What is a mT air mass?
description. In air mass. The maritime Tropical (mT) is the most important moisture-bearing and rain-producing air mass throughout the year. In winter it moves poleward and is cooled by the ground surface. Consequently, it is characterized by fog or low stratus or stratocumulus clouds, with drizzle and poor visibility.
What are the differences between mT and cP air masses?
mP — Winter cP air moves over a region such as the NE Pacific, picking up some warmth and moisture from the warmer ocean. In the case of the Pacific NW mountains force the air to rise (orographic lifting) causing rain. mT — wintertime source for the SW US is the subtropical East Pacific Ocean.
Which characteristics fit mT maritime tropical air masses?
Maritime Tropical (mT) Air Masses Form over low latitude oceans and as such are very warm, humid, and unstable.
What are the temperature and moisture characteristics of a maritime tropical mT air mass?
The two words that best characterize this air mass are warm (80F-90F in the summer) (70F-80F in the winter) and moist (dew points greater than 50F year-round). As far as stability is concerned this air mass is very unstable and light.
What is CT and mT?
Compare Central Time vs Mountain Time CT is 1 hour ahead of MT. If you are in CT, the most convenient time to accommodate all parties is between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm for a conference call or meeting. In MT, this will be a usual working time of between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.
What’s the difference between mT and mP?
The different types of air masses are: Maritime Tropical (mT) air masses are warm, humid air masses originating from the oceans in the tropics. Maritime Polar (mP) air masses are cold, humid air masses originating from the oceans in the polar latitudes.
What does mT and cP mean?
The primary air mass classifications are given below: mT= Maritime Tropical. mP= Maritime Polar. cP = Continental Polar. cT = Continental Tropical.
What type of weather is associated with an air mass that has a classification of mT in the summer?
In summer the characteristics of the mT air mass over the oceans and in zones of cyclonic activity are basically the same as in winter. Over warm continental areas, however, the air mass is strongly heated so that, instead of fog and low stratus clouds, widely scattered and locally heavy afternoon thunderstorms occur.
What are the characteristics of the four main types of air masses and where do they form?
Arctic air masses form in the Arctic region and are very cold. Tropical air masses form in low-latitude areas and are moderately warm. Polar air masses take shape in high-latitude regions and are cold. Equatorial air masses develop near the Equator, and are warm.
Which air mass is warm and dry?
Continental air masses Equatorial air masses develop near the Equator, and are warm. Air masses are also identified based on whether they form over land or over water. Maritime air masses form over water and are humid. Continental air masses form over land and are dry.
Where is mT air mass?
Maritime tropical (mT) air masses are warm, moist, and usually unstable. Some maritime tropical air masses originate in the subtropical Pacific Ocean, where it is warm and air must travel a long distance over water. These rarely extend north or east of southern California.
What are the source regions for the mT air masses that affect weather in the United States?
The Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and the tropical waters of the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific are also common source regions for mT air masses that affect the contiguous United States. continental-Tropical (cT): A hot, dry (meaning low dew points) air mass that originates over desert regions.
What precipitation type is typically caused by mountains or highlands?
A precipitation type caused by mountains or highlands is: cumulonimbus.
What is cP air mass?
Continental polar (cP) or continental arctic (cA) air masses are cold, dry, and stable. These air masses originate over northern Canada and Alaska as a result of radiational cooling. They move southward, east of Rockies into the Plains, then eastward.
What are the characteristics for each cold front warm front and occluded front?
A warm air mass pushes into a colder air mass (the warm front), and then another cold air mass pushes into the warm air mass (the cold front). Because cold fronts move faster, the cold front is likely to overtake the warm front. This is known as an occluded front.
What are the 4 characteristics of air masses?
There are four categories for air masses: arctic, tropical, polar and equatorial.
What are the 6 air masses and their characteristics?
There are six kinds of air masses, each named after the locations in which they form: maritime tropical (mT), continental arctic (cA), maritime arctic (mA), maritime polar (mP), continental polar (cP), and continental tropical (cT).
Which air mass is the coldest?
continental-Arctic continental-Arctic (cA): Winter's most frigid air masses. cA air masses are the coldest of the cold and the driest of the dry.
What air mass is cold and moist?
Maritime polar Maritime polar (mP) air masses are cool, moist, and unstable. Some maritime polar air masses originate as continental polar air masses over Asia and move westward over the Pacific, collecting warmth and moisture from the ocean.
Is mT moist?
Maritime Tropical (mT) Warm and moist; usually unstable; form over sub-tropical bodies of water.
How do air masses get their characteristics?
An air mass is a large body of air with generally uniform temperature and humidity. The area over which an air mass originates is what provides its characteristics. The longer the air mass stays over its source region, the more likely it will acquire the properties of the surface below.
How do mountains affect wind?
Mountains make a barrier for moving air. The wind pushes air, and clouds in the air, up the mountain slopes. The atmosphere is cooler at high elevations, and there is less of it: lower pressure makes it hard for lowland animals to get enough air to breathe.
How do mountains affect precipitation?
Mountains can have a significant effect on rainfall. When air reaches the mountains, it is forced to rise over this barrier. As the air moves up the windward side of a mountain, it cools, and the volume decreases. As a result, humidity increases and orographic clouds and precipitation can develop.
Which are characteristics of a cold air mass moving over a warm surface?
Which are characteristics of an unstable cold air mass moving over a warm surface? Cumuliform clouds, turbulence, and good visibility.
What are the five main air masses what are their characteristics?
The air masses in and around North America include the continental arctic (cA), maritime polar (mP), maritime tropical (mT), continental tropical (cT), and continental polar (cP) air masses.
Which air mass is hot and dry?
Continental tropical air Continental tropical air is associated with hot. dry, and sunny weather . 2.
Which air mass is the driest?
cA air masses cA air masses are the coldest of the cold and the driest of the dry.
What are characteristics of air?
Air is a gas (as opposed to a liquid or a solid) and contains about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% argon. There are other trace gases in air, like helium, carbon dioxide, and neon, just to name a few.
How do mountains affect air masses?
Such mountains can block or channel various air masses or, in the event that air masses do in fact cross the mountains, it is very likely that the weather such an air mass would create would be very different in terms of its temperature and humidity characteristics.
Why do mountains have strong winds?
It is windy high up in the atmosphere as the effect of gravity is reduced and cooler because air temperatures decrease as you get closer to the poles. Therefore gale force winds are stronger and more common at the top of mountains than at sea level.