When you hear a meteorologist say severe weather is expected, we didn’t create it out of thin air. Instead, they turned to weather models that predict the future. Weather forecasting can be difficult and relies primarily on the characteristics of air masses to determine local forecasts. So let’s start with the basics, what is an air mass? An air mass is a large mass of air that has relatively similar temperature and humidity based on its origin.
There are actually two categories based on moisture levels regarding air masses. First up is Continental. An air mass with dry air that occurs over continents. The second is maritime. This air mass forms over the ocean and is accompanied by moist air.
These two divisions are further divided by the temperature of a particular region. You know what I mean, but this can get complicated. These temperature profiles are defined as arctic, polar, and tropical. Arctic air masses are very cold and develop in the Arctic or Antarctic regions. Polar air masses are not as cold as arctic air and originate from high latitudes. Tropical air masses originate from lower latitudes and have warm and hot temperatures.
Think about it, in America, the southern layer is warmer and the northern layer is colder. If we take both temperature and moisture content into account, we get continental arctic, continental polar, oceanic polar, oceanic tropics, and continental tropics in North America.
“These air masses tend to move around,” said NEXT meteorologist Kylie Miller. When air masses collide and collide, they form air mass boundaries called fronts.
Fronts are identified by changes in temperature based on movement. There are several different types of fronts, but the most common ones we’re familiar with here are warm fronts and cold fronts. A cold front means that cooler air replaces a warmer air mass. A warm front means warm air replaces a cold air mass.
Depending on the location and type of front boundary, it can be useful for weather forecasting. If a front is forecast to bring rain or storms, we can usually report the event accurately. Determine whether the precipitation falls along the front boundary, if the precipitation is more scattered, or if there is little moisture associated with the precipitation. That’s the science of weather.