1. AIR MASSES AND FRONTS
Chapter 16 Section 2

2. Air Masses
Air masses take on the characteristics of the area over which they form.
The temperature and moisture are consistent throughout.

3. Air Masses Warm air forms over tropical regions near the equator.
T- Tropical
Cold air forms over polar regions.
P- Polar
Wet air masses form over water
m- maritime
Dry air masses from over land.
c- continental

4. Air Masses
Continental Polar cP

5. Air masses Moisture content is noted by the first letter.
m – maritime – wet
c – continental – dry

6. Air Masses Temperature is noted by the second letter. P – polar – cool
T – tropical - warm

7. Continental Polar cP

10. Air Masses mP- maritime polar air mass cP – continental polar air mass
mT – maritime tropical air mass
cT – continental polar air mass

11. Fronts
A front is a boundary between air masses.

12. Fronts Cold front Warm front Occluded front Stationary front
Four types of fronts and map symbols
Cold front
Warm front
Occluded front
Stationary front

13. COLD FRONT
What happens? Cold air mass meets a warm air mass and pushes the warm air mass out of its way.
What kind of weather do they bring? Bring thunderstorms, rain or snow, followed by cooler, drier air.
Most tornadoes develop from
thunderstorms on the edge of a cold front.

14. WARM FRONT
What happens? Warm air mass meets a cold air mass and pushes the cold air mass out of the way.
What kind of weather does it bring? Brings drizzly precipitation, followed by clear warm weather

15. OCCLUDED FRONT
What happens? Warm air caught between two cold air masses.
What kind of weather does it bring? Brings cool temperatures with large amounts of rain or snow

16. STATIONARY FRONT
What happens? Cold air meets warm air, without enough force to move either front.
What kind of weather does it bring? Many days of cloudy, wet weather

17. Cold Front, Warm Front and Occluded Front Animation
Click on the above links.

19. Cyclone Area with lower pressure than surrounding area
Winds spiral toward the center
Rising air causes stormy weather
Hurricanes that from over the Indian Ocean are called cyclones.
Tornadoes are also called cyclones; they just aren’t tropical in nature.

20. Anticyclone Rotation of air around high pressure center.
Dry, clear weather

21. Quiz: Take this on the paper provided.
1. Describe a maritime polar (mP) air mass, in terms of moisture and temperature.
2. What is the name of an air mass that forms over water?
3. What is the name of an air mass that forms over land?
4. What is the name of an air mass that forms in a cold region?
5. What is the name of an air mass that forms in a warm region?
6. Describe a continental tropical (cT) air mass, Moisture and temperature.

22. Quiz: Take this on the paper provided.
7. The boundary between two air masses is called a ______________________.
8. A cold air mass meets and pushes a warm air mass out of the way.
What type of front am I?
9. A warm air mass is trapped between to cold air masses.
10. A warm air mass meets and pushes a cold air mass out of the way.
11. I am a front that brings drizzly rain and am followed by warm clear weather. Name me.
12. A cold air mass meets a warm air but neither is very strong. They are separated and many days of wet , cloudy weather occur.