Sea breezes are circulations that form because of differences in temperature between land and water. This phenomenon is a big component in producing so many showers and storms over the state of Florida. Sea breezes can happen anywhere there's a lake or a decent size body of water.
Temperature differences between water and land result from essentially what they're made up of and how they absorb heat. The sun's rays can easily penetrate the surface of the water and can go down as far as 650 feet deep. However, ocean waters constantly mix so the heat from the sun is always mixed around. This will lead to cooler temperatures. Heat from the sun can't go too far down into the soil, thus most of the energy from the sun stays concentrated at the surface on a light wind day. That's why temperatures are much warmer on land compared to water.
We know that warm air will rise, thus rising motion is produced over the hot land. The air moving up higher in the atmosphere will create low pressure on the surface of the land and higher pressure aloft. Air moves from high to low pressure. This motion leads to low pressure above the water surface. Air will then sink near the ocean surface due to it being cooler than the air over land, creating high pressure.
When the circulation is complete a sea breeze front forms, which is ultimately a boundary that showers and storms can develop from. Once that sea breeze front passes, skies will clear and temperatures will drop 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. This phenomenon is relatively small in scale and only affects a small portion of land off of a coast.
Similar, but opposite is the land breeze that occurs at night. They occur in fall and winter when land cools quickly during the night and ocean waters remain fairly warmer. However, the land breeze is weaker than the sea breeze. Reasons for that include ground cooling inhibiting rising motion, a shallow change in temperature, and terrain and buildings restricting wind flow from land to water.
Land breezes form when land quickly cools and becomes more dense. Gravity will pull this denser air into the ocean, which will undercut the warmer air just above the ocean. The warmer air will rise, leaving low pressure at the ocean surface. Air aloft will then flow from high to low pressure. Once over the land, it'll cool and sink.
Above is an example of a lake breeze over the Georgian Bay and Great Lakes region. You can clearly see the lake breeze front, where there's a defining line between clear sky and cumulous clouds.
If you have a weather question that you'd like to be answered, shoot me an email at jbettenhausen@kwwl.com. You can send in a horizontal video of you asking a question, which will play on air during the Weather Wonders segment or you can just type it in an email.
The Link LonkMay 08, 2021 at 09:27PM
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