Air Masses and Fronts
By Jay Schroeder 3/4
Air Masses
Air Mass Characteristics.
Types of Air Masses
There are different types of air masses. Air masses generally have the same characteristics as the area they form in. Air mass have two names: one for the temperature and one for the humidity. Let check them out:
Temperature:
Polar-Cold air Tropical-Hot air
Humidity:
Maritime-wet Continental-dry
So, a Continental Tropical air mass would be warm and dry and will cause a drought, while a Maritime Polar will be wet and cold and will bring rain, snow, and/or hail.
Finally, we have Continental Arctic. This air mass brings very cold temperatures and has hardly any humidity.
Lastly, air mass on weather maps are labeled with a K or W. A "K" means it's moving to a region colder than it while "W" means it is moving to region warmer than it.
Fronts
Cold Front
Warm Fronts
Stationary Fronts and Occluded Fronts
Sources
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/airmass.htm
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wamsorce/wamsorce.htm
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/af/frnts/cfrnt/def.rxml
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/af/frnts/wfrnt/def.rxml
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wsfront/wsfront.htm
http://www.atmos.illinois.edu/earths_atmosphere/airmasses_fronts.html
http://ukweather.wordpress.com/weather-guides/frontal-weather-systems/
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/af/frnts/wfrnt/def.rxml
http://www.met.tamu.edu/class/atmo202/Dir-surface/surface-stu.html