|| Starpath online classroom || Glossary || Glossary Index || Home ||

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Aleutian Low The low pressure center located near the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on mean charts of sea level pressure. It represents one of the main centers of action in the atmospheric circulation of the Northern Hemisphere. The Aleutian Low is most intense in the winter months; in summer it is displaced toward the North Pole and is almost nonexistent. On a daily basis, the area of the Aleutian Low is marked by alternating high and low pressure centers, moving generally to the eastward; it is not the scene of an intense stationary low. Normally the depth or intensity of the low pressure areas exceeds the intensity of the high pressure areas, so that the region is one of low pressure on the average. The traveling cyclones of subpolar latitudes usually reach maximum intensity in the area of the Aleutian Low. The Aleutian Low and its counterpart in the Atlantic Ocean, the Icelandic Low, comprise the Northern Hemisphere's subpolar low-pressure belt.

[close window]