Pressure Colors "Reversed"
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I have noticed that Low pressure is indicated with areas of Blue, and High pressure with Red. This is opposite to how forecasts are present in the US. (Is Windy using an international standard, perhaps?) I feel that Red for Low makes more sense, as Low pressure is associated with relatively warm air rising, while Blue for High makes sense because it's associated with cooler air descending.
Does anyone else agree? (P.S. - Absolutely love Windy.com!)
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@cvgainey Hello, if the current colors of Pressure layer do not suit you, you can change the color scale here - https://www.windy.com/colors?50.077,14.515,5
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@korina Thank you for the response! I had forgotten about those settings. 🙂
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@cvgainey
Yes we can find pressure maps with opposite colors i.e. blue for high pressure and red for low pressure areas.
But personally I prefer the color used by Windy which are also those used by many meteorology centers.
Why? During the mild and hot seasons the air in anticyclones is sinking, compressed and generates hot weather, which is not the case with depressions (I am not talking about the thermic anticyclones which can be observed in winter over large continental areas).
In altitude a ridge is hot air while a trough is colder air.
Anyway, if you prefer to change the color setting of the Pressure layer, you can do it and customize the color scale:
https://community.windy.com/topic/10336/customize-the-color-scales-of-windy-layers?_=1611755734597 -
Polish NWS for synoptic maps is using the same Low-red, High -blue
but for example Netherland one got opposite linkI think blue most ppl connect blue color with cold air and they think its a Low pressure system because it's colder and raining.
But for meteo guys red color for lows makes sens because they are composed of warm rising air; highs of cold sinking air. -
@tomasz-w
So when you get severe drought and hot conditions due to persistent high pressure, you just explain that it's just cold air sinking ? I think that not makes sense because the air motion in pressure centers are explained by atmospheric dynamics, not by air temperature. -
@idefix37 " On the other hand, sinking air is associated with warming and drying conditions. So the first important point to keep in mind is rising air = moistening, sinking air = drying."
https://weatherworksinc.com/news/high-low-pressure -
@tomasz-w
So, this is the reason why I definitively prefer the Red for sunny conditions and the Blue for rainy conditions.
Your link tries to give basic explanation to understand the air flow under high or low pressure systems. But they mix causes and consequences. These phenomenons are more complex but difficult to explain them in few lines. -
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