Why does a lake heat up slower than the air around it?
Why does a lake heat up slower than the air around it? This is because of water's much higher heat capacity than air; and because of its higher heat capacity, it takes longer for water to gain and lose heat (cool), than it does for air. In both cases, either heating or cooling, there will be a lag between the air and water temperatures.
When the lake is warmer than the air?
A lake's unstable season is when the water temperatures are higher than the average air temperature. This means you can get rising motion and convection to occur over the lakes in the form of cloud cover and precipitation. Cold air over warm air is an unstable air mass.
Where is the warmest part of a lake?
Many lakes experience a turning of its water layers when the seasons change. In summer, the top of the lake becomes warmer than the lower layers. You've probably noticed this when swimming in a lake in summer - your shoulders feel like they're in a warm bath while your feet are chilled.
Why is lake water warmer at night?
During the night, the high specific heat capacity of the water causes it to cool much slower than nearby land areas. This makes the air over the body of water warmer than air over the land. Now the warmer air over the water will be rising and the cooler air over the land will move in to replace it.
Is it colder or warmer near a lake?
Its relatively warm water (warm compared with colder wintertime air temperatures) keeps temperatures over the lake and at the lakefront higher than inland readings. In the summer, however, lake water temperatures are usually cooler than inland air temperatures, and daytime readings at the lakefront will be lower.
Does living by a lake make it colder?
We now have a micro (small) scale circulation — the lake breeze. This lake breeze that develops in the spring can cause a 30 degree difference in temperature over a few miles. It can oscillate back and forth, where you a warm one minute, but cold the next. We see this on a grand scale as well around the globe.