Cloud Formation

Adiabatic Temperature Changes and Expansion and Cooling.

• Adiabatic Temperature Changes are changes in temperature that happen even if heat is not added into the atmosphere.

• There are two different types of adiabatic rates there is the dry adiabatic rate and the wet adiabatic rate.

• The dry adiabatic rate is the rate of cooling or heating unsaturated air.

The wet adiabatic rate is the rate that is slower than the dry adiabatic rate

Orographic Lifting

• This occurs when high or elevated terrains like mountains canyons or glaciers experience acting like barriers to air flow.

• This causes the air flow on the elevated terrains to rise up into the atmostphere.

Frontal wedging

• Frontal wedging occurs at the front of a cloud or storm cloud odd dense air rises and acts like a barrier over which warmer less dense air rises through the cloud.

Convergence

• Convergence is air that lifts and results from lower air and flows together.

Localized Convective Lifting

• Localized Convection lifting happens when unbalanced heating of the Earths surface warms up a pocket of air more than other spots around that air.

• When this happens it lowers the air pockets density.

Stability

• The moist and stable conditions happen when air temperature actually increases with height called a temperature inversion.

Condensation

• Condensation happens when the air above the ground has tiny pieces of matter which is called condensation nuclei serve as surfaces for water vapor condensation.

Types of Clouds

• There are 3 Types of clouds One of them is the Cirrus cloud these clouds look like white curls of hair they are so thin They can occur as patches or as a veil like sheet.

• Cumulus clouds are clouds rounded surfaces and have flat bases

• Stratus clouds are clouds that look like bed sheets covering the sky because they take up all the sky.

High Clouds• 3 cloud types make up the family of high clouds

cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus.• High clouds are clouds that are not likely to produce

precipitation and they are in higher elevation then all the other clouds. And look like they have spots on them or spotty clouds.

Middle clouds

• The Middle clouds form in the middle range of the atmosphere and they are called Altocumulus clouds

• These clouds are much more dense and thick• The Middle clouds have a white grayish sheet

sort of look to them. Some times they can produce snow drizzle or maybe rain.

Low Clouds• Low clouds are the clouds we see the most. Like

many other clouds these clouds frequently tend to cover the whole sky

• These clouds form from air that rises up and forces itself up causing this cloud to form.

• Different types of Low clouds are Cumulo nimbus clouds

Clouds of Vertical Development

• Some clouds do not fit into any one of the three height categories mentioned. Such clouds have their bases in the low height range but often extend upward into the middle or high altitudes. They all are related to one another and are associated with unstable air

• Although cumulus clouds are often connected with fair weather they may grow dramatically undre the proper circumstances. Once upward movement is triggered, acceleration is powerful and clouds with great vertical range form. The end result often is a cumulonimbus cloud that may produce rain showers or a thunderstorm

Fog

• Fog is a misty looking cloud generaly formed over moist places such as lakes rivers streams seas or swamps.

• It is mostly