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4/9/2017
1
…and weather prediction
Clouds, snow, and rain are all made of up of some form of water. Cloud = tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals
Rain = liquid water
Snowflake = many ice crystals
Common sources of moisture for the US are warm moist air masses
mT, mP, mE
How do clouds form? Think about the cloud lab.
4/9/2017
2
The presence of clouds tells a change is coming
Understanding cloud types helps us predict the changes
British pharmacist and chemist Luke Howard (1803)
Meteorologists have used the system ever since, with minor modifications
Clouds are given Latin names corresponding to
‐ their appearance
‐ their altitude
‐ whether they create precipitation
1. Height
a) Low Strato‐ (layer)
b) Mid Alto‐ (high, tall)
c) High Cirro‐ (curl – thin high)
2. Shape
a) Fluffy cumulus (heap)
b) Layered stratus (layered)
c) Wispy cirrus (curl)
3. Produce precipitation nimbus
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Strato‐
Low layered clouds
Form when air rises slowly
Can look like fog that doesn’t touch the ground
Can produce light drizzle
When stratus breaks up and dissipates blue sky is often revealed
Low and fluffy
Small clumps (about the size of a fist)
Can produce drizzle
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Low clouds with precipitation
Produce continuous rain or snow
Usually associated with a ________________
Fluffy, fair‐weather clouds
Develop vertically when air rises rapidly due to daily convection; it appears in the morning, grows, and then more or less dissolves again toward evening
Can combine into a cumulonimbus cloud
Fluffy with precipitation
Heavy dense cloud taking the shape of a mountain or huge tower
The upper portion is usually high and flat
Produce thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes
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Alto‐
Mid‐level layered cloud
Sheets or layers of clouds that may totally or partially cover the sky
They are thin enough to see the sun, but do not allow shadows on the ground to form
At times, they may produce rain associated with a _____________
Mid‐level fluffy clouds
The most common mid cloud, often appears with other cloud types
Multiple layers may appear at different levels concurrently
Can create a corona passing in front of the sun or moon (colored rings with red outside and blue inside)
Often form in front of a _________ and result in thunderstorms
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6
Cirro‐
High‐level curled
Wispy delicate white patches or narrow bands
Composed of ice crystals
Before sunrise and after sunset, cirrus is often colored bright yellow or red and are lit up long before other clouds and fade out much later
High, layered
Transparent, whitish veil clouds
Usually covers the whole sky
Distinguished from cirrostratus by the halo phenomena produced by the sun or the moon
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High fluffy
Uncommon cloud
Degraded state of cirrus and cirrostratus
Thin, white patch, sheet, or layered of clouds without shading
Composed of very small elements in the form of more or less regularly arranged grains or ripples