Reid Pierce Lincoln Jr. High Bentonville, AR

Air Masses & Fronts

Predict:

Cold Front

Types of Fronts

Predict:

Warm Front

Types of Fronts

Predict:

Stationary Front

Types of Fronts

Predict:

Occluded Front

Types of Fronts

Air Mass – a huge body of air that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height

Names of Air Masses

• Tropical – warm air from the tropics with low pressure

• Polar – cold air from the poles with high pressure

• Maritime – form over the oceans with high humidity

• Continental – form over land with lower humidity

Names of Air Masses

• Tropical or Polar

• Maritime or Continental

• The name of the air mass is a combination of these terms – Maritime Tropical, Continental Polar, etc…

Names of Air Masses

Maritime Polar

cold & humid air

Maritime Polar

cold & humid air

Continental Polar

cold & dry air

Maritime Tropical

warm & humid air

Maritime Tropical

warm & humid air

Cont. Tropical

warm & dry air

Types of Air Masses Warm or Cold, Humid or Dry

Types of Air Masses

Read pages 72 – 74 and do workbook pages 38 – 39 #’s 1-4

Movement of Air Masses

• In the US weather typically moves from the

west to the…

• Moved by 2 things:

– Prevailing westerlies (coriolis effect)

– Jet stream

• The movement of air masses creates fronts.

east.

The boundary where unlike air masses meet is called a

front.

When the air masses collide the colder air mass is more dense so it will…

When the air masses collide the warmer air mass is less dense so it will…

How a Front Forms

How a Front Forms

Comparing and Contrasting

Cold front A cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass.

Front How It Forms Types of Weather

Warm front Clouds, light precipitation

Stationary front

Occluded front

Read page 76 – 77 and fill in chart. Phschool.com Web Code: cfp-4031

Comparing and Contrasting

Cold front A cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass.

Front How It Forms Types of Weather

Warm front Clouds, light precipitation

Stationary front

Occluded front

Clouds, possibly storms with heavy precipitation

A warm air mass overtakes a cold air mass.

Cold and warm air masses meet, but neither can move the other.

Clouds, precipitation

A warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses.

Clouds, precipitation

Phschool.com Web Code: cfp-4031

Symbols of Fronts

Cold Front

Warm Front

Stationary Front

Occluded Front