AIR MASS

Air Masses and Fronts:

How are they related to storms?
 AIR MASSES

• Huge bodies of air with little or no

variation of its properties,esp Temp.
• Formed over water or land in tropical
or polar regions
• The prevailing westerlies generally push air masses
from west to east.
 Air masses (cont.)

• Tropical air masses- warm air

masses with low air pressure
• Polar air masses- cold air masses
with high air pressure
 Air masses (cont.)

• Whether an air mass is humid or

dry depends on whether it forms
over water or land
• Water - humid
• Land – dry
 Air Masses (cont.)
• 4 types:
1-Maritime tropical warm, humid air
masses that form over oceans near the
tropics
2-Maritime polar cold, humid air masses
that form over icy cold North Pacific and
North Atlantic oceans
 Air masses (cont.)
3- Continental tropical hot, dry air masses that
form only in summer over dry areas in Southwest
and northern Mexico
4- Continental polar cold, dry air masses that
form over central and northern Canada and
Alaska
 FRONTS

• As air masses move and collide with

each other, fronts are formed at the
well defined boundaries between
the air masses
 Types of Fronts

1- Cold front A rapidly moving cold

air mass runs into a slowly moving
warm air mass. The dense cold air
slides under the lighter warm air. The
warm air is pushed upward and
causes a cold front.
• Causes sudden changes in weather and severe
storms
 Types of Fronts: (cont.)
2. Warm Fronts  a moving warm
air mass collides with a slowly
moving cold air mass. The warm air
moves over the cold air .
» Clouds, fog and rain also
accompany warm fronts,
sometimes may bring storms.
 Types of Fronts: (cont.)
3. Stationary Front when warm and
cold air masses meet, but neither is
stronger than the other a “standoff”
occurs known as a stationary front
»May bring days of clouds and
precipitation
 Types of Fronts: (cont.)
4. Occluded Front a warm air mass
is caught between two cooler air
masses. The denser cool air masses
move underneath the less dense
warm air mass and push upward. The
two cool air masses meet in the
middle and may mix.
»Weather may turn cloudy and
rainy or snowy
 PRESSURE SYSTEMS

• High/Low Pressure Systems are

created by warm air rising and cool
air sinking combined with the
spinning of Earth that causes
rotation of air masses
 PRESSURE SYSTEMS (cont.)
• 2 Types
–HIGH usually signals fair weather with
winds that circulate around the system in a
clockwise direction
–LOW counterclockwise circulating winds
that often result in rainy and/or stormy
weather conditions
 STORMS!
• Occur when pressure differences
cause rapid air movement
• Thunderstorms
• Tornado
• Hurricane
 Thunderstorms
• A storm with thunder, lightning, heavy rains
and strong winds
• Usually forms along a cold front but can form
within an air mass
• Forms within large cumulonimbus clouds
 Tornado

• Rapidly whirling, funnel shaped cloud that

reaches down from a storm cloud
• Area of low pressure
• Strong winds
• Likely to form within the frontal
regions where strong thunderstorms
are also present
 Hurricane
• Low pressure tropical storm that forms
over water
• “eye” of the storm Winds that are
spinning in a circular pattern around the
center of the storm
• Lower the air pressure
at the center, the faster
the winds blow toward
the center of the storm
 Weather Instruments:
Thermometer- measures temperature
Hygrometer/Psychrometer- measure relative
humidity
Barometer- Measures air pressure
Rain Gauge- measures amount of precipitation
Anemometer- measures wind speed
Wind vane- direction of wind
 ISOBARIC PATTERNS
• CYCLONE (LOW)
- area of LP surrounded by areas of HP
- isobars form closed shapes
- winds blow spirally inwards,anticlockwise
in NH and clockwise in SH
- pressure gradient is usually high ,so …..?
- area of converge of air. On reaching center
air moves up as strong upward current,forming
Cu and CuN clouds of high vertical extent.
- over center,thin downward stream of air and a
patch of blue sky may be seen
- sign of bad weather ( strong winds,clouds, rain,etc)
Secondary cyclone(Low)
• Cyclonic Pattern – Terminology

- Low or Depression - wind spd < 33 kts

- Cy. Storm - wind speed 34 – 47 kts
- Severe Cy. Storm - wind speed > 48 kts
 ISOBARIC PATTERNS
• ANTICYCLONE (HIGH)
- area of HP surrounded by areas of LP
- isobars form closed shapes
- winds blow spirally outwards,clockwise in NH (opposite in
SH)
- pressure gradient is usually low ,so …..?
- area of divergence of air at sea level.This outflow of air is
balanced by a downward current of air at the center.This
column of air warms up adiabatically as it descends and
becomes drier.
- total absence of clouds or precipitation over anticyclone
- due warm air, quick evaporation and sea temp relatively
lower,
may cause mist or fog at outer fringes of the anticylone
- sign of good weather ( light winds,no clouds,no rain,good
vis, etc)

Warm and Cold anticyclone

 ISOBARIC PATTERNS
• COL
- area between two highs and two lows
- light variable winds,sudden changes likely
- RH fairly high,lighting may be seen
- may also occur between primary and
secondary low patterns
- may also occur at boundary between two
air masses(weather/temp changes – drastic)
- No definite weather pattern associated (fog
in autumn,thunderstorms in summer,etc)
 ISOBARIC PATTERNS
• Ridge or Wedge
- area of HP jutting into ares of LP
- isobars are curved,with HP inside. Generally,
don’t form closed shapes
- may also occur between primary and
secondary low
- weather similar to anitcyclone – no pptn,
lt. winds,no clouds,etc.
If between ‘lows’ good weather for very short
periods
 ISOBARIC PATTERNS
• Trough
- - area of LP jutting into areas of HP
- isobars are curved, with LP inside. But they
don’t form closed shapes
- winds blow from HP to LP areas, deflecting to
right in NH (left in SH) by Coriolis force
- pressure gradient is fairly high,so….?
- bad weather will be seen, pressure falls before
trough and rises after, with weather
deteriorating and improving accordingly.
 TROUGH
• Two types : Non Frontal and Frontal .
• Non Frontal
- isobars curve gently(gradual change in dirn)
- winds veers gradually in NH, backs in SH
- “U” of trough always points towards
Equator
• Frontal
- exists at boundary between two air masses
- “V” of isobars always points towards
Equator
 TROUGH
• Weather – Frontal Trough
- as isobars change dirn suddenly (by 90
deg);
- squalls with lighting and precipitation
- as one air mass is replaced by another,
a sudden change of temperature also
seen
 Frontal Depressions
• Frontogenesis : The formation of a frontal
depression is called Frontogenesis.
• Formation of a FD:
- Warm air mass must be travelling faster than
the colder mass or they both should be
moving in the opposite directions
- It starts with a small bulge of warm air in the
cold air
- The bulge increases in size and the isobars
bend accordingly . See diagram
- As density of warm air is less compared to
cold,the bulge is an area of LP ,surrounded
on the 3 sides by areas of HP .
- See diagram
- The bend shapes up as closed isobars,winds
moving spirally inwards, anticlockwise in NH
- Isobars inside the bulge are straight & run
roughly parallel to the original boundary
between the two air masses.
- On crossing, the isobars change dirn almost
90 deg, winds veering suddenly by 90 deg( in
NH)
- The entire system will move in the same dirn
& speed as that of the warm air mass.
- In SH the bulge will face southwards, winds
blowing spirally clockwise
- As prevailing winds in these latitude are
Westerlies, FD’s move from west to east in
both hemispheres
Frontolysis ( Decay)
The decay or weakening and final dissipation
of a Frontal depression
- The first step is the formation of “ Occulsions”
(ref diagrams)
- Cold air before and after the ‘warm sector’ of
the FD (due to weakening), undercuts the
warm air and lifts it above sea level.
- The warm air mass slowly dissipates as it rises.
- The life of a FD is about a few days