Clouds and PrecipitationBy: Lexi Montgomeryhttp://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mt

r/cld/home.rxml

Adiabatic Temperature Changes and Expansion and CoolingAdiabatic temperature changes are

temperature changes that happen even though heat isn’t added or subtracted.

Wet adiabatic rate is the rate of adiabatic cooling in saturated air and it is always slower then the dry adiabatic rate.

http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter6/adiab_cool.html

Orographic liftingOrographic lifting of air occurs when

elevated terrains, such as mountains, act as barriers to air flow, forcing the air to go otherwise.

http://ag.arizona.edu/watershedsteward/resources/module/Climate/az-climate_pg2.htm

Frontal wedgingThe boundary between colliding warm and

cold air is a front.The process that occurs at a front which cold,

dense air acts as a barrier over warmer, less dense air is frontal wedging.

http://www.harding.edu/lmurray/113_files/HTML/d2_Earth%20Revised/sld046.htm

ConvergenceThe lifting of air that results from air in the

lower atmosphere flowing together is convergence.

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

Localized Convective LiftingWhen unequal heating of Earth’s surface

warms a pocket of air more than the surrounding air, making the air pockets density lower is called localized convective lifting.

http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_lutgens_foundations_4e/47/12104/3098876.cw/content/index.html

Stability (Density Differences & Stability and Daily Weather)When air temperature increases with height

is when the most stable conditions happen. This is called temperature inversion.

http://www.meted.ucar.edu/afwa/avalanche/print.htm

CondensationWhen condensation occurs in the air above

the ground, little pieces of a specific matter , called condensation nuclei, are for surfaces for water-vapor condensation.

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

Types of CloudsCirrus clouds are high in the sky, white and thin.

These types of clouds occur as patches or as delicate sheets or extended wispy fibers that often have a feathery look. Cirrus also stands for (a curl of hair)

Cumulus clouds are the clouds that consist of rounded individual cloud masses. They usually have a flat base and appear as rising towers or domes. Cumulus also stands for (a pile)

Stratus clouds are the clouds that are described as sheets or layers that cover a good amount of the sky. Stratus also stands for (a layer)

http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html

High Clouds3 cloud tpes make up the family of high

clouds. Cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus.

Cirrocumulus clouds are fluffy, they have flat layers and warn any stormy weather.

All high clouds are thin, white and are often made of ice crystals.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/clouds/

Middle CloudsClouds that appear in the middle range

(2,000-6,000 meters) Altocumulus clouds are rounded and differ

from cirrostratus clouds.These clouds are white and grayish, you also

might get a light snow or drizzle with these clouds.

http://scienceprep.org/clouds.htm

Low Clouds3 types of low clouds; stratus, stratocumulus,

& nimbostratus.Stratus clouds have a fog-like layer that

covers much of the sky. Stratocumulus forms when stratus clouds develop a scalloped bottom or in broken rounded patches. Nimbostratus get the name from latin (nimbus) means rainy and cloudy these form during stable conditions.

http://anthonyjstewart.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/chicago-low-clouds-and-mist/

Clouds of Vertical DevelopmentSome clouds don’t fit into the 3 categoriesWhen upward movement happens

acceleration happens with clouds with a large vertical range form

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC102Notes/102Clouds.htm

Fog (by cooling and by evaporation)Fog can form on warm and cool air. As the night progresses, a thin layer of air in

contact with the ground is cooled below its due point, as it cools it will become more dense.

http://ocw.usu.edu/Forest__Range__and_Wildlife_Sciences/Wildland_Fire_Management_and_Planning/Unit_4__Temperature-Moisture_Relationship_7.html

Cold Cloud Precipitation (Bergeron process)The Bergeron process is a theory that relates

the formation of precipitation to very cold clouds, freezing nuclei, and the different saturation levels of ice and liquid water.

Supercooled is when water in the liquid state is below 0 degrees Celcius.

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect14/Sect14_1d.html

Warm Cloud Precipitation (collision-coalescence process)Supersaturated is when air is saturated

(100% realative humidity) with respect to water. With ice (greater than 100% humidity)

Collision-coalescence is a theory of raindrop formation in warm clouds in which large cloud droplets collide and join together with smaller droplets to form a raindrop.

http://www.liveweatherblogs.com/weatherblog/5568/Clouds-Precipitation-as-earth-s-thermostat

Rain and SnowRain means drops of water that fall from a

cloud and have a diameter of at least 0.5 mm.At temperatures warmer then -5 degrees

Celsius, ice crystals join together making larger clumps.

Snowfalls of larger clumps are heavy and make higher moisture filling.

http://zahiym5tlc.edublogs.org/

Sleet, Glaze and HailSleet is the fall of small particles of clear to

translucent ice.Glaze (freezing rain) is when rain drops

become supercooled, fall to the ground, and turn to ice when they hit objects.

Hail is produced in cumulonimous clouds, they start as small ice pellets that got bigger by connecting really cold water droplets as they fall through a cloud.

http://kvgktrailblazers.weebly.com/forms-of-precipitation.html

THEEEEEEE ENDDDDDD!!!! http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/synoptic/p

recip.htm