Weather Study Notes
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The water cycle recycles the water and replaces the water on Earth. Only freshwater can evaporate.
STUDY YOUR VOCAB FLASHCARDS!!!!!! Make sure you not only know the definitions, but also can give
examples.
Angle of insolation affects temperature, the closer you are to the equator the hotter the temperature is.
Air pressure = stacking hands
As you go higher in the atmosphere the temperature and air pressure decrease.
All life and weather happen in the troposphere layer of the atmosphere.
As water vapor rises it CCC…cools, condenses and forms a cloud.
Humidity = feeling sticky, frizzy hair, or fogged up glasses
Morning Dew = condensation
Sidewalk drying (or puddle) = evaporation
Cloud formation pictures
Types of
Clouds and
their
precipitation
Cloud
Cirrus
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Precipitation
High in the
atmosphere
Ice crystals
Wispy and feather
like
Cirrus cumulous
clouds “snow
storms”
Snow
Stratus
Blanket like layers
Cumulous
Puffy and rise up
from a flat bottom
Cumulonimbus
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Long lasting
Smaller
raindrops
Heavy rain last for
a short period of
time
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Rain or storms
Gray or black
Vertical (develop
upward)
thunderstorms
Larger raindrops
Hold a lot of
water
Turbulent
(violent)
Can reach high
altitudes
Downpours
HAIL
Fog
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ground level
moist air at
ground level
cools
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Air Pressure can change due to volume (more area less pressure), elevation (higher less pressure), temperature
(warmer temperature give lower air pressure), and humidity (moist sir has less pressure than dry air)
Air pressure moves from high pressure to low pressure
Convection Cell Picture:
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HOT AIR RISES AND COLD AIR SINKS
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Land will cool quicker and water will hold heat longer than land
Night = land to sea = land breeze (warm breeze)…mountain
Day = sea to land = sea breeze (cool breeze)…valley
Coriolis Effect Picture
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Global Wind Patterns Picture
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We live in the PREVAILING WESTERLIES; this means our weather moves from WEST to EAST in the United States.
High pressure = happy weather and sunshine
Low pressure = lousy weather and rain
High pressure systems (H) = high pressure in the center, winds blow outward, and winds blow clockwise.
Remember your hand activity…
Low pressure systems (L) = lower pressure in the center, winds blow toward the center, and winds blow
counterclockwise…Remember you hand activity…
High and Low Pressure System Pictures
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Weather Station Models and Cloud Cover Pictures
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Air masses move west to east or left to right
Air masses over water will be moist, air masses over land will be dry
Equator = hot Poles = cold
Continental = land
Maritime = water
When warm air masses and cold air masses meet they form storms
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Cold front = cold air moves in under warm air and pushes the warm air up (remember cold air is the bully
because it is heavier), brings brief heavy storms or thunderstorms with strong winds, and after the storm the
skies are clear cool and dry.
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Warm front = warm air moves in over a cold air mass, brings light steady rain or snow that lasts for days with
light winds and sometimes fog, and after the storm the weather is warmer and humid.
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Stationary Front = warm air mass meets a cold air mass and they to do not move each other
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Electrical charges build up in a cloud = lightening (heats the air causes thunder)
Tornados = runaway convection cell = wind funnel with thunderstorms
Tornado Alley = Midwest region of the US = most tornados occur
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Hurricanes have low pressure in the center “eye of the storm is clam
Hurricanes form over warm water and bring a lot of rain that can cause flooding
Climate is determined by weather data collected every day over a period of time
Climate = precipitation + temperature
Climates = Biomes
Affects of Climate = latitude (the farther away from the equator the colder it is), Water (closer to water gives
you sea breezes), and altitude (higher in the atmosphere gives you colder weather)
Rain shadow Picture
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Climate change = global warming = ozone layer = pollution
US weather patterns are formed by the Jet Stream = prevailing westerlies
El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific,
as opposed to La Niña, which characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the
Equatorial Pacific. El Niño is an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the
tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather around the globe.
Among these consequences are increased rainfall across the southern tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused
destructive flooding, and drought in the West Pacific, sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia.
Observations of conditions in the tropical Pacific are considered essential for the prediction of short term (a few months
to 1 year) climate variations.