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Conditions for Cloud Formation. Clouds are made of which 2 states of Matter? Liquid Ice CONDENSATION NUCLEI: Surface for water vapor to condense on (dust, smoke, salt) -How does this help the formation of clouds?. Other ingredients for Cloud Formation. Air must be saturated
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Conditions for Cloud Formation • Clouds are made of which 2 states of Matter? • Liquid • Ice CONDENSATION NUCLEI: Surface for water vapor to condense on (dust, smoke, salt) -How does this help the formation of clouds?
Other ingredients for Cloud Formation • Air must be saturated • Cooling leads to condensation 3. LOW PRESSURE Causes air to e x p a n d…cooling air to its dewpoint Cloud Video
Convective Cooling • The lowering of the temperature of a mass of air due to its rising and expanding.
FORCEFUL LIFTING 1. Frontal Wedging - a moving mass of warm air encounters a mass of cold air in its path and rises up over it 2. Orographic Lifting - An air mass is force from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain.
FOG • The result of condensation of water vapor in the air. Formed near the surface of the earth. • Like a cloud, only lower.
FOG • Radiation fog • At night, layer of air above ground is cooled to it’s dew point • Advection fog • Warm moist air moves over a cold surface (mostly coastal)
Precipitation • Work on 5.04 table • Use pg. 489-493 • Due Monday!
CLOUD TYPES • There are three major cloud types: • Stratus- low layers of clouds. These clouds can bring light rain. Fog is usually a layer of stratus clouds touching the ground.
CLOUD TYPES • Cumulus- mid-level clouds that are fluffy and have flat bases. Large cumulus clouds can produce thunderstorms. • Cirrus- high-level clouds that are wispy. No precipitation is associated with these clouds.
CLOUD TYPES • Cloud prefixes & suffixes: • Cirro- high level clouds • Alto- mid-level clouds • Strato- low-level clouds • Nimbo/nimbus- rain clouds • Cumulo- towering clouds • These terms can be combined to form several cloud names.
CLOUD TYPES • Cumulonimbus- towering cumulus cloud capable of thunderstorms. • Stratocumulus- low-level, layered and puffy clouds. • Nimbostratus- low layers of clouds that are capable of bringing long, steady rain.
CLOUD TYPES • Cirrostratus- high, thin layered clouds. These can form halos around the moon or sun. • Altostratus- mid-level, layered clouds. These look gray/blue. The sun is visible through them. • Altocumulus- mid-level clouds that are puffy. • Cirrocumulus- high-level clouds that are puffy.