MIDLATITUDE CYCLONES
CHARACTERISTICS
In a cyclone:
- Isobars are closed around a low-pressure centre.
- Wind blows from high pressure toward low pressure from all directions, wind moves toward the
centre of LP it is deflected by Coriolis Force.
- Air converges and rises at the surface of Earth, and diverges. Patterns of convergence, ascent and
divergence.
CHARACTERISTCIS THAT DISTINGUISH FROM OTHER CYCLONES
- Systems where cold polar and warm subtropical air masses meet.
- Have two fronts: Warm front and cold front.
- Occur in families.
- Last between 4 and 14 days.
- Their winds spiral clockwise in the southern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the northern
hemisphere.
- Travel in westerly winds, from west to east.
- Carry lots of moisture, they can bring high winds and heavy rainfall near the coast.
- Also known as extratropical cyclones, temperate depressions, or frontal systems.
- Occur mainly over the oceans and coastal areas.
WHERE MID-LATITUDE CYCLONES FORM
Between 40 and 60 north and south of the equator
THE SEASONAL MOVEMENT OF THE MID-LATITUDE CYCLONES EXPLAIN WHY:
- The south western part of South Africa has wet winters and dry summers.
- There are sometimes very cold snaps in winter in the interior of the country.
CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE FORMATION OF MID-LATITUDE CYCLONES:
, Summary by: Kaylin Teneal
- Mass of warm moist air meeting a mass of colder drier air.
- Upper air divergence.
- Something to trigger the development of a low-pressure centre.
SECTION THROUGH A MID LATITUDE CYCLONE
PLAN VIEW OF CYCLONIC CIRCULATION IN THE HEMISPHERES