tropical air
tropical air
[′träp·ə·kəl ′er]Tropical Air
a tropospheric air mass that is formed at tropical latitudes or in the subtropical belt of high atmospheric pressure. Such air masses are also formed during the summer over the hottest large continental regions of the temperate zone, for example, in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Middle Asia, and in the southern European part of the USSR. Tropical air interacts with polar air at a polar front and may occasionally reach subpolar latitudes in the cyclones that arise during such interaction.
A distinction is made between maritime tropical air and continental tropical air. Maritime tropical air is characterized by a relatively high temperature and relative humidity, stable stratification, and frequent drizzling rains; continental tropical air is characterized by a higher temperature, a lower relative humidity, a substantial dust content, and summer thunderstorms and heavy rains.