METEOROLOGY

Local Wind System Page 1 of 5

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IV: LESSON PROPER:

SCALES OF METEOROLOGY
Weather occurs at different scales of space and time. The four meteorological scales are: microscale,
mesoscale, synoptic scale, and global scale. Meteorologists often focus on a specific scale in their work.

Microscale Meteorology
Microscale meteorology focuses on
phenomena that range in size from a few
centimeters to a few kilometers, and that have
short life spans (less than a day). These
phenomena affect very small geographic areas,
and the temperatures and terrains of those areas.
Microscale meteorologists often study
the processes that occur between soil,
vegetation, and surface water near ground level.
They measure the transfer of heat, gas, and liquid
between these surfaces. Microscale meteorology
often involves the study of chemistry.

Mesoscale Meteorology
Mesoscale phenomena range in size from a few kilometers to roughly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
Two important phenomena are mesoscale convective complexes (MCC) and mesoscale convective systems
(MCS). Both are caused by convection, an important meteorological principle.
Convection is a process of circulation. Warmer, less-dense fluid rises, and colder, denser fluid sinks.
The fluid that most meteorologists study is air. (Any substance that flows is considered a fluid.) Convection
results in a transfer of energy, heat, and moisture—the basic building blocks of weather.
In both an MCC and MCS, a large area of air and moisture is warmed during the middle of the day—
when the sun angle is at its highest. As this warm air mass rises into the colder atmosphere, it condenses
into clouds, turning water vapor into precipitation.

Synoptic Scale Meteorology

Synoptic-scale phenomena cover an area of several hundred or even thousands of kilometers. High-
and low-pressure systems seen on local weather forecasts, are synoptic in scale. Pressure, much like
convection, is an important meteorological principle that is at the root of large-scale weather systems as
diverse as hurricanes and bitter cold outbreaks.
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Low- pressure
systems occur where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the Earth is less than its surrounding
environment. Wind and moisture from areas with higher pressure seek low-pressure systems. This
movement, in conjunction with the Coriolis force and friction, causes the system to rotate counter-clockwise
in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, creating a cyclone. Cyclones have
a tendency for upward vertical motion. This allows moist air from the surrounding area to rise, expand and
condense into water vapor, forming clouds. This movement of moisture and air causes the majority of our
weather events.
Hurricanes are a result of low-pressure systems (cyclones) developing over tropical waters in the
Western Hemisphere. The system sucks up massive amounts of warm moisture from the sea, causing
convection to take place, which in turn causes wind speeds to increase and pressure to fall. When these
winds reach speeds over 119 kilometers per hour (74 miles per hour), the cyclone is classified as a hurricane.
Extremely cold temperatures are a result of high-pressure systems that develop over the Arctic and
move over the Northern Hemisphere. Arctic air is very cold because it develops over ice and snow-covered
ground. This cold air is so dense that it pushes against Earth’s surface with extreme pressure, preventing
any moisture or heat from staying within the system.

Global Scale Meteorology

Global scale phenomena are weather patterns related to the transport of heat, wind, and moisture
from the tropics to the poles. An important pattern is global atmospheric circulation, the large-scale movement
of air that helps distribute thermal energy (heat) across the surface of the Earth.
Global atmospheric circulation is the fairly constant movement of winds across the globe. Winds
develop as air masses move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. Global atmospheric
circulation is largely driven by Hadley cells. Hadley cells are tropical and equatorial convection patterns.
Convection drives warm air high in the atmosphere, while cool, dense air pushes lower in a constant loop.
Each loop is a Hadley cell.
Hadley cells determine the flow of trade winds, which meteorologists forecast. Businesses, especially
those exporting products across oceans, pay close attention to the strength of trade winds because they help
ships travel faster. Westerlies are winds that blow from the west in the midlatitudes. Closer to the Equator,
trade winds blow from the northeast (north of the Equator) and the southeast (south of the Equator).
El Niño is linked with changes in air pressure in the Pacific Ocean known as the Southern Oscillation.
Air pressure drops over the eastern Pacific, near the coast of the Americas, while air pressure rises over the
western Pacific, near the coasts of Australia and Indonesia. Trade winds weaken. Eastern Pacific nations
experience extreme rainfall. Warm ocean currents reduce fish stocks, which depend on nutrient-rich
upwelling of cold water to thrive. Western Pacific nations experience drought, devastating agricultural
production.
Understanding the meteorological processes of El Niño helps farmers, fishers, and coastal residents
prepare for the climate pattern.
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TURBULENCE
Atmospheric turbulence, small-scale, irregular air motions characterized by winds that vary in speed
and direction. Turbulence is important because it mixes and churns the atmosphere and causes water
vapour, smoke, and other substances, as well as energy, to become distributed both vertically and
horizontally.

Kinds of Turbulence
1. Mechanical Turbulence
Friction between the air and the ground, especially irregular terrain and
man-made obstacles, causes eddies and therefore turbulence in the lower levels.
The intensity of this eddy motion depends on the strength of the surface wind, the
nature of the surface and the stability of the air.
2. Thermal turbulence
This is due to warm air rising and cold air sinking caused by surface heating.
Turbulence can also be expected on warm summer days when the sun heats the
earth's surface unevenly. Isolated convective currents are therefore set in motion
with warm air rising and cooler air descending, which are responsible for bumpy
conditions as an airplane flies in and out of them.
3. Frontal Turbulence
The lifting of the warm air by the sloping frontal surface and friction between
the two opposing air masses produce turbulence in the frontal zone. This turbulence
is most marked when the warm air is moist and unstable and will be extremely
severe if thunderstorms develop. Turbulence is more commonly associated with
cold fronts but can be present, to a lesser degree, in a warm front as well.
4. Wind Shear
Wind shear is the change in wind direction and/or
wind speed over a specific horizontal or vertical distance.
Atmospheric conditions where wind shear exists include:
areas of temperature inversions, along troughs and lows,
and around jet stream. When the change in wind speed
and direction is pronounced, quite severe turbulence can
be expected. Clear air turbulence is associated at high
altitudes (i.e, above 15,000 feet AGL) with the jet stream.
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LOCAL WINDS
Local winds are winds that blow over a limited area. Local winds blow between small low and high
pressure systems. They are influenced by local geography. Nearness to an ocean, lake, or mountain range
can affect local winds. Some examples are found below. Local winds can affect the weather and climate of
a region.

Land and Sea Breezes

Ocean water is slower to warm up and cool
down than land. So the sea surface is cooler than the
land in the daytime. It is also cooler than the land in the
summer. The opposite is also true. The water stays
warmer than the land during the night and the winter.
These differences in heating cause local winds known
as land and sea breezes.
A sea breeze blows from sea to land during the
day or in summer. That’s when air over the land is
warmer than air over the water. The warm air rises.
Cool air from over the water flows in to take its place.
A land breeze blows from land to sea during
the night or in winter. That’s when air over the water is
warmer than air over the land. The warm air rises. Cool
air from the land flows out to take its place.

Monsoons
Monsoons are like land and sea breezes, but on
a larger scale. They occur because of seasonal changes
in the temperature of land and water. In the winter, they
blow from land to water. In the summer, they blow from
water to land. In regions that experience monsoons, the
seawater offshore is extremely warm. The hot air absorbs
a lot of the moisture and carries it over the land. Summer
monsoons bring heavy rains on land. Monsoons occur in
several places around the globe.
In the Philippines, Amihan and Habagat refer to
the two kinds of winds and seasons that occur in the
country every year.
Amihan is the Filipino term of Northeast monsoon, which is a cool and dry northeast wind coming
from Siberia and China and blows down to Southeast Asia. This season is characterized with slight to
moderate rainfall and a prevailing cold wind that affects east of the Philippines. The monsoon commonly
occurs from October to late March, although occurrence may vary every year.
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Habagat is the southwest wind characterized by frequent heavy rainfall and humid weather. The
southwest monsoon affects the country from late June to October (occurrence may also vary each year).
Low season in the Philippines occurs during the habagat season because of frequent rainfall and high
humidity. A series of flash floods and landslides are regular incidents during this season.

Trade Winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the
permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that
flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade
winds blow mainly from the northeast in the
Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in
the Southern Hemisphere, strengthening during
the winter and when the Arctic oscillation is in
its warm phase. Trade winds have been used
by captains of sailing ships to cross the world's
oceans for centuries. The trade winds prevail
during the rest of the year whenever Northeast
monsoons are weak.
In meteorology, they act as the steering
flow for tropical storms that form over the
Atlantic, Pacific, and southern Indian oceans
and make landfall in North America, Southeast
Asia, and Madagascar and East Africa. Shallow
cumulus clouds are seen within trade wind regimes and are capped from becoming taller by a trade wind
inversion, which is caused by descending air aloft from within the subtropical ridge. The weaker the trade
winds become, the more rainfall can be expected in the neighboring landmasses.

OCEAN CURRENTS
Ocean currents are the continuous, predictable, directional movement of seawater driven by gravity,
wind (Coriolis Effect), and water density. Ocean water moves in two directions: horizontally and vertically.
Horizontal movements are referred to as currents, while vertical changes are called upwellings or
downwellings.
Ocean circulation derives its energy at the sea surface from two sources that define two circulation
types:
(1) wind-driven circulation forced by wind stress on the sea surface, inducing a momentum
exchange
(2) thermohaline circulation driven by the variations in water density imposed at the sea surface
by exchange of ocean heat and water with the atmosphere, inducing a buoyancy exchange.