What happens when 2 air masses collide?

What happens when 2 air masses collide?

When two different air masses come into contact, they don’t mix. They push against each other along a line called a front. As it rises, the warm air cools rapidly. This configuration, called a cold front, gives rise to cumulonimbus clouds, often associated with heavy precipitation and storms.

What do you call the boundary between two air masses?

Fronts are boundaries between air masses. Depending on the air masses involved and which way the fronts move, fronts can be either warm, cold, stationary, or occluded. In the case of a cold front, a colder, denser air mass lifts the warm, moist air ahead of it.

What happens when two air masses collide quizlet?

Terms in this set (9) What happens when air masses meet? When two large air masses meet, the boundary that separates them is called a front. Since warm air is less dense and creates less air pressure, it will rise; cold air is denser and creates greater air pressure, and so it will sink.

What does convective lifting mean?

‘ Convective lifting is air lifting by convection. Convection occurs in all fluids, and is the process of warm particles rising and cool particles sinking. Convection is most likely to occur in ‘hot spots’ on Earth’s surface because these areas get warmed more than others.

When neither air mass is advancing what is it called?

A stationary front (or quasi-stationary front) is a weather front or transition zone between two air masses, when neither air mass is advancing into the other at a speed exceeding 5 knots (about 6 miles per hour or about 9 kilometers per hour) at the ground surface.

When two air masses collide what can be accurately said about the boundary?

When two air masses meet together, the boundary between the two is called a weather front. At a front, the two air masses have different densities, based on temperature, and do not easily mix. One air mass is lifted above the other, creating a low pressure zone.

What is the first step in cloud formation?

The cloud formation process starts with suspended water droplets and ice crystals that condense in the sky. Some amount of invisible water vapor is always present in the air, and this water vapor is the first step in the cloud formation process.

What type of frontal boundary is produced when warm air collides with and rises above cold air?

occluded front
When a cold front overtakes a warm front, it creates what’s called an occluded front that forces warm air above a frontal boundary of cooler air masses.

What is elevated convection?

Elevated convection is the convective lifting of air that initially begins to rise starting above the planetary boundary layer. When a front is involved (cold, warm, dryline) the parcels lift from the top of the front. On a sounding, a temperature inversion often marks the vertical depth of the front.

What is orographic lifting?

When a moving Air Mass meets a geographical feature such as a mountain, some of the air will have no option but to rise up over it. This process is known as Orographic lift. If the rising air is moist, clouds will form.

When do two air masses of the same temperature collide?

In an occluded front, a cold front overtakes a moving warm front, like an army swarming over a fleeing enemy. Convergence: When two air masses of the same temperature collide and neither is willing to go back down, the only way to go is up.

What is the boundary between two air masses called?

If the boundary between the cold and warm air masses doesn’t move, it is called a stationary front. The boundary where a cold air mass meets a cool air mass under a warm air mass is called an occluded front.

What happens when warm and cold air masses move?

The leading edge of a warm air mass advancing into a region occupied by a cold air mass is called a warm front. A cold front occurs when a cold air mass advances into a region occupied by a warm air mass. If the boundary between the cold and warm air masses doesn’t move, it is called a stationary front.

What’s the temperature of a warm air mass?

Good question! Unfortunately, the definition of “warm air mass” is a bit vague. It simply implies that the air is warmer than the surrounding air, and the surface that it is moving over. In general, I would define a “warm air mass” as one which is about 20 degrees warmer than the air surrounding it.