FAA Sport Pilot Airplane (SPA)WeatherMedium
On a warm, calm afternoon near the coastline, a pilot notices the surface wind consistently blowing from the ocean toward the land. What causes this local wind pattern?
- AKatabatic drainage winds are flowing downhill from nearby mountains
- BThe land heats faster than the water, causing air to rise over land and be replaced by cooler air flowing in from the sea
- CThe water heats faster than the land, causing air to flow offshore toward the ocean
- DA cold front is actively passing through the coastal region
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. The land heats faster than the water, causing air to rise over land and be replaced by cooler air flowing in from the sea
During the day, land heats faster than water, causing warm air to rise over land; cooler, denser air from over the water flows in to replace it, creating a sea breeze that blows from sea to land.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Katabatic winds are gravity-driven downslope winds, not sea/land heating differences.
- C. This reverses the actual heating relationship between land and water.
- D. A local diurnal wind pattern like this is unrelated to frontal passage.
Sea Breeze
A local wind that blows from sea to land during the day, caused by land heating faster than water and creating a pressure differential.
- Occurs during daytime as land heats faster than water
- Land breeze is the reverse, occurring at night as land cools faster
- Most pronounced on clear, calm days near coastlines
Memory trick: Sea breeze blows in by day (land hot, air rises); land breeze blows out by night.