Chapter 17 Weather Patterns
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Created by:
Missymoser on April 15, 2012
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Classes:
Environmental Earth Science - Brockton High School, CCS Study Support
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36 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 air mass | a huge body of air that has similar temp, pressure, and humidity at any given height; classified by temp and humidity |
| tropical | warm air masses that form in the tropics and have low air pressure |
| polar | cold air masses that form at high latitudes towards poles |
| maritime | air masses that form over oceans |
| continental | air masses that form over land and are dry |
| maritime tropical | form in gulf of mexico or over pacific ocean |
| maritime polar | form over north pacific and atlantic oceans; bring cool humid air |
| continental tropical | form over dry areas of southwest and northern mexico; bring hot dry weather- southern great plains |
| continental polar | form over central and northern canada and alaska, near arctic circle; bring clear, cold, dry air to north america (alberta clipper) |
| front | boundary between 2 air masses |
| cold front | a fast moving cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass; rising warm air cools, clouds forms; may bring heavy storms followed by cooler, drier air and clear skies |
| warm front | a warm air mass overtakes a slow moving cold air mass; warm air moves over cold air; may cause several days of precipitation followed by warm and humid air |
| stationary fronts | cold and warm air masses meet, but neither can move the other; water vapor in the warm air condenses into rain, snow, fog, or clouds; if stalled, may bring days of clouds and precipitation |
| occluded front | a warm air mass is caught between 2 cooler air masses; cool air flows under warm; as warm air cools and its water vapor condenses, the weather may turn cloudy and rain or snow may fall (weather cloudy and wet) |
| cyclone | swirling center of low air pressure; winds spin counterclockwise inwards towards center; bring clouds, wind, precipitation |
| anticyclone | swirling center of high air pressure; winds spin clockwise, outward from center; brings dry clear weather |
| storm | a violent disturbance in the atmosphere; sudden changes in air pressure, causes rapid air movement |
| thunderstorm | a small storm often accompianed by heavy precipitation and frequent thunder and lightning; form in large cumulonimbus clouds called thunderheads |
| lightning | a sudden spark or electrical discharge, as these changes jump between parts of a cloud, between nearby clouds, or between a cloud and the ground |
| thunder | the sound of the explosion from when the air expands because of lightning |
| Thunderstorm safety | ____________: avoid places where lightning can strike and objects that conduct electricity |
| tornado | a rapidly whirling, funnel-shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to reach earth's surface |
| Tornado safety | _______________: a storm shelter on the basement of a well-built building is the best place for protection; stay away from windows and doors, lie under a sturdy object; if outside-lie in ditch |
| hurricane | a tropical cyclone that has winds of 119km per hour or higher; form in atlantic pacific indian oceans |
| how hurricanes form | begins over warm ocean water as a low pressure area, or tropical disturbance; if tropical disturbance grows in size and strength, it becomes a tropical storm hurricane |
| Hurricane safety | _____________: evacuate |
| hurricane watch | hurricane conditions are possible in the next 36 hours |
| hurricane warning | hurricane conditions are expected in the next 24 hours |
| blizzard | severe snowstorms, accompanied by high winds, low temps, low visibility |
| Blizzard safety | _____________: seek shelter, cover exposed parts of body, stay dry, car- keep exaust pipe clear |
| meteorologists | scientists who study the causes of weather and try to predict it- use maps, charts, and computers to analyze data and make forecasts |
| weather balloon | carries an instrument high into the troposphere and lower stratosphere to measure temp, air pressure and humidity |
| satellites | orbit in exosphere; make images of earth's surface, clouds, storms, snow cover |
| weather maps | shows location of fronts and areas of high and low pressure |
| isobars | lines joining points of equal pressure |
| isotherms | lines joining points of equal temperature |
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