PRESSURE AND WIND

J.T. II Olivar, MAEd

Faculty of Arts and Letters
University of Santo Tomas
 Outline of the Lecture
► Factors that causes Wind
► Processes that lift Air
► Global Circulation of the Atmosphere
► Local Circulation of the Atmosphere
 Wind
► Applied to the horizontal movements.
 Vertical movements, known as updrafts
and downdrafts.
► Wind attempts to balance out unequal
distribution of pressure resulting from
unequal heating of the earth and
atmosphere.
 Factors That Causes Wind
► Pressure Gradient Force
► Coriolis Force
► Frictional Force
 Processes that lift Air
► Orographic Lifting
► Localized Convective Lifting
► Frontal Wedging [Lifting]
► Convergence
Global Circulation of the
Atmosphere
Intertropical Convergence Zone
(ITCZ)
► The
zone where air from the two
hemispheres meet
 Air Masses and Front
► Front
 Area where unlike air masses come
together
► Air Masses
 Polar Air Masses
 Tropical Air Masses
 Continental
 Maritime
 Trade Winds
► Major wind system of the tropics
► Predominantly easterly; that is, they
generally flow toward the west
► The trades originate as warming,
drying winds capable of holding an
enormous amount of moisture
► Uplifted by a topographic
barrier/pressure disturbance
 Sub-Tropical High (STH)
► Each ocean basin has a large semi
permanent high pressure cell.
► Gigantic anticyclones (2000 miles).
► Within the STH, the weather is nearly
always clear, warm, and calm.
► Horse Latitude
► Source of two of the world's three
major wind systems
 the trade winds
 westerlies.
 Westerlies
► Poleward sides of the STH’s
► Great wind system of the mid-latitudes
► West to east around the world
► Less extensive than the trades
► Polar front jet streams
► Subtropical jet steams
► Cold polar air – Warmer tropical air
 Polar Easterlies
► Occupies most of the area between
the polar highs
► The winds move generally from east to
west
► Typically cold and dry but quite
variable
 Subpolar Lows
► The meeting ground and zone of
conflict between the cold winds of the
polar easterlies and the relatively
warmer easterlies
► The sub-polar low of the SH is virtually
continuous and in the NH is
discontinuous
 Polar Highs
► High pressure cells
► Air movement associated with these
cells is typically anti-cyclonic
 Monsoons
► Southern and Eastern Asia
 Arabic “mawsim” meaning season
► Sea to Land
 On-shore flow in Summer
► Land to Sea
 Off-shore flow in Winter
 Local Circulation of the
Atmosphere
► Sea and Land Breezes
► Valley and Mountain Breezes
 The Wind Systems in the
Philippines
► Early December to Middle of February
 Southern Siberia and Mongolia
 Northeast monsoon – amihan
► March to May
 Highest temperature in the Philippines
► June to November
 Australia (India and Pakistan)
 Southwest monsoon - habagat
 Tropical Cyclones
► Beginsas a low pressure center over
an ocean with strong circulating winds.
 Winds circulate in a counterclockwise
direction in the northern hemisphere
where the Philippines is situated.
 Tropical Cyclones in the
Philippines
► Average of 20 a year
 40% or 8 tropical cyclones passes through
the Northern Philippines
► Typhoons
 100 to 1000 km [or more] in diameter
 8 to 80 km [eye or vortex]
 5 to 15 km from the ground [cloud]
 Terms
► PAGASA
 Philippine Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration
► PAR
 Philippine Area of Responsibility
► PITL
 Philippine International Treaty Limits