Land Breeze
A diurnal coastal breeze that blows offshore, from the land to the sea. It is caused by the temperature difference when the sea surface is warmer than the adjacent land. Predominate during the night, it reaches its maximum about dawn. It blows in the opposite direction of a sea breeze.
Diurnal
Pertaining to actions or events that occur during a twenty-four hour cycle or recurs every twenty-four hours. Meteorological elements that are measured diurnally include clouds, precipitation, pressure, relative humidity, temperature, and wind.
Ocean
The intercommunicating body of salt water occupying the depressions of the earth’s surface, or one of its major primary subdivisions, bounded by the continents, or the equator, and other imaginary lines. A sea is subdivision of an ocean.
Temperature
The measure of molecular motion or the degree of heat of a substance. It is measured on an arbitrary scale from absolute zero, where the molecules theoretically stop moving. It is also the degree of hotness or coldness. In surface observations, it refers primarily to the free air or ambient temperature close to the surface of the earth.
Night
The period of the day between dusk and dawn.
Dawn
The first appearance of light in the eastern sky before sunrise. It marks the beginning of morning twilight. The visual display is created by the scattering of light reaching the upper atmosphere prior to the sun’s rise to the observer’s horizon.
Sea Breeze
A diurnal coastal breeze that blows onshore, from the sea to the land. It is caused by the temperature difference when the surface of the land is warmer than the adjacent body of water. Predominate during the day, it reaches its maximum early to mid afternoon. It blows in the opposite direction of a land breeze.