Embedded Files
Purpose: To apply METAR decoding, surface station plot decoding, and temperature conversion skills to weather front analysis, which will allow you to visualize changes associated with a weather front and increase your confidence with these decoding and conversion skills. Additionally, Part II of this lab will provide a hands-on example to demonstrate density/temperature differences and understand the precipitation processes associated with warm fronts. This is important since we often experience fronts, and to understand what changes specifically to expect, and how to be able to identify them when forecasting.
Learning Objectives: The purpose of this lab is to gain an understanding of how fronts look both vertically and horizontally in our atmosphere, and why they produce different types of weather. Additionally, students will gain an understanding of how weather conditions change with the passage of a weather front and will be provided with a review of decoding METARs and surface station models.
A front is a boundary between two air masses. Fronts are connected to mid-latitude cyclones. They can be: cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, or occluded fronts. All 4 are denoted differently and imply different things about the atmosphere.
Air Masses
Air Masses
An air mass is a large body of air with similar temperature and humidity characteristics in any horizontal direction at any given altitude.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse