Lab 8 Air masses and fronts
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CUNY College of Staten Island *
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Course
111
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History
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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ESC 111 Lab 8 Air Masses
and Fronts
Introduction
In this lab, you will create a map of the USA showing the current locations of air masses and
fronts, and interpret one of these fronts in significant detail. This material was covered in the
lectures on air masses and fronts, and chapter 8 of the textbook. Understanding front and air
masses is imperative to understanding a large variety of weather patterns, and it is strongly
encouraged to take this Lab seriously as it will prepare you for your lecture exam - a short
answer question for example.
Before starting, you should also read and refer to Appendix C of the textbook, explaining how to
read a “station model”. If you do not have the appendix from the textbook you can also find
useful information on interpreting the symbols from a station model from NOAA: National
Weather Service Weather Prediction Center
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/stationplot.shtml
.
Getting the Data
●
To create a map of today’s conditions, you should go to
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/sfc-zoom.php
.
○
You can either print this map or take a screenshot to work with.
●
Once you go to the website your map should look very similar to this:
●
You cannot use this example map from the lab assignment because this is from June
26th, you should use you are map from the day you are completing this lab.
Interpreting this Map
Air Mass Locations
While completing this lab, remember that your notes from your lecture class have a nice
breakdown on the different types of air masses you are going to see and their general properties.
I recommend keeping at least that slide open for you to have a good understanding on where
these masses are.
Do not copy the air masses from the diagram in the slides to your map!
The atmosphere is always moving, and the locations of these air masses also move. Also, keep in
mind seasonality when labeling.
1.
On your copy of the map, you should identify and annotate the air masses, using the
correct notation (e.g. mP, mT, cP).
○
You will need to zoom in on different areas to clearly read the temperature
and
humidity
conditions at the weather stations.
○
Refer to Appendix C to interpret this information.
Interpreting a Weather Front
Now that you have identified the locations of your air masses, we want to interpret one front on
this map of the continental United States. Only choose one front on the map, do not describe all
of them! Remember that your notes from your lecture class have a nice breakdown on the
different types of weather fronts, describing what happens before, during, and after they pass.
Do
not simply copy the information in this table as we are working with real-world data!
You
must interpret the data observed on the station models on the map you are observing.
1.
Choose one front that is currently in, or close to, the continental USA. Zoom in on this
front and save a second map. It should look something similar to this:
2.
Label the front, and identify the type(s) of front(s) represented in the region you chose.
3.
Identify the air masses on either side of the front (e.g. mP, mT, cP).
4.
Draw arrows indicating the general wind direction on either side of the front.
5.
Shade and label areas of fog and rain.
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Lab Report
Write up your findings about the air pressure and the isobaric map in a lab report, following this
format:
Title
●
Brief, but descriptive.
Introduction
●
What was the topic of this lab?
●
What was the purpose? Focus on the purpose of the work you did and what it
accomplished, not the learning experience.
Methods
●
In this section, you should describe what you did, but do NOT include the actual data or
results. Where did you obtain the data? What information (describe, not the actual data)
did you record (the maps)? What observations did you make, and
how
did you make your
interpretations (e.g. the station models)?
Results
●
Write a short paragraph describing the current locations of the air masses and fronts
across the USA.
●
Then a second paragraph focusing on your chosen front, describing its location and the
associated weather conditions on either side of the front (air masses, air pressure, wind
direction and speed, temperature, relative humidity, and areas of fog and precipitation).
●
Include the maps, and
refer to them in your report
.
Discussion
●
Discuss how the location of air masses and type(s) of front(s) influence the weather
conditions recorded on your maps.
●
You should consider wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature and
fog/precipitation.
●
Refer to the maps in your discussion.
Conclusions
●
Brief summary of your findings.
Include with report:
●
Weather station maps, labeled as described in instructions
All materials for the lab report MUST be submitted as a single pdf file.