Local Weather: Sea Breezes, Land Breezes, and Coastal Fronts

Prerequisite: Winds and Pressure

Introduction

Jerry North, the former head of the Department of Meteorology here, likes to study climate change by simulating the weather on "terra blanda", a flat, completely shrub-covered planet. Unfortunately, the real Earth has land, water, and mountains, and these geographical variations have a profound influence on local weather and climate. This module focuses on three types of weather that are specifically caused by the land/sea boundary, with or without mountains: the sea breeze, the land breeze, and the coastal front.

Learning Objectives

  1. To understand the cause of sea breezes, land breezes, and coastal fronts.
  2. To be able to predict the development, evolution, and weather associated with sea breezes, land breezes, and coastal fronts.

Table of Contents

  1. Review of the Sea Breeze and Land Breeze
  2. Review of the Sea Breeze and Land Breeze 2
  3. Differences Between the Land and Sea Breeze (optional)
  4. Differences Between the Land and Sea Breeze 2 (optional)
  5. The Sea Breeze Front
  6. The Sea Breeze Front 2
  7. Exercise: Find The Sea Breeze
  8. Exercise: Find The Sea Breeze 2
  9. Exercise: Find The Sea Breeze 3
  10. Exercise: Find The Sea Breeze 4
  11. Variations on a Theme
  12. Other Creatures: Land Breezes and Coastal Fronts
  13. A Sea Breeze Animation
  14. Summary

image
ATMO203 Home Page
Texas A&M Atmospheric Sciences Dept. Home Page

Questions or Comments

E-mail John Fulton < jdfult@nimbus.met.tamu.edu >

Copyright © 1996-2003 Texas A&M University, Texas A&M Atmospheric Sciences Department and Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon. All rights reserved.