Lake breezes
(or sea breezes) are wind currents that blow from the bodies of water toward
the land. Land breezes are wind currents that blow from land towards the
bodies of water. In the summertime during the day, lake breezes occur
when the cool air over the lake moves inland. During a summer night, the
air over the lake may be warmer than the air over the land and the cooler
air over the land may move towards the lake resulting in a land breeze.
When a lake breeze penetrates inland, the forward edge of the cool lake air is called the Lake Breeze Front. This front is similar to a typical "Cold Front", but is smaller in scale.
For an in depth discussion of sea and land breezes go to the following link:
Meteorologists
can use the following data to observe land/lake breezes:
A) Surface weather observations:
Weather observations near bodies of water can reveal the land and lake breezes if there are a sufficient number of observations. Luckily, we have a sufficient supply of weather station near the Great Salt Lake!
Fig. 1 Shows an example of a Great Salt Lake - land breeze.
B) Radar Observations:
The weather radar used to detect precipitation and wind can be used to detect lake and land breezes.
C) Satellite Observations:
Under certain conditions satellite observations can show lines
of cumulus clouds along or near the lake/sea breeze boundary. These clouds
form with the aid of the convergence of air along the lake/sea breeze boundary.
Radar Observation of Birds & Insects
Lake/Sea Breeze effects on
Fauna
Radar observations have been used to help study the effect of winds on various animal species. The following are links to a couple of Web sites with such studies.
The weather around and over the Great Salt Lake is monitored by meteorologists for forecasting and research meteorology. The following are some sites with real-time weather data and other weather related information near the Great Salt Lake:
