Exam 11: Air Masses and Fronts

A good air mass source region is generally flat and of uniform composition with light surface winds.

Maritime Tropical (mT) air masses are responsible for daily afternoon thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast.

The lake effect occurs when a(n) ____ air mass moves over a ____ body of water.

You are in upstate New York and observe the wind shift from easterly to southerly. This shift in wind is accompanied by a sudden rise in both the air temperature and dew-point temperature. This means a(n) ____ front passed.

​Maritime polar air masses along the East Coast of the United States are usually ____________________ than those along the nation's West Coast.

Cold fronts are colored purple on a weather map.

How do upper-air fronts form?​

Barometric pressure usually falls with the approach of a(n) ____________________ front or ____________________ front.​

Explain how the airflow aloft regulates the movement of air masses.​

Explain how, using no meteorological instruments other than your eyes, you could identify the passage of an occluded front.​

Drylines may be detected by Doppler radar when insects and insect-eating birds congregate along it. On the radar screen, the echo from insects and birds shows up as a thin line, called a fine line.

A front is the transition zone between two air masses of different​

Air masses are grouped into five general categories according to their ____________________.

A(n) ____________________ is an extremely large body of air whose properties of temperature and humidity are fairly similar in any horizontal direction at any given altitude.

Before the passage of a cold front the pressure normally ____, and after the passage of a cold front the pressure normally ____.

Occluded fronts are often associated with a broad band of precipitation

Occluded fronts may form when

Describe the characteristics of an atypical cold front.​

Compared to an mP air mass, mT air is

In winter, which sequence of clouds would you most likely expect to observe as a warm front with precipitation approaches your location?