Weather Phenomena

Weather Phenomena

Open Ended

RECALL: What is the Gulf Stream?

• a warm water current in the Atlantic Ocean that warms the air and land along the east coast

• one of the strongest known ocean currents, traveling at an average speed of 4 mph and carrying almost 30 billion gallons of water per second!

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Gulf Stream

Open Ended

The Gulf Stream is one of many major ocean currents impacting regional climates. Based on what we've learned, how do you think movement of air impacts weather in a large region?

• a narrow band of air that

  moves quickly around the

  earth with wind directions

  flowing from west to east

• occur at the boundaries

  between convection cells in

  the atmosphere

• these boundaries can shift somewhat to the north and south, which will affect the weather of the regions it's near

• the main way that weather systems move around

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​Jet Stream

Open Ended

RECALL: In the OAC unit, we discussed El Niño and its impacts. What is El Niño and why is it important in our study of climate and weather?

• large scale warming of the surface layers in the Pacific Ocean and weakening of the trade winds

• accompanied by heavy rains and flooding

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El Niño

• large scale cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean

• pushes warm surface water farther west than usual

• occurs every 3-5 years or so

• often associated with drought

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La Niña

Open Ended

RECALL: How does being located near a large body of water impact a region's climate/weather?

When frigid air flows over a warm body of water and is warmed from below, the moisture evaporates, heated air rises and begins to cool, as the air cools, the moisture condenses and forms clouds, if it is humid enough, it snows.

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​Lake-Effect Snow

• cool air flows over the land from the ocean

• the land warms this cool ocean air, which will rise and make room for more air to move in off the ocean

• A sea breeze is wind that moves from the sea to the land.

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​Sea Breeze

• At night, the air cools over the land and the water

• The air over land cools faster than the air over water, which makes land over water warmer than the air over land.

• So, the air over water rises.

• The cooler, denser air over land moves out over the ocean to replace the warm air that has risen.

• A land breeze is a wind that moves from land to the sea.

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Land Breeze

Multiple Choice

Which statement is TRUE?

• A sea breeze flows from the ocean toward the land at night because the land and ocean lose heat at the same rate.

• A sea breeze flows from the land toward the ocean at night because the land and ocean lose heat at the same rate.

• A sea breeze forms at night because the ocean cools faster than the land.

• A sea breeze forms during the day because the land warms faster than the ocean.

Multiple Choice

Which statement is TRUE?

• Warm air is denser than cool air.

• Warm air pushes in under cool air.

• Warm air is less dense than cool air.

• Warm air conducts heat better than cool air.

Multiple Choice

A student climbs the stairs in her house on a summer day and notices that it is much hotter upstairs than downstairs. What is the BEST explanation for this?

• Warm air moves upward by convection currents.

• The upstairs is closer to the sun.

• The downstairs windows were left open.

• Cool air rises by convection currents.