EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -A frontal inversion occurs when a cold air mass undercuts a warm air mass and lifts it aloft; the front between the two air masses then has warm air above and cold air below.

Detailed explanation-2: -From the National Weather Service Glossary: A temperature inversion is a layer in the atmosphere in which air temperature increases with height. An inversion is present in the lower part of a cap. The cap is a layer of relatively warm air aloft (above the inversion).

Detailed explanation-3: -Under normal atmospheric conditions, air is warmer near the ground and colder at higher altitudes. In a temperature inversion, the situation “inverts, ” and cold air at the surface gets trapped under a layer of warmer air.

Detailed explanation-4: -Temperature Inversion Definition Temperature inversions occur when a layer of warm air traps cool air near the Earth’s surface. This is the inverse of what normally happens. Most of the time, for example, the Earth’s surface is warm during the day and air gets colder the higher you go.

Detailed explanation-5: -Typically, air near the ground is relatively warm, and the atmosphere grows colder with elevation. During a temperature inversion, cold air is trapped beneath warm air, creating a pocket of stagnated air close to the Earth’s surface. Thermal inversions are more common than you may think.