Clouds and Precipitation

By: Nic Gildner

Adiabatic Temperatures changes

• Adiabatic is referring to any process that occurs without heat transfer.

• This is also a concept used in many areas of engineering and physics.

http://screamingsqueegees.com/

Orographic Lifting

• The vertical movement of air.• Happens on the windward side of a mountain.• Forcing the air to ascend, or move upward.

http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/classes/m815/Cases/HCR/HCR.html

Frontal Wedging

• Boundary of colliding masses of cold and warm air.

• Also a process occurs in the front that is cold dense air.

• Warmer less dense air rises.https://www.meted.ucar.edu/sign_in.php?go_back_to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.meted.ucar.edu%252Fmesoprim%252Fbandedprecip%252Fprint.htm

Convergence

• Lifting of air• Results of the air in the lower atmosphere• With they both flow together • http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/

guides/mtr/cld/dvlp/cnvrg.rxml

Localize Convective Lifting

• Occurs when there is unequal Heating on the Earth.

• Warms a pocket of air more then surrounding air.

• Lowering the air density.

http://www.bom.gov.au/info/clouds/

Stability ( Density Differences & Stability and Daily Weather

• Happens when air temperature increases with height.

• Called temperature inversion

http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/weather/5.html

Condensation• Gas to liquid • Warm air can hold more moisture then cold

air• Condensation can damage a car.

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-56605-cold-glass-of-water-with-condensation.php

Types of Clouds

• Cirrus clouds are high, white and thin clouds• Cumulus consist of rounded individual cloud

masses• They have flat bases and appearance over

domes or stadiums

http://changinginclimate.blogspot.com/2010/04/different-types-of-clouds.html

High Clouds

• The bases are usually dark• High Clouds are called cirrus• High Clouds usually don’t produce

precipitation

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

Middle Clouds

• Made of ice crystals‘ and water droplets.• Middle Clouds can go up to 2000 to 8000m

http://braindanceisawayoflife.blogspot.com/2009/04/cloudspotters-guide.html

Low Clouds

• Stratus up to6500• Lower clouds have puffy layers• And they are very common around the world

http://braindanceisawayoflife.blogspot.com/2009/04/cloudspotters-guide.html

Clouds of Vertical Development

• Consist of different cloud types.• This occurs when warm air rises• They also have patterns to them.

http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=http://www.teachengineering.org/collection/cub_/activities/cub_air/cub_air_lesson04_activity4.xml

Fog (by cooling an evaporating)

• A collection of liquid water droplets and ice crystals that form on the earth surface.

• A form a cloud that is very close to the ground. http://helicopterblog.com/?p=276

Cold Cloud Precipitation ( Bergeron process)

• Also known as the cold rain ice crystals process.

• When is crystals form in higher clouds then usual..

• Water goes from liquid to vaperhttp://www.wunderground.com/blog/EastCoastWeather/archive.html?year=2005&month=12

Warm Cloud Precipitation

• Is when air rises• Also the warm air would go above the colder

air.

http://is2104.wordpress.com/page/2/

Rain and Snow

• Snow only occurs when it is blow frezzing• Rain occurs when the clouds are closer to the

ground then further away.

http://www.nelsoncountylife.com/2010/11/03/snow-showers-possible-in-highest-elevations-late-thursday-night/

Sleet, Glaze and Hail

• Sleet is frozen rain.• Glaze is a thin coding of ice.• Hail is form of huge blocks of ice

http://honeyedhashette.blogspot.com/2011/01/zuppa-toscana.html