Why does a sea breeze occur

If conditions are right, smaller thunderstorms may also form along the sea breeze. The most important thing to recall is that warm air rises and cold air sinks. Without this phenomena, fronts would not form. Land always heats up faster than water.

In this SkyWise temperature image, you can see Florida in darker reds and oranges than the water surrounding it. This is the perfect condition needed to create that nice, inland front while you lay on the beach. However, it is not a unique condition to the Sunshine State. It can happen in any coastal area, as well as along large bodies of fresh water. In many areas, cities further inland may be sweltering. Therefore, the air above the land is warmer than the air above the ocean.

Now, recall that warmer air is lighter than cooler air. As a result, warm air rises. During the night, the land cools down quickly as there is no sun to provide the heat, and heats up the surrounding air. But compared to land, water bodies retain the heat for a longer duration, which causes the air above it to have lower density and rise.

High pressure is formed above the land; at the same time, low pressure is formed above the water. The movement of the dense air above the land takes place from land to space over water.

The cooler Breeze comes from shore and is known as a land breeze, as the movement of the winds takes place from high pressure to low-pressure areas. The sea breeze is known as the movement of winds from large water bodies like sea and ocean; they are also known as onshore winds. The occurrence of these Breeze occurs during the spring and summer season as there is more temperature difference between the land and the adjacent water bodies.

This is mostly observed in the afternoon when the land reaches the maximum heat level. This inland push of air from the ocean undercuts the less dense air over land forcing it to rise 3. A sharp boundary develops due to the large difference between the air temperature over land and over water. This boundary, called a sea breeze front, acts in the same manner as the cold front we typically experience.

The skies also clear after the sea breeze front pass by. Another change that takes place with the passage of the sea breeze front is an increase in humidity. Over land, air forced up by the sea breeze front will begin to cool. This cooling means the density increases again forming a small area of high pressure 4. Typically, this occurs from 3, to 5, feet 1, to 1, meters in elevation. At this level the air pressure and density, being greater than the same elevation over the water, causes air to flow back over water 5.

Once over water again, the air cools, increases in density and sinks toward the earth's surface 6. This enhances high pressure near the ocean's surface 7 and the whole process repeats as land flowing air pushes the sea breeze front further inland. While the sea breeze is generally associated with the ocean, they can occur along the shore of any large body of water such as the Great Lakes.

These changes occur in a relatively small scale weather-wise. However, if there are larger scale atmospheric conditions also affecting the weather, then the sea breeze and sea breeze front can have a much larger impact on the type and intensity of weather one observes.