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Clouds and Precipitation Project
By: Matt Schaffer
Adiabatic temperatures changes and expansion and cooling
• When air is cool it expands and when air is warm it compresses
• The rate of cooling or heating of unsaturated air is called dry adiabatic rate
• The wet adiabatic rate is the slower rate of cooling when latent heat is added
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/adiab.html
Orographic lifting
• Orographic lifting is when air flow is blocked• Many of the rainiest places on Earth are on the windward
side of mountain slopes• When air reaches the leeward side of a mountain the air
has lost much of its moisture
http://05lovesgeography.blogspot.com/2011/04/types-of-rainfall.html
Frontal Wedging
• In central America when masses of warm air and cool air collide it produce a front
• Warmer air is less dense and raises• Colder air is more dense and produces a
barrier over warmer air
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/Newsletter/Spring_2008/climate.htm
Convergence
• Convergence occurs when air in the lower atmosphere flows together
• Air flowing from more then one direction goes up• The Florida Peninsula is an example of convergence
http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter6/lift_converge.html
Localized Convective Lifting
• Unequal heating of Earth causes rising parcels of warmer air called thermals
• Localized convective lifting is the process that produces rising thermals
• Pockets of air that are warmer then surrounding air are less dense will move upward
https://www.meted.ucar.edu/sign_in.php?go_back_to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.meted.ucar.edu%252Fnorlat%252Fsnow%252Flake_effect%252Fprint_whole.htm
Stability
• The temperatures of that atmosphere at various heights determines the air stability
• Stable air produces clouds that are widespread, have little vertical thickness compared to their horizontal dimension, and precipitation is light to moderate, if any
• Stable air resists vertical movement and air stays in its positions and unstable air rises
http://keithrogershome.com/Chap6StabilityInstability.html
Condensation
• The air must be saturated for condensation to occur(water vapor changes to liquid)
• Condensation nuclei are the surface for water vapor condensation in the air
• Their must be a surface for condensation to occur
http://keep3.sjfc.edu/students/kes00898/e-port/condensation%20page%20for%20unit.html
Types of clouds
• The three basic forms of clouds are cirrus, cumulus, and stratus
• All clouds show properties of one of the three basic cloud forms or a mixture of them
• Clouds are classified on their height and form
http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html
High Clouds
• High clouds are made up of cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus clouds
• High clouds are thin and white
• High clouds are not considered precipitation makers
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/hgh/crs.rxml
Middle clouds
• Middle clouds are 2000 to 6000 meter high
• Have the prefix alto as part of their name
• Altocumulus clouds are larger and denser then cirrocumulus clouds
http://www.ifimages.com/public/image/139051/view.html
Low Clouds
• Low clouds are made up of stratus, stratocumulus, and nimbostratus clouds
• Stratus clouds mostly cover much of the sky
• Nimbostratus clouds come from a Latin word that means rainy cloud
http://www.cepolina.com/photo/stratus_cumulus.htm
Clouds of vertical Development
• Clouds that don’t fit into the three height ranges are associated with unstable air
• When a upward motion is triggered it will produce clouds with vertical form
http://www.free-online-private-pilot-ground-school.com/Aviation-Weather-Principles.html
Fog (by cooling and by evaporation)
• Fog can be caused by cooling or evaporation
• Fog is produced when warm air moves over cold air
• When cool air moves over warm air it condenses and rising making fog that looks like steam
http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-effects/fog.html
Cold Cloud Precipitation
• Formed by the Bergeron process
• Supercooled water is when water is in a liquid state and below 0 degrees Celsius
• Supersaturated air has 100% saturated air for water and above 100% saturated for ice
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lzk/?n=mar2011.htm
Warm Cloud Precipitation
• The collision-coalescence process forms rain drops in warm clouds
• Larger droplets join together with smaller droplets as they move through the cloud
https://www.meted.ucar.edu/sign_in.php?go_back_to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.meted.ucar.edu%252Ftropical%252Ftextbook_2nd_edition%252Fprint_5.htm
Rain and snow
• Rain is a drop of water that falls from a cloud and has a diameter of .5 mm
• Light snow occurs when there is a small amount of water vapor in the air
• Heavy snow occurs when temperatures are warmer than -5 degrees Celsius
http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-maps/precipitation-rain-and-snow-enlarge-map.html
Sleet, Glaze and Hail
• Small particles of clear ice are called sleet
• Freezing rain is commonly known as glaze
• Cumulonimbus clouds produce hail
http://www.theweatherprediction.com/severe/gianthail/
The End
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