Get Section 19 3 Regional Wind Systems

El Nino and La Nina are caused by the sea-surface temperatures in the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean interacting with the atmosphere. The cycle of the water temperature changing from warm to cold usually occurs every three to four years.

Local winds are winds that blow over a limited area. Local winds blow between small low and high pressure systems. They are influenced by local geography. Nearness to an ocean, lake, or mountain range can affect local winds.

Episodes of El Nino and La Nina typically last nine to 12 months, but can sometimes last for years. El Nino and La Nina events occur every two to seven years, on average, but they don't occur on a regular schedule.

It is the heating/cooling cycles that happen on a daily basis that cause many of the local wind systems. ... Air flows from high pressure to low pressure. This pressure gradient is set up when an area of land receives more sunshine than another area and begins to heat up faster.

Unequal heating of the Earth's surface also forms large global wind patterns. In area near the equator, the sun is almost directly overhead for most of the year. Warm air rises at the equator and moves toward the poles. At the poles, the cooler air sinks and moves back toward the equator.

La Niña is caused by a build-up of cooler-than-normal waters in the tropical Pacific, the area of the Pacific Ocean between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Unusually strong, eastward-moving trade winds and ocean currents bring this cold water to the surface, a process known as upwelling.

Mesoscale winds are winds that blow across areas of the surface ranging from a few miles to a hundred miles in width. Mesoscale winds are better known as local winds or regional winds. A local wind can persist anywhere from several minutes to several days.

false. at the equatorial low and produce abundant rainfall throughout the year. Warm humid trade winds converge. ... A La Niña episode is triggered by. ... El Niño. ... more often from one direction than another. ... allowing cooler air to move in from over water.

There are three circulation cells: the Hadley cell nearest the equator, the Ferrel cell in the mid-latitudes, and the polar cell. There are three prevailing wind belts associated with these cells: the trade winds, the prevailing westerlies, and the polar easterlies (Fig. 3.10).