Name: _________________________________________________
Period : _______________
Maps, Air Masses, and Fronts
Weather Maps
Doppler Radar – gives us maps on precipitation and where it is moving.
Satellites – gives us maps on _______________________________________ .
Temperature, water vapor
Isobars – lines on a weather map that connect lines of equal air pressure.
“Isos baros” – equal _________________________________________
Name: _________________________________________________
Period : _______________
National Weather Service/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website:
Besides radar and satellite maps, what are 2 other things you can find from this website?
1. ____________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________
Air Masses - Defined
An air mass is a large body of ________________ that has similar temperatures and moisture
throughout.
Can come from land (continental) or sea (maritime).
___________________________________ air masses tend to come from the tropics. (Tropical)
Cold air masses tend to come from north of the U.S. (Polar).
Air Masses - Types
We combine the moisture classification with the temperature classification to characterize the
air masses.
Continental Polar (cP) – dry and _____________________________________
Continental Arctic (cA) - dry and very cold
Continental Tropical (cT) – dry and warm
Maritime Polar (mP) – ___________________________ and cold
Maritime Tropical (mT) – moist and warm
Name: _________________________________________________
Period : _______________
Fill in the missing air masses in the circles.
National Geographic Air Masses Video:
When air masses meet, what do they create? ________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What is a front?
A front is the _____________________________ that forms between two different air masses.
Fronts occur in the _______________________________________ latitudes because there are
both warm and cold air masses there.
Name: _________________________________________________
Period : _______________
Types of Fronts:
_________________________________
Cold
_________________________________
Stationary
Draw the front symbols with the
correct color using colored
pencils.
Front Symbols:
Warm Front
A warm front occurs when a ________________________ air mass meets a cold air mass.
The warm air mass overtakes the cold air mass because the warm, less dense air moves over
the cold air and gradually replaces it.
Brings ____________________________________ precipitation
Clear and warm when it is gone
Fill in the temperatures in the circles.
Name: _________________________________________________
Period : _______________
Cold Front
Cold air mass meets a warm air mass.
The cold, more dense air moves _____________________________ the warm air mass and
pushes it up.
Moves ________________________________.
Thunderstorms, heavy rain, or snow
Cold weather follows a cold front.
Fill in the temperatures in the circles.
Occluded Front
A faster moving cold air mass ___________________________________ a slower moving warm
air mass and forces the warm air mass up.
The cold air mass continues until it meets another cold air mass that is warmer.
The cold air mass then forces this air mass to rise.
It has cool temperatures and large amounts of _______________________________________.
In other words, when a cold front catches up to a warm front. (A warm air mass sandwich :))
Name: _________________________________________________
Period : _______________
Stationary Front
Cold air mass meets a warm air mass and does not move much (it’s stationary).
The weather similar to a ___________________________________________ front.
Write what score you received on the Study Jams Quiz: ________________________________