Clouds and Precipitation By: Justin Laubach

ADIABATIC HEATING AND COOLING

-Air temperatures changing with no change in energy

http://www.summitcds.org/chem1vt/webtext/energetics/CE05.html

Orographic Lifting

When places on the Earth, such as mountains, block the air flow, which leads up to the air rising

http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/edu/k12/.LiftingMechanisms

Frontal Wedging

Process when cold air blocks out cold air to let warm air rise

http://www.sleepingdogstudios.com/Network/Earth%20Science/ES_18.2_files/frame.htm#slide0014.htm

Convergence

When air is met by other air and is forced in an upward direction

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/dvlp/cnvrg.rxml

Localized Convective Lifting

Unequal heating of the Earth’s surfaceSome parts of the Earth are warmer than

others due to darkness of an objectSome parts of the Earth are cooler than

others due to light on an object

https://www.meted.ucar.edu/sign_in.php?go_back_to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.meted.ucar.edu%252Fdot%252Fprint.htm

Stability

Air that doesn’t move; remains in its original spot

Unstable air often rises

http://ocw.usu.edu/Forest__Range__and_Wildlife_Sciences/Wildland_Fire_Management_and_Planning/Unit_7__Atmospheric_Stability_and_Instability_1.html

Condensation

Air must be saturated for any type of condensation such as dew, fog, or clouds

Condensation happens above the ground There are tiny particles on the surfaces

for water-vapor condensation

http://keep3.sjfc.edu/students/kes00898/e-port/condensation%20page%20for%20unit.html

Types of Clouds

Cirrus clouds are white and thin clouds. There also delicate and wispy

Cumulus clouds are rounded. They have a flat bass and appearance of rising domes or towers

Stratus clouds are mainly sheets or layers which cover most of the sky. There are no specific individual clouds

http://www.prwatch.org/spin/2011/08/10943/study-about-clouds-effect-global-warming-debunked

High Clouds

There are three types of high clouds which include cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus

Cirrocumulus clouds are fluffy Cirrostratus clouds are flat layers

http://scienceray.com/biology/weird-and-wonderful-of-nature-cloud-formations/

Middle Clouds

Altostratus clouds create a white to grayish sheet covering the sky with the sun or moon

There may be occasionally a light drizzle or light snow

http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/sky/clouds2.htm

Low Clouds

Stratus clouds are fog like layers of clouds that usually cover most of the sky

Stratocumulus clouds have a scalloped bottom that looks as long parallel rolls or broken round patches

Nimbostratus clouds are rainy clouds

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/Blizzard92/comment.html?entrynum=32&theprefset=BLOGCOMMENTS&theprefvalue=0

Clouds of Vertical Development

Clouds that don’t fit into the category of high clouds, middle clouds, or low clouds

http://www.free-online-private-pilot-ground-school.com/Aviation-Weather-Principles.html

Fog

The result of radiation cooling, or the movement of air over a cold surface

When water vapor is added to the air and is saturated, fog can occur

Fog is a cloud with its base at or very close to the ground

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marine_Fog_Pattern_1.jpg

Cold Cloud Precipitation

Water is super cooled when it is below -0 degrees celsius

When air is saturated it is supersaturated to ice

The Bergeron process relies on two physical processes which are super cooling and super saturation

http://atm.ucdavis.edu/mmg/atm60_2005/note/precipitation.htm

Warm Cloud Precipitation

Warm clouds form raindrops in the collision- coalescene process

Salt can lower water vapor temperatures from the air at relative humidities under 100 percent

http://www.rainmanweather.com/site/products/RG-206-Brush-RG202-Rain-and-Snow-Gauge

Rain and Snow Drops of water that fall from a cloud and

have a diameter of at least 0.5 mm. When the ground temperature is above

four degrees celsius, snowflakes will melt and turn into rain before reaching the ground

At low temperatures ice crystals will form

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/42517

http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mfms7Zq/

Sleet, Glaze, and Hail

Sleet is the falling of small particles of clear ice

Glaze is just known as freezing rain

Hail is made in the cumulonimbus cloudshttp://www.kaiserroof.com/hail/

http://community.acstechnologies.com/2011/01/through-rain-sleet-or-snow/

The End