Download List of Questions for The Stories Clouds Tell (Margaret LeMone

List of Questions for The Stories Clouds Tell (Margaret LeMone, 2008, University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research)
1. A. What is the lower layer of our atmosphere? B. How high can clouds extend?
2. A. How large is a typical raindrop? B. What size are the tiny water droplets or ice crystals in clouds?
3. A. Why is a cloud visible? B. Why can we see through rain, but not through a cloud?
4. What is air temperature?
5. How does air temperature affect its ability to contain water in the (invisible) vapor form?
6. Why does dew form at night?
7. Which process absorbs heat, condensation or evaporation?
8. Which process releases heat, condensation or evaporation?
9. Why does air temperature normally cool as you go up?
10. Why does air warm as it sinks?
11. Which is more dense, warm or cold air?
12. What is the “LCL,” and what does it have to do with “CBH” and the dew point temperature?
13. A. Do temperature and water vapor content in the air near the surface usually stay the same for several
hours a day? B. What about at higher elevations?
14. What does a flat base of a cloud show about how the air is moving?
15. What does a billowing top show (puffy “cotton balls” or “bubble”-like tops, like a cauliflower)?
Clouds in Stable Air
16. What makes a layer of air “stable”?
17. What shapes do clouds and smoke plumes have in stable air?
18. What is a “temperature inversion”?
19. What is the name for a lens-shaped cloud that forms over mountains, often looking like a flying saucer?
20. An “oscillation” is a wave: when clouds form waves, what stops the “oscillation”?
21. How do different wind speeds form the wave-like curls in the photos on pp. 11-12, and what do they
show us about wind direction? (Think about ocean waves.)
Clouds in Unstable Air
22. How does an air parcel move in unstable air, both up and down?
23. Where does air near the ground begin to rise?
24. When air rises, what happens to air around it, i.e., how does changing air pressure motivate movement?
25. What is a “dust devil,” and what is the spin like?
26. What do sharp edges of a cloud indicate?
27. A. If clouds have less distinct edges and bases, what process is happening? B. What does that tell us
about the temperature around the cloud?
28. What forms “cloud streets”?
29. How do raindrops form within a cloud?
30. What clouds have “towers”?
31. A. Why does an updraft spread out into an “anvil” shape? B. What is an anvil?
32. What are “mammatus” clouds, and how is the word related to the word, “mammal”? :-)
33. A. What are intense downdrafts called? B. What is their relative weight?
34. A. What does falling pressure inside a tornado do?
35. Where does a tornado’s spin come from?
36. How does hail form?
Ice Clouds and Contrails
37. What polygon shapes are ice crystals and snowflakes (how many sides)?
38. When do “cirrus fall streaks” form?
39. What do contrails show us about the temperature of their altitude?
40. Which types of clouds are contrails most like?
Related Questions
A. What is the air travel term for “bumpy” air?
B. What animals can you think of that are “buoyant,” and what does “buoyant” mean?
C. Why do L.A. and O.C. coastal plains not get thunderstorms, anvil clouds, and hail very often?
D. What time of year are we most likely to see these things? Where are they coming from (wind
direction)? Where does the moisture come from?
E. Why do mountains seem to “collect” clouds, and therefore get more rain?
F. Review: what kind of clouds would you want an umbrella for? Color on the TV radar?
G. What kind of clouds produce rain that you may not need an umbrella for? Color on the TV radar?
H. What do the Latin words mean for the 5 cloud types we learned the first day of class?
Ongoing Assignment: 1. Watch contrails and clouds in our sky, and compare them with the ones shown in
both this book and the Earth text. What do they show about wind direction and changes?
2. See if you can feel the invisible air changes throughout the day.
3. See if you can predict what will happen next. Watching good weather forecasting will help!