Sea breeze

A sea breeze is an onshore breeze which develops around the coastlines of sea and even large lakes on warm days. In mid-latitudes, it commonly occurs during the spring and summer. This is when there is a large temperature difference between the sea and adjacent land areas. A sea breeze is a thermally driven circulation, forming due to the fact that the land heats up more quickly than the sea. Water has a higher specific heat capacity and so requires more energy to raise the temperature. As the sun radiates energy at more or less a constant rate, it will take longer for the water to heat up. This means that peak sea surface temperatures aren't reached until early autumn. This differential heating of adjacent land and sea surfaces is the main factor in the formation of sea breezes. A temperature difference of around 3 degrees Celsius is required for sea breeze to start to develop. Other factors that are required for sea breezes to form are light offshore winds at around 3000 feet. This aids the higher level flow out to sea to get the process started.