What are air masses and fronts?
What are air masses and fronts?
An air mass is a body of air with a relatively constant temperature and moisture content over a significant altitude. Air masses typically cover hundreds, thousands, or millions of square kilometers. A front is the boundary at which two air masses of different temperature and moisture content meet.
What is air mass kid friendly?
An air mass is a volume of air defined by its temperature and water vapor content. Air masses cover many hundreds or thousands of square miles. Colder air masses are called polar or arctic, while warmer air masses are called tropical.
What is a front in weather for kids?
Fronts are created when two air masses meet. When a front is created, weather such as storms and precipitation happen. A cold front is when the cold air mass takes over the warm air mass, causing it go up into the atmosphere. A warm front is when a warm air mass takes over a cold air mass, leaving warm air.
What are the 4 types of fronts?
There are four different types of weather fronts: cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, and occluded fronts.
What are the 4 types of air masses?
Meteorologists identify air masses according to where they form over the Earth. There are four categories for air masses: arctic, tropical, polar and equatorial. Arctic air masses form in the Arctic region and are very cold.
What are the 5 types of air masses?
The air masses in and around North America include the continental arctic (cA), maritime polar (mP), maritime tropical (mT), continental tropical (cT), and continental polar (cP) air masses.
What causes air fronts?
The answer is “moisture and differences in air pressure.” A front represents a boundary between two different air masses, such as warm and cold air. If cold air is advancing into warm air, a cold front is present. On the other hand, if a cold air mass is retreating and warm air is advancing, a warm front exists.
What defines an air mass?
An air mass is a large body of air with generally uniform temperature and humidity. The area over which an air mass originates is what provides its characteristics. The longer the air mass stays over its source region, the more likely it will acquire the properties of the surface below.
What causes air masses to move?
An air mass is a large body of air that has about the same conditions throughout. Air masses take on the conditions of the area where they form. Winds and air currents cause air masses to move. Moving air masses cause changes in the weather.
What is an air front?
A front is a weather system that is the boundary separating two different types of air. One type of air is usually denser than the other, with different temperatures and different levels of humidity. This clashing of air types causes weather: rain, snow, cold days, hot days, and windy days.
What is air mass simple definition?
An air mass is a large volume of air in the atmosphere that is mostly uniform in temperature and moisture. Air masses can extend thousands of kilometers in any direction, and can reach from ground level to the stratosphere—16 kilometers (10 miles) into the atmosphere. 9 – 12+