clouds & weather
Post on 15-Feb-2016
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Clouds & WeatherSOL 6.3 b,c,d,e
WHAT CAUSES CLOUDS & WEATHER ON EARTH?
• The North & South Pole receive very little of the sun’s radiation because they are farther from the sun, and they receive its light at an angle.
• HEAT!
• The Earth’s surface is heated unequally.
• The Equator receives MOST of the sun’s direct radiation.
• The sun’s radiation heats the air on Earth’s surface.
• That heated air rises, starting a convection current.
• As the warm air rises, cool air falls to take its place.
THE SUN’S HEAT ENERGY MOVES THE AIR!
• The sun also heats the oceans more at the equator causing water to move away from the equator, causing surface currents, like the Gulf Stream.
• The sun’s heat powers the water cycle. It evaporates water all over Earth’s surface!
• This movement of the atmosphere and oceans causes our weather.
THE SUN’S HEAT ENERGY MOVES EARTH’S WATER!
HOW DO CLOUDS FORM?(The water cycle -- of course!)
As bodies of water (oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.) absorb heat energy, the water molecules rise and expand (move apart).
The water BECOMES A GAS (water vapor) We call this EVAPORATION.
The water vapor cools in the upper atmosphere and the water molecules condense (collect together) and form clouds
Clouds are NOT GAS -they are tiny liquid water particles – Think about it…YOU CAN SEE THEM so they can’t be a
gas…THEY ARE A LIQUID!
condensation
evaporation(from bodies of water)
transpiration(water from
plants)
precipitation
CLOUD TYPESTHERE ARE THREE MAIN TYPES OF CLOUDS:
CUMULUS Puffy clouds that look like cotton balls,
often with a flat bottom.
These clouds signal FAIR
WEATHER (blue skies and sunshine!)
CIRRUSVERY THIN &
WISPY—look like FEATHERS or HORSE TAILS.
Very high up & made of ice
crystals. Usually mean FAIR
WEATHER
STRATUS These clouds
COVER the sky like a BLANKET
These clouds often bring LIGHT
DRIZZLY RAIN –NOT
thunderstorms.
YOU CAN ADD PREFIXES TO CLOUD NAMES TO DESCRIBE THEM BETTER
~ ALTO- means the clouds are HIGH IN THE ATMOSPHERE:
-Altocumulus – high cumulus clouds
-Altostratus – high stratus clouds~ NIMBO or NIMBUS -means the clouds contain RAIN:
-Nimbostratus – blanket-like clouds that contain rain
-Cumulonimbus – Cumulus clouds that grow really tall and are often ANVIL shaped.
Cumulonimbus clouds produce SEVERE WEATHER like THUNDER, LIGHTNING, HAIL,
STRONG WINDS & sometimes TORNADOES!
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