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a large body of air covering thousands of square kilometers that has a relatively uniform temperature, pressure, and humidity.
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in meteorology, a region with relatively uniform temp. and humidity over which air masses form.
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Ch. 11 Air Masses
Our Chapter 11 Vocab Words
| Definition | Word |
|---|---|
| a large body of air covering thousands of square kilometers that has a relatively uniform temperature, pressure, and humidity. | air mass |
| in meteorology, a region with relatively uniform temp. and humidity over which air masses form. | source region |
| an air mass that is warmer than the surface it moves over. | warm air mass |
| an air mass that is colder than the surface it moves over | cold air mass |
| a zone of copntact between two disimilar air masses where neither is advancing. it usually results in no change in the weather for several days | stationary front |
| the advancing surface of a warm air mass as it pushes against and over a cooler air mass. | warm front |
| the advancing surface of a cold air mass as it moves under a warm one | cold front |
| a line of violent thunderstorms that sometimes accompanies an adancing cold front | squall line |
| a front formed when a cool air mass and a rapidly moving cold air mass trap a warm air mass in between them. the warm air mass is lifted, losing all contact with the ground | occluded front |
| a regional wind system that reverses periodically, alternately bringing dry and wet seasons | monsoon |
| the horizontal force exerted on a mass of air that has a higher pressure on one side than the other | pressure gradient force |
| a high altitude wind that is controlled by the relative influence of the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis effect | geostrophic wind |
| in general, a weather system centered on a low pressure area surrounded by a wind circulation pattern spiraling counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. | cyclone |
| an area of relatively higher atmospheric pressure. it usually contains a clockwise rotating wind system in the Northern Hemisphere. | anticyclone |
| a highs speed meandering wind current, usually flowing west to east at altitudes of 15 to 25 km. It's speed often exceeds 400 km/hr. | jet stream |
| a breeze that blows onshore from the ocean, usually during the daytime. | sea breeze |
| a breeze that blows from shore to sea, usually at night. | land breeze |
| a breeze that blows up the mountainside from the valley when air high on the mountain heats and rises. Usually occurs late in the day. | valley breeze |
| a breeze that flows down the mountain into the valley at night that is caused by cooling air at higher elevations. | mountain breeze |
| consistent winds extending from the subtropical highs toward the equator, turned by the Coriolis effect into easterlies. they were formally used by sailing ships to go from Europe to North and South America. | trade winds |
| winds blowing consistently from southwest to northeast between 30d and 60d north and south latitudes. | prevailing westerlies |
| winds blowing consistently from northeast to southwest from the northern polar region, bringing cold, dry, air to the Northern parts of north america, asia, and europe. | polar easterlies |
| a permanent low-pressure belt of usually windless air near the equator caused by the vertical rising of air. | doldrums |
| bands of nearly permanent high pressure at appr. 30d north or south latitude caused by descending cold air. they were named because sailing ships that drifted for weeks in these areas were forced to eliminate their cargos and cattle when water ran short. | horse latitudes |
| the prevailing low-pressure belt at approx. 60d north or south latitude. in the northern hemisphere the prevailing westerlies rise above the polar easterlies, lifting air in this zone. | subpolar low |
| an area of high atmospheric pressure at either pole caused by subsiding cool air. | polar high |
| a rainstorm that includes lightning and thunder. | thunderstorm |
| a towering cumulonimbus cloud that builds rapidly to high altitudes and usually brings heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and sometimes hail. | thunderhead |
| an electrical discharge that occurs either between clouds or between a cloud and the ground. | lightning |
| prior to a lightning stroke, a zigzag column of highly ionized air that establishes the channel for subsequent lightning discharges and return strokes. | stepped leader |
| a lightning discharge from the ground up to a cloud along the ionized path taken by the original strike from the cloud to the ground. | return stroke |
| lightning consisting of branches connected to the main stroke. | forked lightning |
| a violent, narrow, rotating, funnel-shaped, local windstorm containing the hight wind speeds measured, extending down from a cumulonimbus cloud. | tornado |
| waterspout | |
| in the atlantic and eastern pacific oceans, a strong, large area cyclonic storm with winds speed exceeding 117 km/hr. also called a typhoon or cyclone in other parts of the world. | hurricane |
| what hurricanes are called in the western pacific and indian ocean regions. | typhoon |
| (refer to hurricane) | cyclone (hurricane) |
| the circular center of low-pressure in a hurricane that is characterized by few clouds, relative calm, and vertical air movement. | eye |
| the larger than normal surface waves that proceed outward from a slow-moving hurricane. | storm swell |
| a large increase in sea level along the shore and in front of and below a hurricane as high winds pile water up against the land, often causing catastrophic flooding and erosion. the difference between the the measured sea level & the tide caused the... | storm surge |
| a metal rod attached to the highest point of a building that prevents damage to the building from a lightning strike by conducting the electrical charge through cables to the ground. | lightning rod |
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keg313
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