equator

60 degrees

Near Tropics (30 degrees)

Poles (90 degrees)

1. Pressure Gradient Force

2. Coriolis Force

3. Fricitional Force

- Air free-moving

- DOMINATED BY SLOPE AND GRAVITATIONAL PULL

- air moving from high to low

- see diagrams

- dealing with the Earth's spinning

- ex: carousel- ball went straight- seems like it curves

- RULE: In NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, air is going to appear to curve to the right (clockwise) and in the SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, appears to move to the left (counterclockwise)

- goes out obliquely or at spiral around high pressure at barometric hill

- at depression, goes counterclockwise

- NOT physical feature

1. Air always moves from a high to a low

2. In the Northern Hemisphere, air moves clockwise around a high and counterclockwise around a low.

3. In the Southern Hemisphere, (b/c of Coriolis force), air moves counterclockwise around a high and clockwise around a low. 

4. Air rises out of a low (pressure) and falls onto a high.  (horizontal, then vertical movement) 

called "Doldrums"

Tough Winds

deteriorating weather: Constant rain in Tropical Rainforest: air rises out of low

What is the Jet Stream?

2; each 6 mons

During January- land to water wind: dry monsoons

During July - warm air to land: wet monsoons

Rainy, streams become rivers

includes India

2.5 billion people

Affected by wet/dry monsoons (Vietnam war based on)

- pleasant winds at beaches

- provide insolation- comes in/comes out

- 3 to 5 mi inland on coast

- Hot air rises over land

- Cold Air hugs ground

- Warmer over water

- Where- major cities in CA in canyons

- Winds come off continent and come towards ocean

- Winds drain into canyon- exilerates in velocity: DRY WIND AT GREAT VELOCITY

- famous, carry specific names

- lead to terrible forest fires: winds pick up embers and spread

windmills- old idea

CA- great amount

not reliable

1. relative

2. absolute

3. specific

very accurate

like a thermometer

gives us dewpoint temperature

Air rises out of low and falls onto a high

-5 1/2 degrees F/ 1000 feet = dry adiabatic rate

1. Orographic

2. Thermal

3. Cyclonic

- Air flows like water

- descending: good weather

- irrigated agriculture

DRY AIR GOES OVER MOUNTAINS

- Ex: Gulf of Mexico (Rain)

- Hot air rises

- thermals appear: rising parcels of air, reach dewpt = cumulus clouds

- scattered isolated thunderstorms (random)

- freshly plowed field = HOT

- differing things of surface of ground

- differing crops

- Midlatitudes - Westerlies

- Air masses (Hot vs. Dry) collide = boundary line of the jet stream 

- middle of air mass - high pressure

- where they hit each other - low pressure

clockwise around high, counterclockwise around low

blanket- like and cover large areas

ex: stratus, covers entire sky

1. warm clouds: fine water droplets condense, collide, and coalesce into larger and larger droplets that can fall as rain

2. cold clouds: ice crystals form and grow in a cloud that contains a mixture of both ice crystals and water droplets

1. Orographic precipitation - mass of air moving up and over a mountain range

2. Convectional precipitation - air is heated as it rises

3. Cyclonic precipitation - Air masses move and overtake each other

4. Convergence - air is moved upward, pressure gradient winds converge at common location

leaves whole line of thunderstorms, cold and dry weather

makes 90% of tornadoes

warm air goes up (9/10 reaches dewpoint)

fast

cloudy, foggy, rainy, humid all day

wide area of rain

afterwards- moist and hot

very slow

low pressure cell moves from west to east, where fronts meet: cell destroyed

warm air goes up

FREQUENT/BEST: North America (Canada and US)

Tornado Alley: Texas and Oklahoma go North Eastward..ends in Southern MI and N Western OH (includes IN, WI, KS, IL)

1. strong, cold, dry air mass from N

2. Hot, moist air mass from S

3. Hot, dry air mass from SW

4.Jet Stream aloft, where above 3 converge

5. Temperature inversion: - 3 1/2 degrees F (NLR)

6. Comes out of cold front (90%)

7. Dewpoint Temp MUST be 55 degrees or higher

SOLID 

1. depend on spotters - police force/volunteers/firemen

2. learning on Radar screen- movement of clouds in circular motion

1. BASEMENT: windows - protect eyes and head - powerful

2. SMALLEST CENTRAL HALLWAY if no basement: bathroom, closet, pantry - crouch down, put pillow over head

have good prayer life!

50% of deaths from tornadoes in US

go somewhere!!! get out!

DITCH is better

Go to lowest central hallway or basement

crouch down, face wall

90% of time = safe

have plan!

Safe places - Bergwall, Sammy Morris, Swallow Robin, Basement of Science Building

LOWEST CENTRAL HALLWAY

get out! very unlikely you will survive

go to Culverns/Bridges/under overpasses/ditch

1. Sea temp = 80 degrees F/+

2. 200 feet deep @ 80 degrees F

3. Winds swirl inward (b/c low pressure cell)

4. Tremendous amount of humidity in air (warm air holds more moisture)

75 mph/+

1. Wind velocity (flying objects)

2. Tremendous water = flooding (drowning)

3. Storm surge - in swirl, wall of water (destruction)

4. Electricity and water (Electrocution)

5. Hurricanes spon tornadoes

Andrew- Southern FL

Possibly Katrina

$35 billion!

developed by Koppen

Climate based on more than just av. temp and av. prec. 

1. Wet Equatorial (Tropical Rainforest)

2. Trade Wind Littoral 

3. Tropical desert and steppe 

4. West Coast Desert

5. Tropical Wet-Dry (Savanna)

1. Humid Subtropical/Moist Subtropical

2. Marine West-Coast

3.Meditteranean

4. Mid-Latitude Desert or steppe

5. Humid Continental

1. Continental Subarctic

2. Marine Subarctic

3. Tundra

4. Ice-sheet, Ice-cap continental glacier

5. Highlands

Equator = Low Pressure

Air Counterclockwise around low

Low Pressure causes rising air which causes deteriorating weather

RAIN RAIN RAIN

Where does a Wet Equatorial Climate take place?

Amazon Basin/River - 10 mi wide

Africa- Congro

South Asia - Indonesia

- Destruction: cut down, doesn't grow back

- Soil is leached

- "Medicine Man"

- One of most misunderstood climates in the world 

- greatest cures of world: pharmaceuticals

- tree canopy: heavy growth on banks

- Big game hunting

- little population

-Hot and Humid

Central America

Philippine Islands

Malaysia

Madagascar

High pressure cell= good weather

*Worldwide Pressure Belts*

Saudi Arabia

Sahara desert

half of Australia

Great Australian Desert

Kalahari Desert

Evaporation exceeds precipitation 

NOT less than 10 inches of rain even though that is true mostly (evaporation potential exceeds the actual precipitation- very dry)

1. Majority not Sand - 85% cold, hard, sharp rock, dangerous sand dunes

2. Hot climate - NOT: In desert nothing stops radiation, temps go from 126 to 32 degrees F in a few hrs, great wind chill

3. Existence of Life- YES! growth- insects/plants, little moisture

Underneath High Pressure Belt = South East Corner of High Pressure Cell

Prevailing wind from land to ocean

NO RAIN

west coast of Africa, Australia

South America: Peru/Chile 

ATACAMA

little rainfall, same as Tropical Desert and Steppe, terrible fog- nebel

1. Little Sand 2. Extreme Temps 3. Life exists

RUGGED

ON OCEAN

Southeast Asia

Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Malaya

Sun migrates - drags Sahara desert over middle (trop desert and steppe)

Between tropical desert and steppe AND Wet Equatorial

Migrates over Tropic of Cancer

Africa- best

AKA "Savanna"

Tough- 6 mons of wet, 6 mons of dry

tall grasses, clumps of trees

don't grow much

Big Game Animals- Safari- dangerous

hurricane season/typhoons/cyclones

Dominated by SOUTHWEST CORNER of high pressure cell, which dominates SE of continent

Southeastern United States- FL, AL, TN, MS

South China

South America- Uruguay

lots of rainfall: damp/moist

Agriculturally important

Heavily populated: Mild Climate

Summer: hot/humid

Winter: cooler/mild

Industry
Barely above Tropic of Cancer (N) or Below Tropic of Capricorn 

1. inside huge continent(Euro-Asia)

2. also in Westerlies

3. Surrounded by Mountain Ranges- Orographic Effect: no moisture on lee side

Netherlands, Belgium, ENGLAND

Seattle, Washington, NW of U.S.

Moist, clouds hold down pollution: foggy

60% cloudy, usually rainy/misty

MILD climate- people migrate