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Meteorology: Clouds

Clouds. A cloud is a visible aggregate of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphereExist in a variety of shapes and sizes.. Cloud Coverage. No ceiling:CLR: Clear SkyFEW: 1/8 to 2/8 of the sky covered.SCT: Scattered, 3/8 to 4/8 coveredCeilingBRK: Broken, 5/8 to 7/8 coveredOVC: Overcast, 8/8 covered .

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Meteorology: Clouds

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    1. Meteorology: Clouds

    2. Clouds A cloud is a visible aggregate of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere Exist in a variety of shapes and sizes.

    3. Cloud Coverage No ceiling: CLR: Clear Sky FEW: 1/8 to 2/8 of the sky covered. SCT: Scattered, 3/8 to 4/8 covered Ceiling BRK: Broken, 5/8 to 7/8 covered OVC: Overcast, 8/8 covered

    4. Clouds form by: 1. Adding Water Vapor into the Air 2. Mixing Warm Moist Air with Cold Air 3. Lowering the Air Temperature

    5. Clouds Classification Classified into a system that uses Latin words. Describe the appearance of clouds, and, Describe the approximate altitude.

    6. Cloud Classification (2) High Clouds Middle Clouds Low Clouds Vertical development Clouds Orographic Clouds

    7. High Clouds 20,000 to 40,000 ft Types: Cirrus (CI) Cirrostratus (CS) Cirrocumulus (CC)

    8. Cirrus (CI) High and Wispy Typically found at heights greater than 20,000 feet (6,000 meters), Generally occur in fair weather and point in the direction of air movement at their elevation. Made of ice crystals.

    9. Cirrus (2)

    10. Cirrostratus (CS) Sheet-like, high-level clouds composed of ice crystals Cirrostratus clouds, however, tend to thicken as a warm front approaches, signifying an increased production of ice crystals.

    11. Cirrostratus (2)

    12. Cirrocumulus (CC) Some what rare Appears as a white sheet with a pebbly patter. Characterized by high ice crystals.

    13. Cirrocumulus (2)

    14. Middle Clouds 6500 to 20,000 ft Types Altostratus (AS) Altocumulus (AC) Altocumulus Castellanus(ACC)

    15. Altocumulus (AC) Altocumulus clouds on a warm and humid summer morning is commonly followed by thunderstorms later in the day.

    16. Altocumulus (2)

    17. Altostratus (AS) Layer cloud with no definite pattern Steely of bluish in color Sometimes the sun or moon can be seen dimly through. Altostratus clouds make the sun seem to appear to be behind heavily frosted glass.

    18. Altostratus (2)

    19. Alto Cumulus Castellanus (ACC) Created from instability associated with air flows having marked vertical shear and weak thermal stratification.

    20. Low Clouds Surface to 6500 Types: Stratus (ST) Nimbostratus (NS) Stratocumulus (SC) Stratus Fractus (SF) Cumulus Fractus (CF)

    21. Stratus (ST) Low layer cloud Resembles fog but does not rest on the ground. No waves or patterns “gray”

    22. Stratus (2)

    23. Nimbostratus (NS) Dark, low-level clouds accompanied by light to moderately falling precipitation. Low clouds are primarily composed of water droplets since their bases generally lie below 6,500 feet

    24. Nimbostratus (2)

    25. Stratocumulus (SC) Low, lumpy layer of clouds Sometimes accompanied by weak intensity precipitation.

    26. Stratocumulus (2)

    27. Stratus Fractus (SF) Stratus torn by wind in fragments Drizzle may fall from it.

    28. Cumulus Fractus (CF) Stratocumulus torn by wind

    29. Clouds of Vertical Development Cumulus (CB) Towing Cumulus (TCU) Cumulonimbus (CB)

    30. Fair Weather Cumulus (CU) Appearance of floating cotton and have a lifetime of 5-40 minutes. Given suitable conditions, however, harmless fair weather cumulus can later develop into towering cumulonimbus clouds associated with powerful thunderstorms.

    31. Cumulus (2)

    32. Towering Cumulus (TCU) Growing cumulus tower cloud On the way to becoming a Cumulonimbus

    33. Towering Cumulus (2)

    34. Cumulonimbus (CB) Cumulonimbus clouds are much larger and more vertically developed than fair weather cumulus. Fueled by vigorous convective updrafts (sometimes in excess 50 knots), the tops of cumulonimbus clouds can easily reach 39,000 feet

    35. Cumulonimbus (2)

    36. Mammatus Strong cumulonimbus clouds can have appendages protruding from the base of the cloud, which are called Mammatus clouds. They indicate that the atmosphere is quite unstable and can also be an indicator of impending severe weather.

    37. Mammatus (2)

    38. Orographic Clouds Develop in response to the forced lifting of air by the earth's topography (mountains for example).

    39. Mountain Wave

    40. Lenticular Clouds Forms in the wave crest very high and hundreds of miles long.

    41. Lenticular Clouds (2)

    42. Roll/Rotor clouds Form downwind from each wave crest. Dissipating and forming at the same time due to the rotation of the air.

    43. Cap cloud Lies over the top of the mountain and extends partially down the leeward slopes, indicates an extremely strong downdraft

    44. Contrails Cloud can be formed from the vapor contained in the exhaust of a jet engine of an airplane when they are flying at high enough altitudes where cold temperatures cause the vapor to turn into ice crystals like cirrus clouds.

    45. Contrails (2)

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