Sunday, October 30, 2011

Blog 2

The air masses over much of Europe are relatively similar to those in the United States but some differences do exist. The differences have much to do with the Atlantic Ocean that lies between the two continents allowing mA air to reach Europe. Prague is affected by more than one mir mass. The air masses that affect Prague are Continental Trpoical (cT),Continantal Polar (cP), Maritime Polar(mP), and Maritime Arctic(mA). mA air masses in the winter seaons become present as the air sweeps over Western Europe and down into the Mediterranean through a cyclonic system which often times leads to snow in Prague. In the summer months, mP air moves into Prague and is responsible for their typialy dry to moderate summers with the occasional thunderstorm. The cP air mass that moves into central Europe from northern Europe changes as it moves into Prague. During the summer this air mass is responsible for clear skies and good visibility along with cool nights and mornings. Although the temperatures feel cool, by midday it feels relatively warm.




OLD TOWN SQUARE IN THE SUMMER      OLD TOWN SQUARE IN WINTER





This variability of the weather is caused mainly by the changeable location and magnitude of two main pressure centers: the Icelandic Low and the Azores High. Mainly during the warm middle of the year, it can generally be said that expansion of the high pressure projection into the territory causes warmer and drier temperatures, whereas the Icelandic Low manifests itself with a greater number of atmospheric fronts, which bring more clouds and precipitation.





Soucres:
http://www.tpub.com/content/aerographer/14312/css/14312_104.htm
http://www.czech.cz/en/66848-climate

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Blog 1: City Summary

Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic and home to 1.3 million people, is located along the Vltava River and in the center of the Bohemian basin in central Europe. With Germany and Poland to the north and Austria and Slovakia to the south, the Czech Republic is completely land locked and surrounded by mountains. The geographic coordinates of Prague are 50°05"N and 14°27"E. Because of Prague's geographic location, the weather there has tendencies to range from very hot and wet summers to very cold and freezing winters, however, on average Prague's seasons tend to be very mild to cold. Summers contain average mild temperatures between 20 to 25 degrees Celsius and humidity around 20% but it is not uncommon for temperatures to reach 35 degrees followed by heavy thunderstorms. The month of May contains the highest amount of rainfall right around 3 inches of rain for the month but higher numbers have often been reported. Winters in Prague typical contain cold temperatures and cloudy, overcast skies with highs averaging between 5 to -5 degrees Celsius. Snowfall is typically more common in the mountains then the main and lowlands but sheets of snow are not uncommon.



Climate data for Prague
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Average high °C (°F)1.0
(33.8)
3.2
(37.8)
8.5
(47.3)
14.2
(57.6)
18.7
(65.7)
22.0
(71.6)
24.7
(76.5)
24.5
(76.1)
20.0
(68)
13.6
(56.5)
6.9
(44.4)
2.6
(36.7)
13.33
(55.99)
Average low °C (°F)-4.6
(23.7)
-3.8
(25.2)
-0.5
(31.1)
3.1
(37.6)
8.4
(47.1)
11.2
(52.2)
13.5
(56.3)
13.3
(55.9)
9.5
(49.1)
5.1
(41.2)
0.9
(33.6)
-2.1
(28.2)
4.5
(40.1)
Precipitation mm (inches)23.5
(0.925)
22.6
(0.89)
28.1
(1.106)
38.2
(1.504)
77.2
(3.039)
72.7
(2.862)
66.2
(2.606)
69.6
(2.74)
40.0
(1.575)
30.5
(1.201)
31.9
(1.256)
25.3
(0.996)
525.8
(20.701)
Avg. precipitation days7667101099767791
Source: World Meteorological Organisation (UN)[33]




Source: www.weather-and-climate.com