AIR MASSES

FRONTS, CYCLONES,
STORMS AND
TYPHOONS
 OBJECTIVES
identify the different types of air masses and its
specification.
determine what is a front
differentiate cyclone, typhoons and storms
explain how air masses affect weather patterns
REPORTERS
Agarpao,Rovi Ann C.
Espiritu, Diserie C.
Padillon,Francisco M.
Parinas, Mark Kevin G.
Tolete, Jenny Jang A.
AIR MASSES
large body of air having nearly
uniform conditions of temperature
and humidity at any given level of
altitude HUMIDITY
for an air mass to form an air must
stay over the area long enough to pick
up the characteristic of the area
always moving

TEMPERATURE
SPECIFICATION OF AIR MASSES

MARITIME CONTINENTAL
tend to be more tend to be more
humid dry
 FRONTS
the boundary between two
air masses
front typically means the
air mass currently over an
area is leaving and a new
one is moving in.
fronts often mean a change
in weather is coming what happens when two
air masses meet?
 TYPES OF FRONTS
different kinds of fronts can occur based on how
meeting the meeting air masses are moving, and
each brings different weather.
1. warm front
2. cold front
3. stationary front
4. occluded front
1. WARM FRONT
occurs when a
warm air mass
moves into an
area where a
cooler air has
been.
2. COLD FRONT
occurs when a cold
air mass moves into
an area where a
warmer air mass
has been.
cold fronts often
bring short but
intense storms.
3. STATIONARY FRONT
occurs when two
different air masses
meet, but neither is
strong enough to
move into the other
space, so it doesn’t
create a warm or a
cold front.
4. OCCLUDED FRONT
occurs between the
place where a warm
front and cold front
meet.
basically, they happen
when a warm air mass
is moving between two
cold air masses
 in weather forecast fronts
are often seen color coded
and they have arrows or
semi circles that point in
the direction the front is
moving

air masses each have their own consistent air pressure. Since fronts are the
boundaries between air masses, they are often the site of changing air pressure
too. These patterns are called pressure systems, and they are also important in
understanding weather.
High Pressure System Low Pressure System
H is an area with higher air L is an area with lower air
pressure that the air around pressure than the air around it
it.
often occur when these tend to happen in
a lot of air is places where a large
amount of air is rising,
being pushed
cooling down, and
down towards
condensing into clouds.
the ground, then These results in less air
flows outward, pushing down on the
which basically ground, and it can also
creates a stable create a lot of
zone of clear movement in the
weather atmosphere.
low pressure systems are often associated
with stormy, changing weathers and
most commonly happen along fronts.
fronts affect pressure systems and vice
versa taking into account that they are all
part of air masses understanding their
relationship is a complex, interconnected
process that takes place on a global scale.
A change of these factors can impact
others.
CYCLONES, STORMS AND TYPHOONS
are all tropical storms they are
basically the same thing but are given
different names depending in where
they appear.
tropical cyclone is a scientific term
used to describe a rotating large-scale
air mass that originate over water
bodies in tropical regions of the Earth.
but why tropical
regions?
the general pattern
of the tropical
climate is warm
temperature this is
because the sun
shines more TROPICAL REGIONS
directly on the area of the Earth near the Equator and
tropic than on between the tropic of Cancer in the
higher altitudes. Northern Hemisphere and Tropic of
Capricorn in Southern Hemisphere
CARRIBEAN, THE GULF OF MEXICO AND NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, EASTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH
PACIFIC OCEAN: HURRICANES
WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC: TYPHOON
BAY OF BENGAL AND ARABIAN SEA: CYCLONE
WESTERN SOUTH PACIFIC AND SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN: SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE
SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN: TROPICAL CYCLONE
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN
DIRECTIONS
reason:
this is because of the Coriolis Effect a
physical phenomenon named after the
French mathematician Gaspard-Gustave de
Coriolis. It is a very powerful force that
affects weather patterns, ocean currents
and even airplanes. The Coriolis effect
comes into play because different parts of
the Earth rotate at different speeds. Our
TROPICAL CYCLONES planet rotates faster at the Equator than it
does on poles because it’s wider or more
rotate in a counterclockwise
technically, has greater circumference at
direction in the Northern the Equator.
Hemisphere and clockwise direction
in Southern Hemisphere
Formation of Cyclones
air always travels from high pressure to low pressure
area
low pressure occurs at warm places

2. As warm air continues to rise the surrounding air

springs in to take its place as warm moist air rises and
cools off the water in the air forms clouds
1. when the warm air rises up and away from
the ocean surface it creates an area of low 3. The whole system of clouds and wind
spins and grows using warm and moist
air pressure it causes the air from
air as fuel and thus creating a spiral like
surrounding areas with high pressure area structure. This process is known as
to move towards low pressure area which Cyclogenesis. Any air travelling into the
further leads to warming up the new air low-pressure area has to join the spiral
and rise in order to fill the gaps. because air cannot pass through the
spiral directly.
 STRUCTURE OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE
1. EYE 2. Eyewall
Area where there is a the eyewall is a dense
low-pressure and this cloud surrounding eye
part is normally calm, having maximum wind
and this is the area of speed and it causes
high-pressure sinking air. maximum destructions.

3. Spiral Rain bands

the band of clouds spiraling into eyewall and it
contains heavy rains.
the diameter of the tropical cyclone is typically around 200 to 500 km but can reach 1000 km. Tropical cyclone
usually weaken when they hit land because they are no longer being fed by the energy from warm ocean water.
This phenomenon occurs at the time of maximum solar radiation, in the northern hemisphere it is during the
period of July to October and in the Southern hemisphere it is during the period of December to March