Air stops rising when it

meets air of equal

Pressure, Wind and Weather Systems
density, then diverges at
high level to produce � WINDS are horizontal flows of air;
more wind which winds blow from areas of high
eventually sinks
elsewhere to complete
pressure to areas of low pressure
the circulation cell (nature tries to equalise pressure)
� PRESSURE describes the
tendency of the air to rise or to sink
at any given place or time.
� Air tends to rise or sink as a result
Insolation of its density.
Air heated by
contact with ground
� Air density varies with altitude
expands; becomes but, at the ground level, air density
less dense and rises is governed by its temperature.
Denser air
drawn in at
� Thus, variations in radiation and
low level to temperature control pressure and
replace rising, LOW wind.
less dense air PRESSURE
Denser air drawn in at low
level to replace rising, less
Sun heats up ground
dense air
 GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND

North Pole 90°N

ZONE of least heating produces
Arctic circle 66.5°N
HIGH HIGH PRESSURE

Tropic of Cancer
23.5°N ZONE of greatest
Equator 0° LOW heating produces
Tropic of Capricorn LOW PRESSURE
23.5°N

Antarctic circle 66.5°S

HIGH ZONE of least heating produces
HIGH PRESSURE
North Pole 90°N
 GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND
Global circulation depends on differential heating over the globe. The system is driven by strong
equatorial heating, causing LOW PRESSURE. Equatorial air rises, diverges and descends over the
tropics, where HIGH PRESSURE dominates; where it diverges at ground level. This tropical air blows
towards the equator, completing the equatorial cell, or towards the mid-latitides where it meets cold,
dense polar air blown out from the polar HIGH PRESSURE. These contrasting tropical and polar air
masses meet at the POLAR FRONT LOW PRESSURE BELT, where the warmer air is forced upwards
by the polar air. At high level, this air again diverges towards the pole or to the tropic.
Rising air diverges at the
tropopause, where a
permanent temperature
inversion results in
warmer air above.

POLAR HIGH

POLAR FRONT (LOW PRESSURE)

TROPICAL HIGH

EQUATORIAL (Inter-tropical convergence zone - ITCZ) LOW

� Wind strength depends on WIND DIRECTION & STRENGTH
the difference in pressure
between the high and low Farmers plant trees to protect orchards,
pressure systems, and the houses, stock or prevent soil erosion
distance between them.
� This is called the PRESSURE

GRADIENT; it is a similar
concept to the physical slope
between two places, shown on
a contour map. Pressure is Locally, wind is channelled
shown by ISOBARS on a down streets (wind canyons).
weather map.
Strong winds also occur
� Pressure difference
in low latitudes due to
essentially depends on the
stronger heating and
temperature difference
steeper presure gradients.
between the two places.
Hurricanes and
A steep pressure gradient results tornadoes are both
from a large pressure difference tropical phenomena. Strong polar winds due to low
or short distance between places friction
and causes strong wind.

Beach windbreaks reduce windsped

Hurricane in Florida Tornado in USA by increasing friction
 CORIOLIS FORCE
High � Pressure gradient wind blows from
Theoretical wind
which would result high presure towards low pressure.
solely from pressure � The earth’s rotation diverts this
gradient
wind direction laterally. This force is
called the CORIOLIS FORCE.
� The Coriolis force diverts wind the

the right in the northern

hemisphere; to the left in the south.
Actual wind
� The effect is stronger at high
which blows, as
diverted by Low altitude where ground level friction
Coriolis Force is less significant.

LOW

In the north,
winds blow anti-
In the north, winds
clockwise into a
blow clockwise out
HIGH low pressure
from a high pressure.
system. In the
(In the south, they blow
south, they blow
anti-clockwise).
 GLOBAL PRESSURE & WIND

POLAR HIGH PRESSURE

POLAR FRONT
MID-LATITUDE
LOW PRESSURE
TROPICAL HIGH
PRESSURE
INTER-TROPICAL
CONVERGENCE ZONE
-LOW PRESSURE
TROPICAL HIGH
PRESSURE
POLAR FRONT
MID-LATITUDE
LOW PRESSURE
POLAR HIGH PRESSURE

GLOBAL WIND BELTS (trade winds) are controlled by the major

pressure belts, which relate fundamentally to temperature. Regional
wind systems (eg the Indian Monsoon) relate to continental heating
effects, and seasonal changes. Local winds relate to smaller scale
temperature contrasts (ie Aspect, Albedo, Altitude etc).
 HIGH PRESSURE
High Pressure means that air tends to sink. Sinking air is
LITTLE
compressed, warms up as a result and its relative humidity WIND
falls below saturation. Any clouds evaporate. Rainfall is
unlikely, apart from occasional short, intense convectional CLEAR SKIES
storms due to insolation with lack of clouds in daytime.
� In Britain, high pressure systems have clear skies, little or
no wind, little rainfall and tend to be stable and slow moving.
� Visibility is intially good, but rapidly deteriorates as dust is

trapped by sinking air and is not washed out by rainfall.

� Cloud cover is slight, resulting in a high diurnal ranges of
temperature (hot days, cold nights). Due to the trapped dust
particles and cold nights, dew, frost, fog or smog are
common.
� Air quality is low as all forms of pollution are retained in

VISIBILITY IS the lower atmosphere.

FEW CLOUDS
POOR

VISIBLITY REMAINS BETTER IN FOG & SMOG IS

CLEAR SKIES CAUSE FROST MOUNTAINS - LESS POLLUTION COMMON
 LOW-LATITUDE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS
Low pressure systems involve air that
tends to rise, thus causing clouds and
precipitation. Those near the equator
tend to be high energy due to strong
ground heating (convectional). Low
pressure systems may develop tornadoes
and sometimes develop into hurricanes,
fuelled by warm, very humid air
evaporated from tropical oceans in
summer. They tend to be fast moving, A convectional cumulo-nimbus
with plenty of cloud cover that reduces cloud results from strong ground
diurnal temperature range, strong winds heating at the equator
and high rainfall.

Hurricane off USA

fuelled by hot
humid air over
the Caribbean

A tornado may
develop from a
cumulo-nimbus cloud
 MID-LATITUDE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS
Mid-latitude low pressure ARCTIC
systems are called MARITIME POLAR CONTINENTAL
depressions in Britain. They from Arctic Ocean from E.Europe
also involve rising air, clouds,
POLAR Cold, humid. Cold, dry in winter
strong winds and rainfall
MARITIME Warm, dry in summer.
and are fast moving.
from
Greenland
Cool, humid.
� Depressions result from
the convergence of warm air
from the tropical high
POLAR POLAR
pressure belt with cold air
MARITIME FRONT
from the poles along the
Polar Front. RETURN this shifts
Coolish, very polewards in
� The energy of the
humid. summer and
depresion is a result of the
equatorward
difference in temperature
s in winter,
and humidity between the
hence British
two air masses.
TROPICAL TROPICAL seasonal
� This contrast varies with
MARITIME CONTINENTAL contrasts.
the exact origin of the air
mass, the season and the from Atlantic near From N.Africa
nature of the surface over tropic Hot, dry
which they have passed. Warm, humid
 MID-LATITUDE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS
Mid-latitude low pressure Depressions (L) OCCLUDED FRONT
systems are called depressions in over Europe Cold & warm fronts meet
Britain. They also involve rising showing FRONTS
air, clouds, strong winds and
rainfall and are fast moving.
COLD
Depressions over FRONT
NW Europe
POLAR MARITIME WARM
AIR FRONT

WARM COLD
FRONT FRONT

TROPICAL
COLD
FRONT MARTIME AIR

� Depressions result from the convergence of warm air from the

tropical high pressure belt with cold air from the poles along the
Polar Front. The systems move rapidly across the Atlantic before
filling and drifting north-eastwards to Scandinavia from Britain.
� The energy of the depresion is a result of the difference in
temperature and humidity between the two air masses.
� This contrast varies with the exact origin of the air mass, the
season and the nature of the surface over which they have passed.
A FRONT is the boundary betwen two air masses. A depression
has two, a warm (the front of the warm air) and a cold. WARM FRONTS
1 The warm front is
angled gently due to
TROPICAL MARITIME AIR ground level friction
which slows the air at
low level as the whole
system moves
POLAR MARITIME AIR
eastwards.

As the warm tropical maritime air moves eastwards towards Britain, it is forced upwards by colder,
denser polar maritime air. The speed of uplift depends on the relative temperature of the two air
masses. Uplift causes expansion, cooling, falling relative humidity until dew point temperature is
reached when condensation starts to occur on particles. The amount of precipitation depends on the
hunidity and temperature of the warm air mass, and the particles available.

2
MAINLY STRATUS
CLOUDS
 POLAR
MARITIME
COLD FRONTS As the depression moves
eastwards, the warm
tropical air continues to be
forced upwards by the
TROPICAL MARITIME colder, denser polar air
mass.

� The cold front is steeper, also due to ground level

friction slowing the lower air, so uplift is more rapid than
along the warm front.
� This causes cumulo-nimbus clouds and possible

thunderstorms rather than thick stratus cloud.

� Eventually, the two fronts meet, forcing the warm air

off the ground. This is an OCCLUDED FRONT

(occlusion), and happens to all depressions as they ‘fill’.
� The whole system takes about 24 hours to pass.

OCCLUSION
Tm air forced up

Pm air
meets at
ground level