CLOUDS AND

PRECIPITATION
 Heat Energy and Physical States of Matter
 Heat is measured in calories

 One calorie is the heat necessary to raise the

temperature of one gram of water one degree
Celsius

 The specific heatwater = 1cal/gºC

 Latent heat
 Is stored or hidden heat
 Does not cause a temperature change
 Is important in atmospheric processes
 Changes of State of Matter

 There are three states of matter

 Solid
 Liquid
 Gas

 To change physical state, heat must be

 Absorbed, or
 Released
 Processes of Changes of Physical State of Matter
 Evaporation; Condensation
 Liquid is changed to gas; gas is changed to liquid
 540 calories per gram of water are added; released
 Latent heat of vaporizationwater = 540 cal/g

 Melting; Freezing
 Solid is changed to liquid; liquid is changed to solid
 80 calories per gram of water are added; released
 Latent heat of fusionwater = 80cal/g

 Sublimation; Deposition
 Solid is changed to gas; gas is changed to solid
 620 cal/g of water are added or released
Changes of State of Water

Sublimation

Melting Evaporation

Freezing Condensation

Deposition

Figure 12.1
 Humidity and Relative Humidity

 Humidity: The amount of water vapor in the air

 Relative Humidity: is the ratio of the air’s water content to

its water vapor capacity at any given temperature
water vapor content of the air
RH = ------------------------------------------- X 100
water vapor capacity of the air

 Saturated air has 100% relative humidity

 Capacity is temperature dependent

 Warm air has a larger capacity
 Cold air has a lower capacity
 Changing Relative Humidity

 Relative humidity can be changed in two ways:

 Changing the temperature changes the capacity
 Lowering the temperature
 Decreases capacity
 Raises the relative humidity
 Raising temperature
 Increases capacity
 Lowers the relative humidity
 Changing the amount of moisture changes the content
 Adding moisture raises the relative humidity
 Removing moisture lowers the relative humidity
Capacity
Changing Relative Humidity at Constant Temperature
water vapor content of the air
RH = ------------------------------------------------- X 100
water vapor capacity of the air

Figure 12.3
Changing Relative Humidity at Constant Water-Vapor Content
water vapor content of the air
RH = ------------------------------------------------- X 100
water vapor capacity of the air

Figure 12.4
Daily Changes in Temperature and Relative Humidity

Figure 12.5
 Measuring humidity
 Two types of hygrometers are used to measure humidity

 Psychrometer
 Compares temperatures of wet-bulb thermometer and
dry-bulb thermometer
 The greater the difference, the lower the relative
humidity
 If the air is saturated (100% relative humidity) then
both thermometers read the same temperature

 Electric hygrometer
 Reads the humidity directly
 Contains an electrical conductor coated with a
moisture-absorbing chemical
 Dew Point Temperature
 Dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled
to become saturated

 Cooling air below the dew point causes condensation (e.g.,

dew, fog, or cloud formation)

 Water vapor requires a surface to condense on

 Humid air has a high dew-point temperature

 Dry air has a low dew point temperature

 By the way, clouds are composed of liquid droplets; they

are not part of the water vapor content of the air
 Adiabatic Temperature Changes of Air
 Adiabatic changes are temperature changes that occur in
response to changes in volume and pressure
 When air expands
 Volume increases
 Density decreases
 Temperature decreases, the air cools
 Rising air expands and cools due to decreasing air
pressure
 When air is compressed (contracts)
 Volume decreases
 Density increases
 Temperature increases
 Motion of molecules increases
 Descending air is compressed and warmed due to
increasing air pressure
 Dry and Wet Adiabatic Temperature Changes

 Dry adiabatic rate (1ºC / 100 m)

 The rate at which unsaturated air cools (as it rises) or
warms (as it sinks)

 Wet adiabatic rate (0.5ºC / 100 m)

 The rate at which saturated air cools (as it rises) or
warms (as it sinks)
 Commences where air has reached the dew point
 Condensation is occurring and latent heat is being
liberated
 Heat released by the condensing water reduces the rate
of cooling
 Actually varies from 0.5°C to 0.9°C per 100 meters
Adiabatic Cooling of Rising Air

Figure 12.7
 Processes that Lift Air
 Orographic lifting

 Frontal wedging

 Convergence

 Localized convective lifting

 Processes that Lift Air
 Orographic lifting
 As the air rises to go over the mountain
 The air cools, its relative humidity increases, and
precipitation begins to occur after the air is cooled to
its dew point
 Thus, the windward side receives more precipitation,
may be a rain forest

 As the air descends the lee side of the mountain

 The air warms, its dew point temperature rises, and
its relative humidity decreases
 Thus, the lee side receives much less precipitation,
may be a desert
Orographic Lifting

Figure 12.8 a
 Processes that Lift Air
 Frontal wedging: warm, less dense air is forced to rise over
cooler, denser air

Figure 12.8 b
 Processes that Lift Air
 Convergence: air is forced to rise above colliding air
masses

Figure 12.8 c
 Processes that Lift Air
 Localized convective lifting: air rises above warm surfaces.
These rising masses of warm air are called thermals

Figure 12.8 d
Stability of Air and the Environmental Lapse Rate
 Stability of air determines
 Cloud type that develops
 Intensity of precipitation

 Types of stability
 Stable air
 Unstable Air

 Environmental lapse rate

 Is the rate of temperature decrease with increasing
altitude in the troposphere
 The environmental lapse rate is variable
 It must be determined by observations (weather
balloons, aircraft)
 Stable Air
 The environmental lapse rate (ELR) is less
than the wet adiabatic rate (WAR)

 Resists upward vertical displacement

 Is cooler, more dense than surrounding air

 Sinks, so no adiabatic cooling results

 Yields widespread clouds with little vertical

thickness and little, if any, precipitation
 Unstable Air
 The environmental lapse rate is greater than the
dry adiabatic rate (ELR > DAR)

 Rises

 Is warmer, less dense than surrounding air

 Cools adiabatically as it rises

 Continues to rise until it reaches an altitude with

the same temperature

 Produces towering clouds

Unstable Air

Figure 12.13
Unstable Air

Figure 12.14
 The Effect of Air Stability on Weather
 Stable air does not rise unless it is forced to rise by
 Orographic lifting
 Frontal wedging
 Convergence
 Localized convective lifting

 When stable air is forced to rise

 clouds are widespread and thin
 the day is dreary

 When unstable air rises

 Clouds air are towering, generate afternoon and evening
thunderstorms, heavy downpour, tornados
 Stable air

Unstable air
 Condensation and Cloud Formation
 Water vapor requires a surface to condense on
 Condensation nuclei at Earth’s surface include
grass, car, car window, etc
 Condensation nuclei in the air are aerosols (dust,
smoke, ocean salt crystals, etc)

 Water vapor (a gas) condenses to liquid (forms dew,

clouds, or fog

 Clouds are visible aggregates of billions of minute

droplets of water or tiny crystals of ice

 Fog is a cloud with its base at or very near the ground

 Classification of Clouds Based on Form

 Cirrus Clouds
 high white thin veil-like or wispy patches of ice

 Cumulus Clouds
 globular irregular-shaped cotton balls

 Stratus Clouds
 sheets or layers that cover much of the sky
Cirrus Clouds

Figure 12.16 A
Cumulus Clouds

Figure 12.16 G
Stratus Clouds

Figure 12.16 E
 Classification of Clouds Based on Height
 High clouds (cirr…) ― above 20,000 ft
 cirrus
 cirrostratus
 cirrocumulus
 Middle clouds (alto…) ― 6500 - 20,000 ft
 altocumulus
 altostratus
 Low clouds (strat…) ― < 6500 ft
 stratus
 stratocumulus
 nimbostratus (rain cloud, covers the sky, causes light
precipitation, forms when stable air is forced aloft along a warm
front)
 High vertical development (cumul…)
 cumulus
 cumulonimbus
Classification
of Clouds on
the basis of
Height and
Form

Figure 12.15
Classification of Clouds (continued)

Figure 12.15
 Formation of Precipitation
 Cloud droplets
 Less than 20 micrometers (0.02 millimeter) in diameter
 Fall incredibly slowly

 Formation of precipitation is a collision-coalescence

process
 Large droplets form on hygroscopic condensation
nuclei
 Droplets collide with other droplets during their
descent

 If the temperature in the cloud is below freezing

 Ice crystals collect water vapor
 Large snowflakes form, fall to the ground or melt and
turn to rain
 Types of Precipitation
 Rain
 Droplets are greater than 0.5 mm in diameter

 Drizzle
 Droplets are less than 0.5 mm in diameter

 Sleet
 Rain that freezes in air as it falls

 Hail
 Large ice pellets formed in cumulonimbus clouds
with violent up- and down-drafts

 Snow
 Ice crystals, or aggregates of ice crystals Glaze, or
 Forms of Precipitation (continued)
 Freezing rain
 Rain that freezes on contact with cold solids at
Earth’s surface

 Rime
 Fog that freezing on a cold surface at Earth’s
surface
 Measuring Precipitation
 Rain
 Easiest form to measure
 Measuring instruments
 Standard rain gauge
 Uses a funnel to collect and conduct rain
 Cylindrical measuring tube measures rainfall in
centimeters or inches

 Snow
 Measured two ways
 By depth
 By water equivalent
General ratio is 10 snow units to 1 water unit
 The
Standard
Rain
Gauge

Figure 12.23