
Areas of sinking air, where there is fine weather. winds rotate around this anticlockwise.
What is a low pressure system?
Areas of rising air, generally cloudy weather with good chance of rain, storms rotate clockwise around these.
