page_title: Inversion (meteorology)
section_title: Causes
hierarchical_section_title: Inversion (meteorology) / Causes
caption_attribution_description: Boarisch: Kloongfuata Peekn im Tezempa 2015: Auf da höölftn fum Gorietschnigkoogl koma goonz deitli die fakeate Raafgrenz weng den ewing Neebldeekl seeng.Loog: Fiektring, pei da Miendung fum Fiektringa Pooch in die SätlaDeutsch: Klagenfurter Becken im Dezember 2015: Auf halber Höhe des Goritschnigkogels kann man deutlich die verkehrte Reifgrenze zufolge anhaltender Inversionslage erkennen.Lage: Viktring, an der Mündung des Viktringer Baches in die SetlaNederlands: Klagenfurter Becken in December 2015: Op de halve hoogte van de Goritschnigkogel is de omgekeerde rijpgrens door langdurende temperatureinversie duidelijk herkenbaar.Positie:Viktring, aan de inmonding van de Viktringer Bach in de GlanfurtEnglish: Klagenfurter Becken in December 2015: On half height of mount Goritschnigkogels there is a distinct inverted margin of the hoarfrost due to longduring temperatue inversion.Possition: Viktring, at the mouth of Viktringer Baches into river Setla
context_page_description: In meteorology, an inversion, also known as a temperature inversion, is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the thermal lapse rate. Normally, air temperature decreases with an increase in altitude. During an inversion, warmer air is held above cooler air; the normal temperature profile with altitude is inverted.
  An inversion traps air pollution, such as smog, close to the ground. An inversion can also suppress convection by acting as a "cap". If this cap is broken for any of several reasons, convection of any moisture present can then erupt into violent thunderstorms. Temperature inversion can notoriously result in freezing rain in cold climates.
context_section_description: Given the right conditions, the normal vertical temperature gradient is inverted such that the air is colder near the surface of the Earth. This can occur when, for example, a warmer, less-dense air mass moves over a cooler, denser air mass. This type of inversion occurs in the vicinity of warm fronts, and also in areas of oceanic upwelling such as along the California coast in the United States. With sufficient humidity in the cooler layer, fog is typically present below the inversion cap.  An inversion is also produced whenever radiation from the surface of the earth exceeds the amount of radiation received from the sun, which commonly occurs at night, or during the winter when the angle of the sun is very low in the sky. This effect is virtually confined to land regions as the ocean retains heat far longer. In the polar regions during winter, inversions are nearly always present over land.
  A warmer air mass moving over a cooler one can "shut off" any convection which may be present in the cooler air mass. This is known as a capping inversion. However, if this cap is broken, either by extreme convection overcoming the cap, or by the lifting effect of a front or a mountain range, the sudden release of bottled-up convective energy –  like the bursting of a balloon –  can result in severe thunderstorms. Such capping inversions typically precede the development of tornadoes in the Midwestern United States. In this instance, the "cooler" layer is actually quite warm, but is still denser and usually cooler than the lower part of the inversion layer capping it.
caption: Klagenfurter Becken in December 2015: on Mount Goritschnigkogel there is a distinct inverse hoarfrost margin.
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