Exam 11: Air Masses and Fronts

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

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

Air masses have both horizontal and vertical extent; consequently, the upward extension of a front is referred to as a(n)____________________ or ____________________.

The origin of cP and cA air masses that enter the United States is

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

A dryline is ____.

Along a dryline, the ____ may drop markedly.

Before a cold front passes in winter in the United States, the pressure is ______________________.

What type of weather front would likely be responsible for the following weather forecast? "Increasing high cloudiness and cold this morning. Clouds increasing and lowering this afternoon with a chance of snow or rain tonight. Precipitation ending tomorrow morning. Turning much warmer. Winds light easterly today becoming southeasterly tonight and southwesterly tomorrow."

Which air mass would show the most dramatic change in both temperature and moisture content as it moves over a large body of very warm water?

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

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

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

List the four basic types of air masses. Give an example of where each type could originate.

The air mass with the highest actual water vapor content is

In the Central Plains of the United States, continental polar air is welcome in both winter and summer.

Occluded fronts are often associated with a broad band of precipitation.

What type of air mass would be responsible for refreshing cool, dry breezes after a long summer hot spell in the Central Plains?

An elongated area of low pressure is called a(n)____________________.

These air masses are warm and humid, and are responsible for the hot, muggy weather experienced by the eastern United States during the summer months. Which air masses are formed in regions where long, clear nights allow for strong radiational cooling of the surface?