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)