8: Weather Systems
By the end of the chapter you should be able to:
- Describe the conditions favorable for an air mass source region.
- Describe the characteristics of, and locate the source region for, cP, mP, mT, cT, cA, cAA mE air masses.
- Explain how air masses are modified when they leave their source region.
- Describe the characteristics of fronts.
- Identify cold, warm, stationary and occluded fronts from a weather map.
- Interpret weather conditions from weather maps symbols.
- Describe the polar front theory of cyclogenesis.
- Draw profile views of cold, warm and occluded fronts.
- Explain the relationship between jet streams and surface cyclones.
- Describe the weather changes that occur as a midlatitude cyclone passes.
- Compare and contrast conditions during the cumulus, mature, and dissipating stages of thunderstorm development.
- Describe how lightning forms.
- Describe the conditions necessary and location for hurricane development.
- Describe the potential impact of global warming on severe weather.
"Forecast for this evening...dark" - George Carlin
Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere. The weather of the humid tropics is very similar throughout the year as a constant flow of energy keeps temperatures uniformly high. However, the daily weather is quite variable in the midlatitudes. Here, huge air masses collide to create powerful storm systems that affect global heat distribution, the shaping of the earth surface, and our daily livelihood. In this chapter we'll examine weather systems at a variety of geographic scales that affect our daily lives.
See if you are prepared for this chapter by "8.0: Getting Ready for Chapter 8"
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- 8.5: Weather and Wave Cyclones
- The weather associated with the passage of a wave cyclone is a product of the convergence and frontal uplift found in the system. The wave cyclone can be divided into three sectors: (1) the cool sector ahead of the warm front, (2) the warm sector between the cold and warm fronts, and (3) the cold sector located behind the cold front.