How to Use temperature inversion in a Sentence

temperature inversion

noun
  • This in turn can help to strengthen the temperature inversion.
    — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 21 July 2016
  • There was also a temperature inversion, where warm air was sitting on top of very shallow cold air.
    — Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2021
  • The warmer layer acts like a lid or cover trapping the cold air at the surface, in what is called a temperature inversion.
    — Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2022
  • When a temperature inversion occurs, the air prevented from rising helps bend the radar beam.
    — Fox News, 14 May 2020
  • The Air Force said that a temperature inversion — a layer of cold air trapped under a layer of warm air — had tricked the radar.
    — Washington Post, 6 June 2021
  • Light winds and temperature inversions, when cooler air is trapped near the ground, can allow pollution to build up, sometimes leading to hazy skies.
    — Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 18 Dec. 2025
  • The gusts break up the temperature inversions that usually trap colder air at the surface, Zingone said.
    — Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Jan. 2018
  • Cold, quiet mornings typically bring a temperature inversion – where air is coldest near the ground, then a bit warmer higher up.
    — David Yeomans, CBS News, 4 Dec. 2025
  • The Pentagon later said the unknown radar blips were false images caused by temperature inversion.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2022
  • During temperature inversions, when cold air gets stuck beneath a layer of warm air, residents walk around in a cloud of stagnant pollution.
    — Lisa Song, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2025
  • But if there is a layer of warm air between higher levels of the atmosphere and the surface (what is called a temperature inversion), that snow melts into rain.
    — Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Ice has kept its grip on the Arctic with the help of an unusual temperature inversion in the underlying waters.
    — Paul Voosen, Science | AAAS, 25 Aug. 2020
  • Under these conditions, a temperature inversion forms above the ground, and the volcanic emissions are trapped near the surface and travel down our side of the mountain slope.
    — Todd Nelson, Star Tribune, 9 Apr. 2021
  • The radar blips were caused by a temperature inversion, the officials said – a hot, humid layer in the cool atmosphere that can bend radar waves and produce false returns.
    — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 28 Dec. 2025
  • The combination of sun and lack of wind has created a temperature inversion and the resulting haze and stagnant air, Wirtis said.
    — oregonlive, 10 Oct. 2022
  • Hazardous air gets trapped near the ground due to a phenomenon called temperature inversion, where a layer of cold, dense air acts like a lid and prevents pollution from rising.
    — Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026
  • But during a temperature inversion, the air warms as the elevation increases.
    — Robin Goist, cleveland, 19 Nov. 2019
  • There was a low-level temperature inversion — in which temperatures increase with altitude — that acted like a lid and helped the thunder resonate near the ground.
    — Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024
  • In addition to the ramped up noise at night, nature magnifies the sound by creating a temperature inversion, Connolly said.
    — Kevin Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Mar. 2022
  • The cell signals above Melbourne were interacting with an atmospheric quirk known as a temperature inversion.
    — Matt Simon, Wired, 5 May 2021
  • During the cooler months, a weather condition known as a temperature inversion can trap polluted air close to the ground, causing the condition often referred to as the brown cloud.
    — Weldon B. Johnson, azcentral, 16 Oct. 2019
  • Winter also brings an offshore flow that pushes fog up from the Central Valley, as well as a temperature inversion, with cold air near the ground and high air far above, forming a lid.
    — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2021
  • These conditions create a temperature inversion, trapping particulates underneath a layer of warm air -- meaning there's nowhere for the smog to go.
    — Eliza MacKintosh, CNN, 14 Nov. 2019
  • Pollution levels have climbed over the past few days due to a temperature inversion, air-monitoring specialist Adam Petrusky said.
    — Hannah Rodriguez, The Seattle Times, 23 Oct. 2018
  • During temperature inversions — when cool air is trapped close to the ground and held stagnant — pollutants are not able to disperse, according to IQAir.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 15 Jan. 2026
  • But these dry times have created more temperature inversions (and more dust in the atmosphere); a layer of warmer air traps cooler air below, forcing the particulates and pollution to the ground.
    — Mike Sager, Esquire, 25 Feb. 2015
  • For example, high pressure aloft can squeeze the temperature inversion closer to the ground — below 1,000 feet above sea level — creating dense fog.
    — Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2022
  • But a temperature inversion creates a kind of atmospheric cap, dramatically bending the signal toward the ground.
    — Matt Simon, Wired, 5 May 2021
  • Pollution from motor vehicles and industry contributes to smog in the area, along with temperature inversions, which trap cold air and pollution underneath a blanket of warm air.
    — Korin Miller, Outside Online, 27 Aug. 2024
  • That capping was provided by a temperature inversion — a common occurrence in winter under high pressure conditions.
    — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2013

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'temperature inversion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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