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Cloud Coverage
D-40
Remember:
Cloud coverage is a factor of weather!!!
How do clouds form?
We know that clouds form by the process of
condensation
____________________.
But what forces the warm air to cool off?
How do clouds form?
One way that warm air cools is by the sun’s heat.
This means:
as the sun heats up the air, that air rises up, thus
cools off.
How do clouds form?
Another way that warm air cools is by a frontal
boundary. This means:
when cool air and warm air meet, the cool air
pushes the warm air upward, thus cooling it off.
How do clouds form?
The third way that warm air cools is when wind
pushes warm air over mountains.
This means:
The warm air that sits around a mountain can be
pushed upward by a strong wind, thus cooling it
down.
How do clouds form?
No matter which method cools the warm air, in
order for a cloud to form, it must condense
around something.
That something is usually:
DUST PARTICLES
Clouds are classified based on three things:
1. what they are made up of
2. where they appear in the atmosphere
3. what type of weather they bring
4. their appearance
Types of clouds
There are three basic cloud forms:
Cirrus Clouds:
form high in the troposphere
form out of ice crystals
wispy feather-like shape
(above 18,000 feet)
What does a cirrus cloud mean?
If cirrus clouds appear in the sky this means:
there will be a change in weather
in the next 48 hours.
Types of clouds
Cumulus Clouds:
form in mid-altitude levels
form out of water droplets
puffy, with flat bottom
(below 6,000 feet)
What does a cumulus cloud mean?
If cumulus clouds appear in the sky this means:
FAIR WEATHER
Types of clouds
Stratus Clouds:
low-altitude clouds
form out of water droplets
Blanket-like appearance
(below 6,000 feet)
What does a stratus cloud mean?
If stratus clouds appear in the sky this means:
rain or snow is possible
FOG
IS A TYPE OF STRATUS CLOUD
Types of clouds
Cumulonimbus Clouds:
develop vertically (upward)
form out of water droplets
anvil-shaped top
producing precipitation
(near ground to above 50,000 feet)
What does a cumulonimbus cloud
mean?
If cumulonimbus clouds appear in the sky this
means:
A thunderstorm is approaching!
Contrails
These are “clouds” formed when the exhaust
from a plane condenses to form “trails”.