Clouds

When air is cooled below its dewpoint temperature, the excess water vapour condenses into minute particles of water and remain suspended in air. Millions of such particles close together and become visible as cloud Minute dust particle are present to act as nuclei on which condensation takes place

Clouds
Condensation occurs when Contact with cold surface of land/sea Adiabatic cooling when air air rises Contact with colder masses of air Radiation of heat into space from upper layers of air

Types

Cirrus : Feather / Fibre Cumulus : Cauliflower Stratus : Even layer Nimbo stratus : Even layer giving rain

Types of Clouds
HIGH

Cirrus : Ci Cirro Stratus : Cs Cirro Cumulus : Cc

LOW Stratus : St Stratocumulus : Sc Nimbostratus : Ns

MEDIUM Altostratus : As Altocumulus : Ac

SPECIAL Cumulus : Cu Cumulonimbus : Cb

Cloud formation

From sea level to tropause 8 km from pole 16 km from equator Low Clouds= Sea level >< 2 kms. Medium = 2km >< 6km Alto High = Ice crystals 6k>< Tropopause

Cloud Formation
Clouds are formed in four ways a) Turbulence b) Orogrophic Lifting c) Convection d) Frontal Lifting

Turbulence Cloud
Strong wind over uneven ground surface. Air gets lifted up, mixes with air mass above and as it rises adiabatic cooling takes place. When air mass below Dewpt, cloud formed. Stratus , bases not more than 600 m high. Formation is high if moist air hits cold uneven ground. Wind speed >13 knots over sea

Orographic lifting

Warm moist air blows over mountain range, it rises and cools adiabatically. When temp below dew point cloud formed. Stratus Further ascent Nimbostratus, precipitation Cloud formed on windwardside, dissipates on leeward side. Therefore stratiform cloud stationary on peak.Its called Banner cloud

Convection cloud

Parcel of air gets heated up due to local cause, becomes lighter than surrounding air and gets ifted up. This is convection current. (UNSTABLE CONDITION OF AIR) Adiabatic cooling during ascend Cumulus Large island in the middle of ocean has permanent convection cloud. Cloud is continuously formed from below and dissipates to leeward.

Convection cloud

Greater ascent > greater vertical If ascend is rapid cumulonimbus formed will head into high cloud level till tropopause above which it cannot rise. Top of cloud spread sideways called Anvil shaped cumulonimbus. (ice crystals) Starts at sunrise, max noon and dissipates On Land form at day, In sea at nights

Frontal lifting

The border when warm air meets cold air Cold air act as wedge and lifts warm air If warm air is moving toward cold air, it is a warm front. The slope is gradual. Upsliding warm air forms stratiform clouds- Ns, As, Cs, Ci If cold air is moving toward warm air, then it is a cold front. Slope is very steep. Upsliding warm air forms Cumulonimbus and Cumulus clouds.

Visibility
What factors will affect visibilty ? When do you call bad/poor visibility ? How do you find out visibility range ?

When visibility reduced by water particle condensed on dust or salt and remain suspended in air.

Mist/ Fog

A. Mist occurs before and after fog. B. Dense mist is called FOG when vis<1km

Can occur when RH is 80% Radius of water droplets is less than 1 micron

Can occur when RH is 90% Radius of water is between 1 to 10 micron

Haze : Vis reduced by solid particles suspended in air Spray : Vis reduced by small droplets driven by wind
from top of waves.

TYPES OF FOG : 1. Radiation Fog 2. Advection Fog 3. Other types (SMOG, Steam Fog, Hill or Orographic fog)

Radiation fog

Land fog during nights. Dew is formed on clear night because radiation of heat from land is quicker. Turbulence cause ground fog The height can reach upto 150m. Can drift to river Diurnal range of temperature over land. The cool ground produces condensation in the nearby air by heat conduction

Radiation Fog
.
terrestrial radiation is emitted by the surface at night if the temperature of the air cools to the dew point temperature then the air is saturated and fog forms

cooler, denser air flows into valleys making fog thicker temperature of the ground and the air next to the ground decreases

Conditions favourable for radiation fog

Little or No Cloud Large moisture content in lower layer of air Light breeze at the surface Cold wet surface of land

Radiation Fog reaches maximum about half an hour after sunrise and dissipates after sun is shone and land is warmed.

Advection(wind) fog

Sea fog Moist wind blows over a cold surface Wind causes advection fog but strong wind will form low clouds and no fog. Westerlies blow over warm gulf stream crosiing over cold Labrador current. Advection fog can be predicted by plotting sea temperature/ dewpoint against time

Advection Fog
.
loses internal energy to the surface warm moist air temperature decreases to dew point temperature, air becomes saturated and fog forms

cooler surface can be either cool land or cool water

Other types of fog

Smog = Smoke + Fog Steam fog : Cold air on warm sea Hill fog : Upslope fog Freezing fog Valley fog