Weather Patterns

Weather Patterns
• Constant movement of air and moisture
change the atmosphere
• This is related to the development and
movement of air masses
– Air Mass: large body of air with the same
properties as the surface it develops over
 Air Masses

• Where the air mass

develops will give it
it’s characteristics.
• Over water, the air
will be moist and over
land it will be dry
 Pressure Systems
• Molecules push down
from above, creating
atmospheric pressure
 Pressure Systems

– Variation in atmospheric pressure determines

the weather
• Areas of high pressure = descending colder air
– Sinking high pressure air makes it more difficult for
air to rise and clouds to form
– High pressure = good weather
– Low pressure = clouds
Pressure Systems
 Fronts
• Front: a boundary
between two different air
masses
– Storms and precipitation
occur here
– Air in a front will move
from high pressure to low
pressure
• When two air masses with
different characterizations
meet, they do not blend
 When Air Masses Have Different
Characteristics
• The cold air mass will move under the
warm air mass and the warm air will rise
and winds begin
• Winds blow from high pressured air to
low pressured air
 Four Types Of Fronts
• Warm
– Develop when a less dense warm air mass slides over departing cold air
mass
• Cold
– Cold air mass moves under a warm air mass and pushes it along a
steep front
– Move at twice the speed of a warm front
– Creates a narrow band of violent storms
• Occluded
– Result of two cool air masses merging, and forcing warm air between
them to rise
– May cause strong winds and heavy precipitation
• Stationary
– Pressure differences cause a warm or cold front to stop moving
• May stay in the same place for several days
• Causes light wind and precipitation
 Severe Weather
• These types of weather pose a danger to
people and animals
– They include:
• Blizzards
• Thunderstorms
• Tornadoes
• Hurricanes
 A Thunderstorm
• Air speed can reach 89km per hour
• Occurs inside warm moist air
masses and at fronts
• Downdrafts-
– Raindrops collide with other droplets
and grow larger
– Heavy raindrops fall, dragging down
air
– This causes downdrafts, which make
strong winds
– Lightning
• Rapid uplift of air builds
electric charge in clouds
• Currents of opposite electric
charge flowing in between
regions makes lightning flash
• Can leap cloud to cloud or
cloud to earth
– Thunder
• Lightning rapidly heats air
around it, the air expands
and molecules crash into
eachother
– Can reach 5x the temperature
of the surface of the sun
 Tornadoes
• Tornado – violent, whirling wind,
which moves in a narrow path over
land.
• Wind shear- difference in wind
direction and speed
– Strong updraft will tilt wind shear and
produce rotation inside
• Funnel cloud will appear
• Can go up to 500km per hour
• Most occur in United States
 Hurricane
• Most powerful storm
• Hurricane – large, swirling, low
pressure system that forms over
tropical oceans
– Turns heat energy in ocean into wind
• Must be 120km per hour to be classified
as hurricane
• Similar to low pressure systems on land
but stronger
 Section Wrap Up
1) Why do high pressure areas usually
have clear skies?

3) Explain how a tornado develops from a

thunder storm.

5) How do two fronts form at a low pressure

area? Which would bring the most
severe weather?