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Clouds and Weather Phenomena Explained

Discover the world of clouds, from high cirrus to low stratus formations. Learn about cloud types, ranging from fair weather cumulus to ominous cumulonimbus. Explore unique cloud phenomena like Kelvin-Helmholtz waves and lenticular clouds. Dive into severe weather events such as blizzards, flash floods, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. Understand the different types of precipitation, from rain and hail to freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Enhance your meteorological knowledge and appreciation of the ever-changing sky.

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Clouds and Weather Phenomena Explained

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  1. It’s All About the Weather! Presented by: Shawn Gindhart Kelli Hornberger

  2. Clouds • 4 major cloud groups • High clouds • Middle clouds • Low clouds • Clouds with vertical development • Some Unusual clouds

  3. Cirrus • Thin, feathery clouds • Cold and made of ice crystals • Fair weather clouds

  4. Cirrostratus • Thin, sheet like, high clouds that cover entire sky • Halo around the sun • Made of ice crystals • Used to predict rain or snow within 12-24 hours

  5. Cirrocumulus • Small, rounded, white puffs • Made of ice crystals • Produce red sunsets

  6. Altostratus • Gray or blue-gray clouds • Made of ice crystals and water droplets • Cover entire sky • “Watery sun” • Form ahead of rain shower

  7. Altocumulus • Gray, puffy bands of clouds • Made mostly of water droplets • On warm, humid summer mornings could lead to late afternoon thunderstorms

  8. Stratus • Uniform, grayish cloud that often covers entire sky • Usually no precipitation, but sometimes mist or light drizzle falls

  9. Stratocumulus • Low, lumpy rows of clouds • Blue sky can be seen between single clouds • Often appear near sunset

  10. Nimbostratus • Dark gray, “wet”-looking, sheet like clouds • Steady rain or snow falls from clouds

  11. Fog • Stratus cloud that touches the ground • Formed 2 ways • By cooling the air until it reaches saturation • By evaporating water into air until it reaches saturation

  12. Cumulus • Small, puffy clouds that look like cotton balls • Dome- or tower-shaped tops • Also fair weather clouds • Made of water droplets

  13. Cumulonimbus • Thunderstorm cloud • Dark base with anvil shaped top • All forms of precipitation • Lightning, thunder, and even tornadoes can be present

  14. Cap Cloud • Resembles a scarf capping the top of sprouting cumulus cloud • Form when moist winds are deflected up and over top of a building cumulus cloud

  15. Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves • Form when there are 2 parallel layers of air that are usually moving at different speeds and in opposite directions • Upper layer of air usually moves faster than the lower layer because there is less friction

  16. Lenticular Clouds • Clouds having the shape of a lens or almond • Form on one another like a stack of pancakes • Develop downwind of a mountain

  17. Contrails • Cirrus-like trail of condensed vapor • Form from the mixing of hot exhaust gases from jet aircraft with cold air • Made of ice crystals

  18. Severe Weather • Blizzards • Flash Flood • Hurricanes • Thunderstorms • Tornadoes

  19. Blizzard • Characteristics • Low temperatures • Strong winds (greater than 30 knots) • Large amounts of fine, dry, powdery snow • Reduce visibility to only a few meters

  20. Flash Flood • Flood that rises and falls quite rapidly with little or no advance warning • Usually result of intense rainfall over relatively small area

  21. Hurricanes • Tropical storm system • Swirling band of rotating clouds • Surface winds in excess of 64 knots (74 mph) • Heavy rain

  22. Thunderstorms • Clusters of towering cumulus clouds that have grown • Accompanied by lightning, thunder, strong gusty winds, and heavy rain

  23. Tornadoes • Intense rotating column of air that extends downward from the base of a thunderstorm • Winds may exceed 200 knots • Some never reach the ground

  24. Precipitation • Types • Rain • Hail • Freezing Rain • Sleet • Snow

  25. Rain • Any falling drop of liquid water • Diameter ≥ 0.5mm • Drizzle • Fine uniform drops of water • Diameter < 0.5mm

  26. Hail • Pieces of ice either transparent or partially opaque • Ranging in size from that of small peas to that of golf balls or larger • Some are round while others take on irregular shapes

  27. Freezing Rain • Supercooled raindrops that fall through a relatively shallow subfreezing layer • Freeze upon contact with cold objects at the ground

  28. Sleet • Frozen raindrops that form as cold raindrops (or partially melted snowflakes) • Refreeze while falling through a relatively deep subfreezing layer

  29. Snow • White ice crystals in complex hexagonal (6-sided) shapes • Often join together to form snowflakes

  30. THE END Millersville Meteorology www.MillersvilleMeteorology.org

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