Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences (ATOC-210)
Assignment # 5, due date March 19, 2009
1.) Explain why, on a sunny day, an aneroid barometer would indicate "stormy" weather when
carried to the top of a hill or a mountain?
The higher you go up the more the atmospheric pressure decreases. With an aneroid barometer,
there are weather related words printed above atmospheric pressure values. If you move up the
top of a hill or a mountain, the pressure on the barometer would decrease. On top of that,
surface low pressure areas are usually associated with rising air and cloudy, wet weather. That
would make the barometer point to “stormy” weather.
2) Why is that, on the equator, winds may blow either counter clock wise or clock wise with
respect to an area of low pressure?
On the equator winds may blow either counter clockwise or clockwise due to the weak Coriolis
Effect in this region. The Coriolis Effect is at its maximum at the poles and zero at the equator.
3.) Why don't Chinook winds form on the east side of the Applanchians?
Chinook winds do not form on the east side of the Appalachians because of this mountain range’s
location. The Chinooks occur when strong westerly winds flow above a north-south trending
mountain range (for example, the Rocky Mountains). Because of the location of the Appalachians
the westerly winds that are needed for Chinooks do not affect this mountain range.
4) Why do clouds tend to form over land with a sea breeze and over water with a land breeze?
Clouds tend to form over land with a sea breeze because with a sea breeze, cold air from
the sea meets the warmer air above the land creating a shallow cold front, which is
followed by cloud formation (ex: clouds like cumulonimbus). For a land breeze, this
process reverses but with extra moisture from the water. Low pressure systems are
developed over land with a sea breeze and over water with a land breeze (cloudy
weather).
5) Why is the difference in surface wind speed between morning and afternoon typically greater on
a clear, sunny day than on a completely cloudy day?
The difference in wind speed between the morning and afternoon are greater on a clear,
sunny day because there is surface heating. This creates air instability and an extension of
thermal turbulence as the earth’s surface heats up, and thermals rise and convection cells
form, whereas, on a completely cloudy day, the sun is being blocked and there are usually
colder temperatures, less thermal turbulence, and more stable air.
NAME: Ivy Pham
STUDENT #: 260323031