Throughout my essay, I will be using the scientific methodology in my research methods to determine what I know, what I want to know, and the many unanswered questions that exist. Before I dig any deeper into the complicated weather systems, I will first describe a very important detail to our ?weather drama.? There is a very distinctive body of air called an air mass. This distinctive body of air is the effect of the surface on the air, which created regional, homogeneous masses of air having specific conditions of temperature, humidity, and stability. These masses of air interact to produce weather patterns.

I will be discussing a weather system for North America, and specifically for California. Here in the North, we have what is called Continental polar, or cP. These cP air masses form only in the Northern hemisphere and are most developed in the winter when they dominate cold weather conditions. An area covered by cP air experienced cold, stable air and clear skies. North America also has what is called Maritime Polar, or mP air masses. mP air masses are in the Northern hemisphere and exist Northwest and northeast of the North American continent over the Northern oceans. Within them, cool, moist, unstable conditions happen throughout the year.

Cyclonic storms shift across the continent along storm tracks. These storm tracks shift lattitudinally with the sun and seasons, therefore creating what we know to be the summer months, autumn months, winter months and spring months. The typical storm tracks that cross North America are farther southward in winter.

Inductively thinking, we know that California is set up with Valleys, mountain ranges, and coastal regions, which means that we are prone to many weather effects. Deductively, I know that orographic lifting is very prominent on the coastal regions of California. The physical presence of a mountain acts as a barrier to migrating air masses. Orographic lifting occurs when the air is forcibly lifted upslope as it is pushed against a mountain. Stable air that has been forced upward by orographic lifting may produce stratiform clouds, whereas unstable air usually forms a line of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds.

Pollution is extremely apparent in our everyday lives. Anthropogenic, or human caused air pollution has the most harmful effects by far. 1.3 billion people live in regions that have unacceptable levels of particles in their air. In one California study, only 7% of the vehicles contributed to half of the carbon monoxide and only 10% contributed half of the hydrocarbon pollution. Carbon monoxide pollution is a dangerous, odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas. It is dangerous in cities because of the resultant reduction of oxygen in the blood that it creates. There are many other pollutants of the earth that are not only affecting our health, but are deteriorating the fragile ozone layer of the earth. Among them are Photochemical Smog pollut

Some topics in this essay:
North America, County California, El Nino, Western Inductively, Mexico City, Photochemical Smog, , California North, Pacific July, Icelandic Low, air masses, weather systems, north america, cold fronts, weather patterns, summer weather, cold front, orographic lifting, storm tracks, distinctive body air, body air, play key role, cold fronts warm, called temperature inversion, pacific eastern pacific,