<p>How big does a body of water need to have a sea breeze? Is there a chart on sea breezes wind speed that include lakes?</p>

<p>Could a circular lake create enough sea breeze to create a wind vortex in the center of the lake?
<a href="https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/108896/could-a-city-be-built-out-of-balloons">https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/108896/could-a-city-be-built-out-of-balloons</a></p>

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CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-29T23:28:55.923Z
The temperature of the lake will also be important and that will depend on thermal mass, depth, and circulation within the lake. The characteristics and heating of the land also make a difference. To make things even more complicated the effects will be superimposed on the regional weather, which could either enhance or counteract the effect.
haresfur
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-21T10:06:18.107Z
(I didn't forget btw!  And did save a few pertinent images this summer.  Not sure I'll be able to perfectly answer all your interests, but hoping I can at least put something together eventually... just been busy/distracted/dealing with things like computer issues recently :-) )
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-21T10:11:20.663Z
Also note... sinking motion, like shown at the center of your diagram, may look like a whirlpool shape or such to you, but it's really the structure of anticyclones... higher pressure, which lead to somewhat lighter winds generally... probably not favorable for what you're seeking!  All vertical motion in the atmosphere is actually fairly similar in shape... rising motion must match up with air moving towards the center (at the bottom) and sinking motion must match up with air moving away from the center... or else the area will lose/gain air significantly and the pressure would change a ton.
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-21T10:13:07.177Z
But perhaps wait until I can piece together the answer from those images I saved, as there were good model and satellite imagery showing more of the structure of such phenomena.  And I can also address the rotation potential a bit if that is part of your interest in the "vortex" part of the question.  Sorry to keep you waiting so long, so many questions I keep faltering to give answers to :(
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-15T21:50:19.647Z
Great question.  Lake Breezes are quite common... with the Great Lakes and Lake Okeechobee both commonly impactful.  But often see lake breezes even on much small lakes such as Lake Apopka in Florida, and even boundaries come off rivers occasionally.  Basically any temperature gradient can cause some sort of circulation, it's just whether it's its strong enough to impact clouds and such to be noted.  Remind me in a couple months when it's warmer (and thus can be regularly seen in FL), and will try to delete this and write up an answer using some imagery/models showing them :)
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-16T04:04:25.273Z
@gansub, true, true, I get spoiled by the land of large lakes.  It's the 5th largest in Florida, and only 6% the size of Lake Okeechobee... so I still call it "much smaller" :-p
JeopardyTempest
<atmosphere><wind><geography><convection><mesoscale-meteorology>
How big does a lake have to be to have its own Sea Breeze?
Muze
# How big does a lake have to be to have its own Sea Breeze?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-04-15)

How big does a body of water need to have a sea breeze? Is there a chart on sea breezes wind speed that include lakes?

Could a circular lake create enough sea breeze to create a wind vortex in the center of the lake?
<https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/108896/could-a-city-be-built-out-of-balloons>

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**Tags:** atmosphere, wind, geography, convection, mesoscale-meteorology

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Great question.  Lake Breezes are quite common... with the Great Lakes and Lake Okeechobee both commonly impactful.  But often see lake breezes even on much small lakes such as Lake Apopka in Florida, and even boundaries come off rivers occasionally.  Basically any temperature gradient can cause some sort of circulation, it's just whether it's its strong enough to impact clouds and such to be noted.  Remind me in a couple months when it's warmer (and thus can be regularly seen in FL), and will try to delete this and write up an answer using some imagery/models showing them :)  
> **username_2**: @gansub, true, true, I get spoiled by the land of large lakes.  It's the 5th largest in Florida, and only 6% the size of Lake Okeechobee... so I still call it "much smaller" :-p  
> **username_1**: The temperature of the lake will also be important and that will depend on thermal mass, depth, and circulation within the lake. The characteristics and heating of the land also make a difference. To make things even more complicated the effects will be superimposed on the regional weather, which could either enhance or counteract the effect.  
> **username_2**: (I didn't forget btw!  And did save a few pertinent images this summer.  Not sure I'll be able to perfectly answer all your interests, but hoping I can at least put something together eventually... just been busy/distracted/dealing with things like computer issues recently :-) )  
> **username_2**: Also note... sinking motion, like shown at the center of your diagram, may look like a whirlpool shape or such to you, but it's really the structure of anticyclones... higher pressure, which lead to somewhat lighter winds generally... probably not favorable for what you're seeking!  All vertical motion in the atmosphere is actually fairly similar in shape... rising motion must match up with air moving towards the center (at the bottom) and sinking motion must match up with air moving away from the center... or else the area will lose/gain air significantly and the pressure would change a ton.  
> **username_2**: But perhaps wait until I can piece together the answer from those images I saved, as there were good model and satellite imagery showing more of the structure of such phenomena.  And I can also address the rotation potential a bit if that is part of your interest in the "vortex" part of the question.  Sorry to keep you waiting so long, so many questions I keep faltering to give answers to :(  

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