Transcript Earth Science - Carsonville

Earth Science
Cloud Types and Precipitation
Chapter 18
Section 3
Types of Clouds
A.
Clouds are classified
on the basis of their
form and height.
1.Cirrus clouds are
high white, and thin.
a. they can occur as
patches or as delicate
veil like sheets
extended wispy fibers
that often have a
feathery like
appearance
A. Cumulus clouds consist of rounded
individual cloud masses.
1.Normally they a flat base and the
appearance of rising domes or towers.
Types of Clouds
A. Stratus clouds are
the best described
as sheets or layers
that caver much or
all of the sky.
1. While there may
be minor breaks,
there are no distinct
individual cloud
units.
Clouds
Types of clouds
cirrus
cumulus
stratus
High Clouds
 Three cloud type make up the family of
high clouds cirrus, cirrostratus, and
cirrocumulus. All high clouds are thin and
white and are often made up of ice
crystals because of low temperatetures
and small quantizes of water.
Middle Clouds
 Clouds that appear in the middle range, from
about 2000 to 6000 meters, have the prefix altoas part of their name.
 Altocumulus clouds are composed of rounded
masses that differ from cirrocumulus clouds in
that altocumulus clouds are larger and denser.
 Altostratus clouds create a uniform white to
grayish sheet covering the sky with the sun or
moon visible as a bright spot.
This is a chart
to show the
different levels
in clouds,
T see if you
can find the
Cirrocumulus
Altocumulus
And
Nimbostratus
Low Clouds
LOW CLOUDS

There is three types of
low clouds.
1. Stratus
a) they are a uniform, fog –
like layer of clouds that
frequently covers much
of the sky.
1. Stratocumulus
a) When they develop a
scalloped bottom that
appears as a long
parallel rolls or broken
rounded patches.
2. Nimbostratus
a) thy are one of the main
precipitation makers.
THIS IS SOME
AUTO SHAOPES
OF LOW CLOUDS.
Clouds if Vertical Development
• Some clouds don’t even have a range
some start out low and the work their way
up to the high level of clouds. They also
grow dramatically under the proper
circumstances.
Fog
 Physically there is no difference between fog and a
clouds. Their appearance and structure a basically the
same.
 The difference is the method and place formation. Most
fogs are the result of radiation cooling or the movement
of air over the cold surface.
 Fog is defined as a cloud with its base at or very near
the ground.
This is My
Action
Button
Fog Caused by Cooling
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A blanket of fog is produced in some West Coast
locations when warm, moist air form the Pacific
Ocean moves over the cold California Current and
then is carried onshore by prevailing winds.
Fogs also can form on cool clear nights when
Earths surface cools rapidly by radiation.
As the night progresses, a thin layer of air in
contact with the ground is cooled below the dew
point. As it cools it becomes denser and drains
into low areas such as river valleys, were thick
fog accumulations may occur.
Fogs Caused by Evaporation
When cool air moves
over warm water ,
enough moisture may
evaporate from the water
surface to produce
saturation. As the rising
water vapor meet the cold
air, it immediately
condenses and rises with
the air that us being
warmed from below.
How Precipitation Forms
• For precipitation to form, cloud droplets
must grow in volume by roughly one
million times.
Forms of Precipitation
The type of perception that reaches Earths
surface depends on the temperature
profile on the lowest few kilometers of the
atmosphere.
Forms of Precipitation
Rain is also a form of
precipitation
Hailstone is a form of
precipitation
Another form is snow
Sleet is another form of
precipitation