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22 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Air mass |
A large body of air that has similar horizontal temperature and moisture characteristics |
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Source regions |
Regions where air masses originate and acquire their properties of temperature and moisture |
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Continental polar air mass |
An air mass characterized by low temperatures and dry air. Not as cold as arctic air masses |
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Continental arctic air mass |
An air mass characterized by extremely low temperatures and very dry air
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Maritime polar air mass |
An air mass characterized by low temperatures and high humidity
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Pacific air |
Air from off the Pacific Ocean that, after moving over several mountain ranges, is relatively mild and fairly dry when it moves into the Great Plains of North America |
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Maritime tropical air mass |
An air mass characterized by high temperatures and high humidity |
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Continental tropical air mass |
An air mass characterized by low temperatures and low humidity |
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Front |
The transition zone between two distinct air masses
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Stationary front |
A front that is nearly stationary with winds blowing almost parallel and from opposite directions on each side of the front |
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Cold front |
A transition zone where a cold air mass advances and replaces a warm air mass
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Frontolysis |
The weakening or dissipation of a front
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Frontogenesis |
The formation, strengthening, or regeneration of a front
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"Back door" cold front |
A cold front moving south or southwest along the Atlantic seaboard of the US
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Cold air damming |
A shallow layer of cold air that is trapped between the Atlantic coast and the Appalachian Mountains
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Warm front |
A front that moves in such a way that warm air replaces cold air
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Overrunning |
A condition that occurs when air moves up and over another layer of air
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Dryline |
A boundary that separates warm, dry air from warm, moist air. It usually represents a zone of instability along which thunderstorms form |
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Occluded fronts (occlusion) |
A complex frontal system that ideally forms when a cold front overtakes a warm front. When the air behind the front is milder than the air ahead of it, its is called a warm __________
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Cold occlusion |
When the air behind the front is colder than the air ahead of it, the front is called a ________ |
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Warm occlusion |
When the air behind the front is milder than the air ahead of it, its is called a __________ |
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Upper-level front (upper- front, upper air front) |
A front that is present aloft but usually does not extend down to the surface. |
