1 / 24

The Temperate Climate

The Temperate Climate. The Temperate Hadley Cell. Westerly Prevailing Winds Warm inputs (often from the Tropical Hadley Cell) Cold inputs form the Polar Hadley Cell Weather develops where the cold and warm inputs collide guided by the Jet Stream. Weather Systems & Air Masses.

nigelt
Download Presentation

The Temperate Climate

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Temperate Climate

  2. The Temperate Hadley Cell • Westerly Prevailing Winds • Warm inputs (often from the Tropical Hadley Cell) • Cold inputs form the Polar Hadley Cell • Weather develops where the cold and warm inputs collide guided by the Jet Stream

  3. Weather Systems & Air Masses • Weather System – recurring circulation pattern & associated weather • Air mass – large bodies of air with uniform temp & moisture • Up to thousands of km across • May extend up to top of troposphere • Measured by: • Temperature • Humidity

  4. Air Masses • Develop over source regions • Take on characteristics of the region • Air masses classified by: • Latitude (Arctic (A), polar (P), tropical (T), equatorial (E)) • Indicate temperature • Surface type (Maritime (m), continental (c)) • Indicate moisture content

  5. Source Regions • Idealized continent & oceans show source regions for air masses • Combined air mass labels (no cE, mA or mAA) • mE, mT, cT, mP, cP, cA, cAA

  6. The Pineapple express Cold dry air from Alaska Warm moist air from Hawaii

  7. Fronts • Surface of contact between 2 distinct air masses • E.g. boundary between polar & tropical air → polar front

  8. Fronts • Cold air is heavier than warm air….the warm air is pushed over the cold air

  9. Fronts • Warm Front – moving front → warm air slides over cold air • Slower than cold front • Warm front stimulates nimbostratus clouds & rain

  10. Cyclones • Converging, inspiraling air rises → condensation • Cyclonic storm: • Intense convection • Strong winds • Heavy precipitation • 3 types of traveling cyclones: • Midlatitude cyclone (or extratropical cyclone) • Tropical cyclone • Tornado

  11. Anticyclones • High pressure • Fair weather system • Descending air warms adiabatically • No condensation

  12. A “Perfect Storm” • Intense cyclonic storm • L marks the center of rotation • Strong wind & precip hit NE US (blue & orange) L

  13. Midlatitude Cyclones • Dominant weather systems in mid & high latitudes • Form, intensify and dissolve along polar front • Air converging along front can create circulation • Cyclone may last a few days, moving west-to-east

  14. Lifecycle of Midlatitude Cyclone

  15. Upper-Air Disturbances • Closely related to midlatitude cyclone development at surface • Upper-air convergence → high surface pressure • Upper-air divergence → low surface pressure

  16. Cyclone Tracks & Families • Certain regions good to develop cyclones • Upper-level winds consistently steer cyclones • So, consistent cyclone tracks are well known • Sets of tracks form cyclone families Midlatitude Cyclone Tracks

  17. Cold Air Outbreaks • Occasionally cold air from polar regions pushes far south • This February image shows cold, clear air as far south as Florida • White pattern E & SE of image is clouds from cold front • White in NW of image is snow cover

More Related