What direction do most air masses move in the US?

What direction do most air masses move in the US?

Once an air mass is formed, it is moved by global winds. In the United States, global winds such as the PREVAILING WESTERLIES, tend to move air masses from WEST to EAST!

Which air masses can you find in the United States?

Five air masses affect the United States during the course of a typical year: continental polar, continental arctic, continental tropical, maritime polar, and maritime tropical. Continental air masses are characterized by dry air near the surface while maritime air masses are moist.

Which air masses influence much of the weather in North America?

Much of the weather in North America, especially weather east of the Rocky Mountains, is influenced by continental polar (cP) and maritime tropical (mT) air masses.

What kind of air masses usually travel over the west coast of North America?

Maritime polar air masses, abbreviated mP on weather maps, tend to dominate the Pacific coast region. These air masses form over a cold ocean current in the northern Pacific Ocean. Although mP air masses originate at northerly latitudes, they do not feature as cold of air as continental polar air masses.

What are the air masses of North America?

The air masses in and around North America include the continental arctic (cA), maritime polar (mP), maritime tropical (mT), continental tropical (cT), and continental polar (cP) air masses.

Which direction do cold air masses move over the United States north or south?

Cold air masses tend to move toward the equator. Warm air masses tend to move toward the poles. The Coriolis effect causes them to move on a diagonal. Many air masses move toward the northeast over the U.S. This is the same direction that global winds blow.

What type of air mass affects North America?

The air masses in and around North America include the continental arctic (cA), maritime polar (mP), maritime tropical (mT), continental tropical (cT), and continental polar (cP) air masses. Air is not the same everywhere.

What is the general direction air masses move across North America?

The general movement of the atmosphere across the United States is toward the east. Air masses originating in the tropical and equatorial areas move toward the northeast. Those originating in the arctic and polar areas move toward the southeast. Cold air masses move more rapidly than warm air masses.

Which air masses are the most significant to North America?

Where are the air masses in North America?

Those areas producing air masses which enter the fireoccurrence regions of North America are: The tropical Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the tropical Pacific, which are uniformly warm and moist. The Northern Pacific and Northern Atlantic, which are uniformly cool and moist.

Which is a characteristic of an air mass?

Air Masses. • Air masses have fairly uniform temperature and moisture content in horizontal direction (but not uniform in vertical). • Air masses are characterized by their temperature and humidity properties.

Where does the maritime air mass originate from?

Maritime air masses, designated by the letter ‘m’, originate over the oceans and are therefore moist air masses. Each of the two divisions are then divided based upon the temperature content of the surface over which they originate.

What happens to air masses as they move around the Earth?

As these air masses move around the earth they can begin to acquire additional attributes. For example, in winter an arctic air mass (very cold and dry air) can move over the ocean, picking up some warmth and moisture from the warmer ocean and becoming a maritime polar air mass (mP) – one that is still fairly cold but contains moisture.