Temperature Inversion

What’s a temperature inversion?  That term has been tossed around the weather world a lot recently, and I’ve received a number of questions regarding it.  The folks over at the National Weather Service in Louisville recently produced a nice, short write up as to what a temperature inversion actually is.  Here’s a snippet from the piece:

Typically, temperatures in the atmosphere cool with increasing altitude. This is due to the fact that the sun’s energy is converted to sensible heat at the ground and warms the air at the surface. As this warm air rises, it cools and expands. However, in an inversion, the air temperature actually rises with height. When there is warm air on top of cooler air, meteorologists refer to this as an ‘inversion’ because the temperature profile is ‘inverted’ from its usual state.

The following graphic will help you visualize how a temperature inversion operates.

via bbc.co.uk
via bbc.co.uk

Their short blurb published on this weather concept also covers how these inversions develop, as well as impact air quality.  Be sure to check it out.