Fronts & Storms

1. Fronts & Storms by Mrs. Wisher WRITE EVERYTHING IN GREEN

2. Air Masses • air mass – a huge body of air that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure throughout • maritime air masses forms over oceans • continental air masses form over land • polar air masses form in cold regions and tropical air masses form in warm areas

3. Fronts occur when 2 air masses meet but do not mix When fronts combine they often cause storms or changes in weather Fronts

4. Cold Fronts cold fronts – when a fast moving cold air mass runs into a slow moving war air mass, the cold dense air slides underneath cold fronts cause cloudy skies with possible heavy rain or thunderstorms & colder temperatures

5. Warm Fronts warm air cold air a moving warm air mass collides with a slow moving cold air mass weather can be humid or dry but will be warmer

6. Stationary Fronts When a cold and warm air mass meet but do not have the force to move each other Weather can be cloudy or rainy for an extended period of time.

7. Occluded Front Occurs when a warm air mass is trapped between 2 cold air masses This pushes the warm air mass upwards and the temperature cools

8. Storms storm – a violent disturbance in the atmosphere usually cause changes in air pressure

9. Thunderstorms Thunderstorms form within large cumulonimbus cloud lightning – a sudden energy discharge from a cloud to another cloud or the ground thunder – the sound produced by the rapid heating of the air after a lightning strike

10. Tornados tornado images Tornados are funnel shaped clouds with rotating speeds of up to 480 km per hour They form in the same cumulonimbus clouds as thunderstorms Most tornados form in the Great Plains which is known as Tornado Alley.

11. Hurricanes A tropical storm with winds higher than 119 km per hour Hurricanes begin over warm water as a tropical disturbance

12. Blizzard A snowstorm with high speed sustained winds. Wind speeds over 35 miles per hour and lasts at least 3 hours.

13. What is this?