Atmosphere: Weather Maps & Circulation Environmental Management

There is one basic reason we have weather, and that is the sun. Weather systems start because the sun’s energy heats up some parts of Earth more than others. Most of the time the sun shines most directly on the middle of Earth, with less heating at the north and south poles. Earth is tilted on its axis at exactly the right angle to have seasons, with different parts of Earth being heated more or less during different times of the year. Unequal heating creates variations in temperature and air pressure, winds, and ocean currents. The Sun

Weather maps

Weather map symbols: 1. cold front; 2. warm front; 3 Weather map symbols: 1. cold front; 2. warm front; 3. stationary front; 4. occluded front; 5. surface trough; 6. squall/shear line; 7. dry line; 8. tropical wave; 9. trowal

A cold front is located at the leading edge of the temperature drop off. Cold fronts often bring heavy thunderstorms, rain and hail. Cold fronts can produce sharper changes in weather and move up to twice as quickly as warm fronts, since cold air is denser than warm air and rapidly replaces the warm air preceding the boundary Cold front

Warm front Warm fronts are at the leading edge of a warm air mass. A warm front moves more slowly than the cold front which usually follows because cold air is denser and harder to remove from the Earth's surface. Rainfall gradually increases as the front approaches.  Fog can also occur preceding a warm front. T hunderstorms may be embedded among the clouds ahead of the front. Warm front

A stationary front is a non-moving (or stalled) boundary between two air masses, neither of which is strong enough to replace the other. They tend to remain essentially in the same area for extended periods of time, usually moving in waves. Stationary front

An occluded front is formed when a cold front overtakes a warm front, and usually forms around mature low-pressure areas. The cold and warm fronts curve naturally poleward into the point of occlusion, which is also known as the triple point. Occluded front

Wind speed & direction

Atmospheric circulation

A monsoon is a seasonal shift in the prevailing wind direction, that usually brings with it a different kind of weather. It almost always refers to the Asian monsoon, a large region extending from India to Southeast Asia where monsoon conditions prevail.  What is a monsoon?

Monsoons

Monssons

Tornado alley

EF Scale

Hook echo

Miami tornado 1997 F1 tornado