Continental tropical air masses form where their name suggests: over land in regions in the tropics (up to about 25° from the equator). In North America, this occurs in northern Mexico. The air masses are characterized by clear skies and negligible rainfall. If one moves northeast into the Great Plains and stagnates, a severe drought can result.
Continental Masses form over Land.
Continental air masses form in the United States
continental air masses
Continental Tropical
Continental Tropical
Continental air masses. Tropical air masses form over water.
over northern Canada and Alaska
Continental polar air masses form over cold, dry land areas near the poles, such as Siberia in Asia and northern Canada in North America. These air masses are responsible for bringing cold temperatures and dry weather when they move southward.
Continental polar air masses originate over cold, dry regions in the northern hemisphere, such as northern Canada and Siberia. These air masses form when cold air masses move southward from the polar regions and become isolated over land, leading to cooling and drying.
The 4 major air masses are continental polar (cP), continental tropical (cT), marine polar (mP) and marine tropical (mT). Generally, continental air masses are drier than marine air masses, and polar air masses are cooler than tropical air masses. cT air masses are relatively limited in distribution existing in the south west North America and North Africa.
Continental tropical air masses form over hot, arid regions near the equator, such as the Sahara Desert in Africa or the southwestern United States. These air masses are characterized by high temperatures and low humidity.
The US is not a great place for air masses to form because it is surrounded by oceans on three sides, which limits the development of continental air masses. In addition, the complex topography and variability of the climate in the US make it difficult for stable air masses to form and persist over large areas.