Download Clouds and Precipitation Note Taking Guide

Clouds and Precipitation
Name _________________________________________
Clouds form as warm air is forced ____________________, ___________________________, and _________________.
As the air cools, the amount of water vapor needed for _______________________________________ decreases and
the ____________________________ ___________________________________ increases
Water vapor begins to _____________________ in tiny droplets around small particles such as dust, smoke, or salt.
_____________________________ of these droplets form a cloud
Clouds are classified mainly by _____________________ and _________________________. The three main cloud types
are ___________________, __________________________, and _________________________.
Shape
Cumulus (KYEW myuh lus) clouds are masses of ______________, white clouds, often with ________________ bases.
They are also called cauliflower clouds.
They sometimes tower to great heights and can be associated with __________ weather or _______________________.
Stratus clouds form ___________________, or smooth, even _________________________ in the sky.
Stratus clouds usually form at ____________ altitudes and may be associated with ________ weather or ____________.
When air is cooled to its dew point near the ground, it forms a _________________________ cloud called fog.
Cirrus (SIHR us) clouds appear ____________________ or ________________________.
They are high, thin, white, feathery clouds made of ____________ ____________________..
Cirrus clouds are associated with fair weather, but they can indicate approaching storms.
Height
The prefix cirro- describes ______________ clouds, alto- describes _______________-elevation clouds, and stratorefers to clouds at ______________ elevations.
Some clouds’ names combine the altitude prefix with the term stratus or cumulus.
Cirrostratus clouds are high layered clouds. Usually, cirrostratus clouds indicate fair weather, but they also can signal an
approaching storm.
Altostratus clouds form at __________________________ levels.
Rain- or Snow-Producing Clouds
Clouds associated with precipitation often have the word -------------------------------- attached to them.
The term nimbus is Latin for “--------------------------------- ---------------------------------- --------------------------------.”
The water content of these clouds is so high that little ________________________ can pass through them.
When a cumulus cloud grows into a thunderstorm, it is called a cumulonimbus (kyew myuh loh NIHM bus) cloud. These
clouds can tower to nearly ___________ km.
Nimbostratus clouds are ___________________________ clouds that can bring long, steady rain or snowfall.
Precipitation
Water falling from clouds is called _______________________________.
Precipitation occurs when cloud droplets __________________ and grow large enough to fall to Earth, 0.2 mm.
The size of raindrops depends on several factors. One factor is the strength of ___________________ in a cloud, which
can keep drops suspended in the air where they can grow larger. The rate of _________________________ as a drop
falls to Earth also can affect its size.
______________ __________________________ determines whether water forms rain, snow, sleet, or hail—the four
main types of precipitation.
Drops of water falling in temperatures above freezing fall as ______________.
Snow forms when the air temperature is _____________________ _________________________..
Sleet forms when raindrops pass through a layer of warm air, __________________, and then refreezes near Earth’s
surface, forming ____________ _________________________.
Hail is precipitation in the form of lumps of ice. Hail forms in _________________________ clouds of a thunderstorm
when water freezes in layers around a small __________________ of ice. They are tossed up and down by rising and
falling _________________________ _________________________. Hail may be the most _____________________
form of precipitation.