Advertisement Upgrade to remove ads

Continental polar (cP) and continental Arctic (cA) air masses

originate over the ice- and snow-covered regions of the arctic, northern Canada, and Alaska where long, clear nights allow for strong radiational cooling of the surface.

Which of the following statements is most plausible?

In winter cA source regions have lower temperatures than cP source regions

The temperature that unsaturated air would have if it moved from its original altitude to a pressure of 1,000 mb is the:

potential temperature

In an exceptionally cold winter during which the Great Lakes were entirely covered by ice, lake effect snows would be expected in extremely high frequency and intensity.


Compared to an mP air mass, mT air is

warmer and moister

A moist, tropical air mass that is warmer than the surface over which it is moving would be classified


The greatest contrast in both temperature and moisture will occur along the boundary separating which air masses?

mT and cP

An air mass is characterized by similar properties of ___ and ___ in any horizontal direction.

temperature; moisture

One would expect a cP air mass to be:

cold and dry

A Texas norther (or blue norther) is most often associated with which air mass?


When cP air moves into western Washington, western Oregon, and California from the east, the air mass is warmer at the surface than it was originally because:

the air sinks, is compressed, and warms

Which air mass would show the most dramatic change in both temperature and moisture content as it moves over a large body of very warm water?

Continental Polar (cP) in winter

The coldest of all air masses is


What type of air mass would be responsible for refreshing cool, dry breezes after a long summer hot spell in the Central Plains?


Record breaking low temperatures are associated with which air mass?




Cumuliform cloud development would be most likely in which of the following

cP air mass moving over warm water

Lake-effect snows are best developed around the Great Lakes during:

late fall and early winter when cold, dry polar air moves over the relatively warm water

The lake effect occurs when a ___ air mass moves over a ___ body of water.

cP; warm

Generally, the greatest lake effect snow fall will be on the ___ shore of the Great Lakes.


During the winter, an air mass that moves into coastal sections of Oregon and Washington from the northwest would most likely be


Wintertime mP air masses are less common along the Atlantic coast of North America than along the Pacific coast mainly because:

the prevailing winds aloft are westerly

The designation for a cool, moist air mass is


What type of air mass would be responsible for snow showers on the western slopes of the Rockies?




What type of air mass would be responsible for hot, muggy summer weather in the eastern half of the United States?


The air mass with the highest actual water vapor content is


In Southern California, which air mass is mainly responsible for heavy rains, flooding in low-lying valleys, and melting of snow at high elevations


During the spring, which air mass would most likely bring record-breaking high temperatures to the eastern half of the United States?


What type of air mass would be responsible for daily afternoon thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast?


What type of air mass would be responsible for heavy summer rain showers in southern Arizona?


An mT air mass lying above a cold ground surface represents a(n) ___ situation


What type of air mass would be responsible for summer afternoon thunderstorms along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California?


Please allow access to your computer’s microphone to use Voice Recording.

Having trouble? Click here for help.

We can’t access your microphone!



Reload the page to try again!


Press Cmd-0 to reset your zoom

Press Ctrl-0 to reset your zoom


Please upgrade Flash or install Chrome
to use Voice Recording.

For more help, see our troubleshooting page.

Your microphone is muted

For help fixing this issue, see this FAQ.

Star this term

You can study starred terms together

NEW! Voice Recording