| A | B |
|---|
| air mass | a large body of air with uniform temperature and moisture |
| continental (c) | an air mass formed over a land mass |
| maritime (m) | an air mass fromed over water |
| Tropical (T) | a warm air mass formed at low latitudes |
| Polar (P) | a cold air mass formed at high latitudes |
| Arctic (A) | a very cold and dry air mass formed over the poles |
| front | place where 2 air masses interact |
| cold front | fast moving front associated with violent weather activity that occurs directly at the front |
| warm front | associated with steady precipitation that generally happens ahead of the front |
| occluded front | a warm front becomes trapped between 2 cold fronts and lifted off the ground |
| stationary front | cold and warm air masses next to each other but not advancing |
| cold front map symbol | blue line with triangles pointing in the direction of movement |
| warm front map symbol | red line with half circles pointing in the direction of movement |
| occluded front map symbol | purple line with alterating triangles and semicircles, both of which are pointing in the direction of movement |
| stationary front map symbol | alternating red semicircles pointing away from the warm air and blue triangles pointing away from the cold air |
| jet stream | strong pressure gradient create high winds at high altitudes where polar air masses meet tropical air masses |
| cyclone | low pressure system |
| anticyclone | high pressure system |
| wave cyclone | involves interaction between cold and warm air masses at sharply defined fronts (intense thunderstorms) |
| tropical cyclone | develop over warm oceans between 8 and 15 degrees N and S and move westward |
| monsoon | seasonal reversal of wind direction associated with large continents |
| tornado | a narrow, very intense wind vortex that forms over land below a dense cumulonimbus cloud in advance of a cold front |
| high pressure system | pressure increases as you move toward the center of the system and winds move clockwise |
| low pressure system | pressure increases as you move away from the center of the system and winds move counterclockwise |
