| A | B |
|---|
| air mass | a huge body of air that has similar termperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height |
| tropical air mass | warm air mass that forms in the tropics and has low air pressure |
| polar air mass | cold air mass that forms north of 50 degrees north latitude and south of 50 degrees south latitude- has high air pressure |
| maritime air mass | a humid air mass that has formed over oceans |
| continental air mass | a dry air mass that has formed over land |
| front | the boundary where unlike air masses meet but do not mix |
| occluded front | a front that is cut off, as in a front where a warm air mass is caught between two cooler air masses |
| cyclone | a swirling center of LOW air pressure |
| anticyclones | HIGH pressure centers of dry air |
| maritime tropical air mass | WARM and WET |
| continental tropical air mass | WARM and DRY |
| maritime polar air mass | COLD and WET |
| continental polar air mass | COLD and DRY |
| maritime tropical air masses | form over the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean |
| summer showers and thunderstorms | often form in air masses that have formed over the Gulf of Mexico |
| winter humid air masses | result in rain or snow |
| height of air masses | millions of km high and up to 10km deep |
