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Weather Patterns. What Causes Wind?. Air is a fluid – it moves easily Movement of air caused by changing air pressure Wind is movement of air from h igh pressure to low pressure. Air Movement. Global Winds. Types of Air Masses.
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What Causes Wind? • Air is a fluid – it moves easily • Movement of air caused by changing air pressure • Wind is movement of air from high pressure to low pressure
Types of Air Masses • An air mass forms when a large amount of air stays in the same place over an area • Continental air masses form over land and are dry • Maritime air masses form over water and are moist • Polar air masses are cold • Tropical air masses are warm
Types of Air Masses There 4 air masses affecting North America cT- continental tropical cP – continental polar mT – maritime tropical mP – maritime polar
Fronts • Air masses move and bump into each other • Fronts appear at the edges of two air masses where they are colliding with each other
Fronts There are 4 types of fronts: Cold fronts Stationary fronts Warm fronts Occluded fronts
Cold front • Occurs when a cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass • Cold air forces warm air to rise quickly • Resulting in strong winds, thunderstorms, and large amounts of precipitation
Cold fronts usually bring cooler weather, clearing skies, and a sharp change in wind direction.
http://www.suu.edu/faculty/colberg/hazards/weather/05_cnWfronts.htmlhttp://www.suu.edu/faculty/colberg/hazards/weather/05_cnWfronts.html
Warm Fronts • Occurs when a warm air mass overtakes a cold air mass • Warm air slowly rises over the cold air • Starts with steady rain (8-12 hours) but eventually clears when temperatures rise • Warm fronts tend to move slowly are far less violent then cold fronts
After warm front passes, weather becomes warm and humid, but generally clear
Stationary Front • When neither air mass can move the other • Similar to warm fronts and can remain in same place days • Light wind and precipitation occur across entire region affected
Occluded front • When a warm air mass gets trapped between two cold air masses • Strong winds and heavy precipitation occur