Low Pressure Centers

High Pressure Centers

Anticyclones

Air Moves outward
Replaced by descending air
What happens to this air as it descends?

Cyclones

Air moves inward
Converging, rising air
What happens to this air as it rises?

Traveling Cyclones

Wave Cyclone – forms along Polar Front in mid- and high-latitudes.
Tropical Cyclones
Tornadoes

Fronts: Sharp boundaries between air masses

Cold Front

Cold air mass moving into a zone occupied by a warm air mass

Warm Front

Warm air mass moving into a zone occupied by a cold air mass

Occluded Front

Cold Front overtakes a Warm Front

Formation of a Wave Cyclone

Two large anticyclones from along Polar Front
Low pressure trough develops where winds converge.
Stationary Front forms
Low Pressure center develops.
Rotation causes Cold Front to move around low pressure.
Cold Front overtakes Warm Front.
Occluded Front forms.
Occluded Front breaks down.

Cyclonic Motion

Storm Track

Global Storm Tracks

Typical Tracks in N. America

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