The Causes of WeatherNotes

  1. ______is the study of atmospheric phenomena.
  2. Weather is the ______state of the atmosphere, including ______-term variations that affect our lives. ______describes the ______weather over a long period of time and is usually ______over the course of 30 years or more. Meteorology, weather, and climate are ______.
  3. An air mass is a ______body of air that takes on the ______of the area over which it forms.
  4. Air masses are ______according to their source regions. ______and dry continental tropical (cT). Warm and ______maritime tropical (mT). Cold and ______continental polar (cP). ______and humid maritime polar (mP).
  5. Each of the major air masses that affects weather in the United States has a similar ______and ______content as the area over which it formed.
  6. ______-Deflects moving particles such as air to the right above the ______; caused by Earth’s ______and combines with the heat imbalance founded on Earth to create the trade winds, polar easterlies, and prevailing westerlies. Colder air to ______areas and warmer air to ______areas.
  7. ______(Hadley Cell)-30 degrees North and South latitude, air sinks, warms, and moves to equator in a ______direction. Prevailing ______-flows between 30 and 60 degrees North and South latitude, in a circulation pattern ______that of the Trade Winds. Surface winds move towards the poles in an ______direction. Wind blows from the West. Responsible for the movement of our weather in the U.S. ______-lies between 60 degrees latitude and the poles. Flows from the ______to the southwest in the Northern Hemisphere. Opposite in Southern Hemisphere. Bring ______air.
  8. High Pressure System: Generally associated with fair, sunny weather. As high pressure is an area of ______air, and tends to ______out as it sinks, leaving ______skies
  1. Low Pressure System: Generally cloudy/rainy areas – where strong areas of low pressure bring our ______weather. This is because it’s an area of ______air, and as air rises, it condenses into clouds and rain. Air moves from ______pressure to ______pressure, so if you have a high and a low nearby, it can be windy as air rushes between the two.
  2. Fronts: When two air masses that have different properties ______, they do not ______easily. A ______forms between the two air masses. This boundary is called a ______. There are four types of fronts: ______, ______, ______, and ______fronts. The weather at a front is usually unsettled and ______.
  3. Cold Front: A cold front forms when a mass of ______meets and pushes ______a mass of ______air. The cold air mass forces its way ______the warm air and pushes it ______. ______storms are associated with a cold front. ______, cool weather usually follows.
  4. Warm Front forms when a mass of warm air ______a cold air mass and moves over it. ______and showers usually accompany a warm front. ______, ______weather usually follows.
  5. Occluded Front: A cold front travels ______than a warm front. When a cold front ______a warm front, an occluded front forms. As the warm air is pushed ______, the cold air meets cool air. An occluded front may also occur when cool air ______a cold front and warm air is pushed upward. An occluded front produces less ______weather than a cold or warm front.
  6. Stationary Front: When a warm air mass meets a cold air mass and no ______occurs, a stationary front forms. Rain may fall in an area for ______days when a stationary front is in place