Temperature inversions?

Question

is cold air over the warm air during a inversion ?

what causes inversions ?

Answer 1

This could be a very complex question so I would recomend that you go to weatherquestions.com

Answer 2

Just to add to what Mr. Snowstorms was saying, there are three types of inversions. A radiation inversion is the one most people will think of (because its the one that typically really effects the surface). A radiation inversion is when the ground gathers heat throughout the day, just due to daytime heating. Then, at night, if you have a nice clear sky, the ground will radiate this heat out, and thus upward warming the air aloft and, since the warm air is leaving, cooling the surface. This can help to decrease wind speeds (stopping stronger winds aloft from mixing down to the surface), and even help to cause fog (called radiation fog).

You can also have a frontal inversion, and a subsidence inversion. A frontal inversion happens when, you guessed it, you've got a front approaching. The air (usually aloft) will warm with height, and your dew point (moisture within the air) will increase with the temperature. A subsidence inversion typically happens when you have high pressure. Temperature will increase with height, but your dew point will actually decrease, due to the strong subsidence and downward vertical motion associated with the high pressure system.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

No, warm air is over the cold air. Nomally, without an inversion, temperature decreases with height. But in an inversion, it increases with height upto a point, and then decreases. The depth of this inversion can be anywhere from a few inches to several thousand feet. Very shallow inversions (a few inches) are actually very common and are the reason why ground frosts occur even when no air frost is recorded at 5 ft off the ground.

Inversions form on calm clear nights in any season but more commonly in the fall and winter. Inversions are more common in high latitudes. In Alaska and the Yukon, mountain animals commonly ascend from the cold valley floor to mountain tops to reach the relatively mild air there