Air Masses: Types, Naming & Meteorology

• Air masses are large air bodies that form over land or water.
• Air masses have average temperatures and humidity based on their formation locations.
• Air masses develop worldwide, influencing weather patterns.
• Meteorologists analyze air masses to predict weather conditions.

Air Mass Naming Conventions

• Air mass names indicate formation location (land or water) and temperature.
• "Continental" signifies formation over land, resulting in drier air.
• "Maritime" signifies formation over water, resulting in moister air.
• "Tropical" indicates warm temperatures, typical of equatorial regions.
• "Polar" indicates cooler temperatures.
• "Arctic" indicates very cold temperatures found in the coldest regions.

Air Mass Abbreviations

• "c" represents continental air masses.
• "m" represents maritime air masses.
• "T" represents tropical air masses.
• "P" represents polar air masses.
• "A" represents arctic air masses.

Types of Air Masses

• Maritime tropical (mT) air is moist and warm/hot.
• Continental arctic (cA) air is dry and very cold.
• Maritime arctic (mA) air is moist and very cold.
• Maritime polar (mP) air is moist and cool.
• Continental polar (cP) air is dry and cool.
• Continental tropical (cT) air is dry and warm/hot.
• Maritime Polar air masses feature higher humidity levels compared to Maritime Arctic air masses

North American Air Mass Formation

• Maritime tropical (mT) air masses form off the coasts of California/Baja California and in the Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean near Florida and are warm and moist.
• Continental arctic (cA) air masses form in northern Canada and the Arctic Circle, bringing dry, very cold weather.
• Maritime arctic (mA) air masses do not form in North America, but affect the British Isles with cold, wet, and snowy conditions.
• Maritime polar (mP) air masses form over the Pacific near Alaska/Canada and in the Atlantic off Canada, featuring wet, cold, and rainy weather.
• Continental polar (cP) air masses form in Canada and are dry and cold.
• Continental tropical (cT) air masses develop over Mexico and the American Southwest (Texas), bringing warm and dry conditions.

Air Mass Movement and Weather Impact

• Jet streams, high-speed upper atmosphere air bands moving west to east, drive air mass movement.
• Stationary air masses cause prolonged weather conditions characteristic of their origin.
• Frontal boundaries occur when air masses collide.
• Cold fronts involve a colder air mass pushing under a warmer one, causing thunderstorms and snowstorms.
• Warm fronts involve warm air gently rising over cooler air, causing rain followed by warm, humid conditions.
• Cooler air masses have higher densities than warmer air masses, leading to cooler air staying near the ground and warmer air rising.
• Rising air and moisture cause cloud formation as water droplets attach to airborne particles.
• Cumulus clouds form when cool air pushes underneath warm air.
• Cumulonimbus clouds, developing from cumulus clouds during cold fronts, can bring stormy weather.

Other Cloud Formation Processes

• Convectional lifting happens when warm air rises, cools, and falls, forming cumulus clouds and convection currents, often near the equator.
• Orographic lifting occurs when air masses are forced over mountains, cooling and forming clouds, leading to increased precipitation on one side of the mountain, such as in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina.

Air masses are large air bodies that form over land or water and influence weather patterns worldwide. Meteorologists analyze them to predict weather conditions. Air mass names indicate formation location and temperature, using terms like 'continental,' 'maritime,' 'tropical,' 'polar,' and 'arctic'.