SC.6.E.7.3 Global Patterns Influencing Local Weather

The illustration shows the global wind belts. Which are the warm, steady winds that blow continuously in the regions north and south of the equator?

• doldrums

• westerlies

• trade winds

• polar easterlies

Answer explanation

Trade winds develop between 5° and 30°, north and south of the equator.

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What is the area of calm air along the equator, labeled 2 in the illustration?

• doldrums

• westerlies

• trade winds

• polar easterlies

Answer explanation

Doldrums is the area between 5° N and 5° S that experiences slow and intermittent winds.

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What causes the westerlies to form in the northern hemisphere?

• Warm air in the doldrums begins to cool and sink.

• Sinking colder air at 30° N latitude warms as it moves northward.

• Cold air from the poles flows toward the equator along Earth's surface.

• Cold air over the Pacific Ocean warms and flows westward at 30° N latitude.

Answer explanation

 These winds develop between latitudes 30° and 60° in the Northern Hemisphere.

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  Buffalo, New York, and cities in northern Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania that are south and east of the 

    Great Lakes experience large winter snowfalls, called lake-effect snows. Which is the best explanation of lake-effect snows?

• The jet stream flows across the lakes and produces snowfall.

• Fluctuations in shoreline temperatures produce snowstorms during cold periods.

• Fronts become stationary over the Great Lakes, where they pick up moisture and cause snowy weather.

• Cold air flowing southeast from Canada picks up moisture when passing over the lakes, which produces snow over the land.

Answer explanation

Even though the air mass picks up moisture over the lake, the water quickly condenses in the cold air and precipitates as snow

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Why does precipitation occur more often near the equator than near the poles?

• Warm ocean breezes near the equator bring rain.

• There is less water vapor in the air near the equator.

• There is more moisture in the air due to the warmth of the water.

• Moisture freezes quickly near the poles, resulting in little precipitation.

Answer explanation

The warm air at the equator is able to hold more moisture than cold air, resutling in greater precipitation.

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