Weather Flashcards
water and weather
water can absorb or release substantial quantities of heat without any significant change in temperature
specific heat (heat capacity)
very high, water takes a long time to heat up
latent heat
energy released or absorbed during change of state
calorie
unit of energy
what is humity
amount of water in the atmosphere, a measure of the amount of moisture in air
which can hold more water warm or cold air
cold air
relative humidity
amount of water point relative to the max can be held
dew point
straturation point of atmosphere.
atmospheric pressure
decreases with increasing altitude, local variation related to density,
cold dry air
sinks and compresses
high pressure rotates which way
clock wise
low pressure rotates which way
counter clock wise
warm moist air
rises and expands
lower the pressure =
bad weather
why does the wind blow
air moves from high to low pressure, always moves from high to low pressure, widely spaced circles from the west
atmospheric circulation
southern hemisphere deflected to left, northern hemisphere deflected to right
parts of atmospheric circulation
circulation cells, wind bands, polar easeries, westerlies, trade winds,
weather systems track from
the west/ to east, because of westerlies
why do weather patterns track from west to east?
westerlies