Unit 5- 3C
Day 1- Weather Forecasting
Previewing: How NOT to do the weather
https://youtu.be/myjN5Rb_n94
Critical Content/Success Criteria
3C: Interpret weather data to create a weather forecast
• Interpret the weather based on high and low pressure systems
• Interpret the weather based on warm and cold fronts
• Describe how different air masses create different weather
• Continental/Maritime
• Tropical/Polar
Learn about: Air Masses
Air Masses are a large area of air that
controls the weather.
The air picks up the characteristics of
the land/water below it:
Example: If the land is dry, the air will be dry
Example: If the land is warm, the air will be
warm
Learn about: Air Masses
Temperature
Near the equator/warm = “tropical”
Near the poles/cold= “polar”
Humidity
Form over water/wet = “maritime”
Form over land/dry= “continental”
Learn about: Air Masses
Continental Tropical (cT)
Dry/ Warm air
Found in deserts
Location: Southern USA near Mexico
Weather:
Summer= hot and dry
Winter = nothing
Maritime Tropical (mT)
Wet/warm air
Location: Southern USA near
ocean
Weather:
Summer = hot, humid, thunderstorms
Winter= mild and cloudy
Learn about: Air Masses
Continental Polar (cP)
Dry/cold air
Location: Northern USA near Canada
Weather:
Summer= dry and cool
Winter = very cold
Maritime Polar (mP)
Wet/Cold air
Location: Northern USA near
ocean
Weather:
Summer = cool/foggy weather
Winter = rain/snow
Learn about: Air Masses
Polar air masses bring
cold fonts to an area
Tropical air masses bring warm fronts to
an area
Learn about: Humidity
Humidity= amount of water the air can hold
As temp increases, the amount of water it can hold increases
Relative humidity= the amount of water in the air vs what could be in the air
100% saturated means the air can’t hold more water
Learn about: Pressure Systems
High Pressure
Weather =Nice weather
Air sinks down to land, so it can
not rise and condense into
clouds/rain
Low PressureWeather= Cloudy, rainy, snowy
weather
Air rises into sky, air cools and
condenses into
clouds/precipitation
Learn about: Cold Fronts
Cold air pushes under warm air
• Cold air is more dense than warm air
Fast moving air mass
Low Pressure system
Weather:
• Cold weather occurs behind as cold front moves through
• Violent Storms (Thunderstorms, tornadoes,
Learn about: Warm Fronts
Warm air mass takes over a cold air mass
• Warm air is less dense than cold air
Slow moving air mass
High pressure system
Weather:
Warm weather occurs behind warm front
Clouds and Precipitation
Steady/constant precipitation occurs
Winter = hazardous storms (sleet, frozen rain, snow)