Weather Patterns

Question 1

What are the six air masses that affect the UK?

Answer 1

• Arctic Maritime: Coming from Arctic.
• Polar Maritime: Coming from Greenland & Arctic Sea
• Returning Polar Maritime: Coming from Greenland, Arctic via North Atlantic
• Polar Continental: From Central Europe.
• Tropical Maritime: From South Atlantic.
• Tropical Continental: From North Africa.

Question 2

What are air masses formed over land and water called? And what is the differences between them?

Answer 2

Over Land: Continental. Less Humid.
Over Water: Maritime. More Humid.

Question 3

How might clouds change when a depression approaches

Answer 3

High clouds appear and it will thicken as the depression gets closer.

Question 4

What are Sea/Onshore and Land/Offshore breezes?

Answer 4

Sea/Onshore Breeze: A breeze that blows from the sea towards the land, cause by a low pressure area forming over the warmer land.

Land/Offshore Breeze: A breeze that blows from the land towards the sea, cause by a high pressure area forming over the cooler land.

Question 5

How do monsoons work during the summer period?

Answer 5

From May to September/October, Land becomes hot creating a low pressure gradient making the air move towards it from the high pressure gradient above the sea.

Question 6

How do monsoons work during the winter period?

Answer 6

During the winter period from around October/November to March, the land becomes cold creating a high pressure gradient forcing the air to move towards the lower pressure gradient over the sea.

Question 7

What are the general directions of monsoons for northern and southern hemisphere areas?

Answer 7

Northern:
- Summer: SW’ly
- Winter: NE’ly

Southern:
- Summer: SE’ly
- Winter: NW’ly

Question 8

What is the Coriolis Effect? How does it differ from the northern and southern hemisphere? Effects at the equator vs at the poles?

Answer 8

Objects moving a long distance along the surface of the earth appear to be deflected.

• Northern: appear to deflect to the right
• Southern: appear to deflect to the left
• Equator: Negligible
• Poles: Effect is Maximum

Question 9

What is Buy Ballot’s Law?

Answer 9

Face the wind: the center of low pressure will be 90-135 degrees on your:
- Right hand in Northern Hemisphere
- Left hand in Southern Hemisphere