I cannot understand for the life of me the idea of low pressure vs high pressure in the atmosphere. Example: hurricane Milton has one of the lowest pressures ever recorded. Tried watching videos, reading, etc. Seems counterintuitive that low pressure = bad weather and high pressure = good weather?
In: Physics
Low pressure means that the density of the air is lower there, and that air is rushing inwards and upwards to fill that spot. As air rushes in and upwards, it brings in wind as well as water vapor, which condenses and then forms rain and storms. This vacuum can also create a vicious feedback loop. The air closer to the ground is typically warmer, and it cools off as it ascends, which creates even more condensation and creates convection in the stronger storms as this cooled air moves away at high altitudes and begins to sink, causing more warm air to fill its place.
High pressure is the opposite. Air is moving outwards and downwards. While this can create high winds too, they aren’t usually as strong and rarely produce any sort of weather as cool dry air is being pushed downwards where its typically warmer.
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