Junior Cycle Geography CYCLONE Question Time 1. Explain the term ‘latitude’.


2. ‘The further a place is from the equator the colder it is likely to be.’ Discuss this statement using the following factors: sunrays, atmosphere and curved surfaces.


3. Prevailing Winds/Air Masses


The wind that blows most regularly over an area is called the prevailing wind or prevailing air mass . Winds are named after the direction from which they blow. For example, if a wind blows from the southwest towards the northeast, it is said to be a south-westerly wind.


The direction from which prevailing winds blow can have a massive influence on the climate of the area over which they are blowing.


Ireland experiences a range of air masses with different sources and tracks, giving us our variable weather (figure 9). Our dominant (prevailing) winds are from the southwest.


Northerly winds (polar winds): These winds come from the colder, higher latitude areas (further from the equator). They are dry until they absorb moisture as they move downwards into lower warmer latitudes.


South-westerly winds: Ireland’s prevailing wind blows from across the Atlantic Ocean. Heated in winter by the NAC, these winds bring temperate conditions with cool summers and mild winters. They also bring rain because they absorb water while travelling over the ocean before reaching Ireland.


9. The air masses that affect Ireland’s climate


Easterly winds (coming from Eastern Europe): These winds are warm in summer and very cold in winter as they are travelling across large areas of land. They are dry because they absorb little water while travelling over land.


Southerly winds (tropical winds): These are warm winds because they come from warmer, lower latitude areas (closer to the equator). They may bring rain if they give off moisture as they approach cooler, higher latitudes.


Question Time


1. What does the term ‘prevailing wind’ mean? 2. Name the four winds that affect Ireland’s climate. 3. Describe Ireland’s prevailing wind.


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