Land Breezes

Because the land also cools more rapidly than the water after the sun sets, a similar situation occurs late at night, but in the opposite direction. Here, the cooled air over the land contracts, forming a low pressure aloft over land and a relatively high pressure aloft over the water. The resulting circulation is known as a land breeze, because the wind now blows offshore.

The land breeze usually has lower wind speeds associated with it than the sea breeze because the temperature difference at night between land and water is not as large. Still, clouds and storms may develop just offshore due to the rising air over the local low pressure area.

Similar phenomena occur over smaller bodies of water (such as lakes), but on a much smaller magnitude. If a thermal circulation develops over a lake, it is called a lake breeze. These form quite often in the regions surrounding the Great Lakes.