Have you ever just looked

at clouds?
Why do we
have clouds?
Why are there
different
shapes?
What can they
tell us about
the weather?
Understanding Clouds
Clouds form as
warm air is
forced upward
As the air is
forced upward,
it expands and
cools
Understanding Clouds

As the air cools,

the relative
humidity
reaches 100%
 Water vapor begins to condense
in tiny drops around nuclei.
Nuclei are small particles of dust,
salt, and smoke in the
atmosphere
 Cloud Types

There are
many
different
cloud types
 Cloud Types
Can you think of the two
main ways that clouds are
classified?

Shape, Height, and

sometimes Rain Capacity
 By Shape!
There are three main cloud
types that are based on shape

Stratus
Cumulus
Cirrus
 Stratus Clouds
Stratus
clouds form
a smooth,
even sheet
They usually
form at low
altitudes
 Stratus Clouds
When air is
cooled and
condenses near
the ground, a
stratus cloud is
formed
Cumulus Clouds
These are
masses of
puffy
(enlarged, full),
white clouds,
often with flat
bases
They form
when air
currents rise
Cumulus Clouds
They can be
associated
with both fair
and bad
weather
and they get
really tall
Thunderstorms!
 Cirrus Clouds
Cirrus clouds
are high, thin,
white,
feathery (soft
or light)
clouds
containing ice
crystals
 Cirrus Clouds
Cirrus clouds
are usually
associated
with fair
weather, but
they may
indicate
approaching
storms
 By Height
The prefix of cloud names can
describe the height of cloud
bases
Cirro: High clouds above
6000m
 By Height
Cirro: High clouds above 6000m

Alto: Middle elevation clouds

between 2000 to 6000m

Strato: Low level clouds below

2000m
 Rain Clouds
Nimbus
clouds are
dark clouds
associated
with
precipitation
 Rain Clouds
When a nimbus
cloud is also a
towering
cumulus cloud,
its called a
cumulonimbus
cloud
 Ready for a quick review?
1. Clouds can form when the
relative humidity reaches ____%
2. In order for clouds to form,
water vapor begins to condense
around ____of dust, salt, and
smoke
 3. Clouds are classified by ____
and____ and sometimes rain
capacity
4. Puffy, white clouds are called?
5. Mid elevation clouds between
2000 and 6000m
Lets see how you did!
1. 100
2. Nuclei
3. Shape and height
4. Cumulus
5. Alto
Forms of Precipitation
Precipitation (pre-sip-uh-
tay-shun) is any form of
water that falls to the
Earth's surface.
 Forms of Precipitation
The type of precipitation that
falls to the ground depends
upon the formation process
and the temperatures of the
environment between the
cloud and the surface
Different forms of
precipitation
Rain
Snow
Hail
Sleet
Freezing Rain
Drizzle
 Rain
Rain develops when
growing cloud droplets
become too heavy to
remain in the cloud and
as a result, fall toward the
surface as rain
 Rain is the most common
type of precipitation in
our atmosphere. Rain is
when liquid droplets fall to
the surface of the Earth.

The term rainfall is used to

describe precipitation in the
Light
form of water drops of size I = 2.5mm/hr
larger than 0.5 mm.
Moderate
I = 2.5-7.5mm/hr

The maximum size of rain Heavy

I > 7.5 mm/hr
drop is about 6mm
 Snow: Snow is the
second most common
form of precipitation.
Snow consists of ice
crystals, usually
combine to form
flakes.
When fresh snow has
initial density varying
from 0.06 to 0.15
g/cm3 and an
average density of
0.1g/cm3

 Hail: It is a showery
precipitation in the
form of irregular
pellets or lumps of ice
having size more than
8 mm.
Hail occurs in violent Shapes of hail particles
1. Spherical
thunderstorms, in 2. Conical
3. Irregular
which vertical currents Diameter range 5 to 125 mm
are very strong. Specific gravity = 0.8
 Drizzle: A fine sprinkle of numerous water
droplets of size less than 0.5 mm and
intensity less than 1 mm/hr known as
drizzle.
The drops are so small that they appear to
float in air.

Diameter range between 0.1 and 0.5 mm

 Glaze: When rain or drizzle comes in
contact with cold ground at around 00c, the
water drops freeze to form an ice coating
called glaze or freezing rain.

Specific gravity may be as high as 0.8-0.9

 Sleet: It is frozen rain drops of transparent
grains which form when rain falls through air
at subfreezing temperature (colder than the
temperature at which water freezes : colder
than 32F or 0C).
In Britain, sleet denotes precipitation of
snow and rain simultaneously.
 Formation of precipitation
Convective Convergence
system resulting caused by
from unequal Orographic
Radiative barriers
heating and
cooling
Large of earth
scale
surface and
cooling
atmosphere Saturation
needed

Formation of
Moisture is always
precipitation
present in the
atmosphere, even on
the cloudless day.
Saturation however
 Necessary mechanism to form
Precipitation

1. Lifting mechanism to cool the air

2. Formation of cloud elements

(Droplets/Ice crystals)

3. Growth of cloud elements

4. Sufficient accumulation of cloud elements

1. Lifting mechanism to cool the air

Lifting mechanism gives the three main

types of Precipitation.

Cyclonic Precipitation (Frontal /non Frontal)

Convective Precipitation

Orographic Precipitation
 Cyclonic Precipitation
(Frontal/Non frontal)
Frontal precipitation results when the leading edge(
front) of a warm air mass meets a cool air mass. The
warmer air mass is forced up over the cool air. As it
rises the warm air cools, moisture in the air condenses,
clouds and precipitation result.
 Convective Precipitation
Convectional precipitation results from the heating of the
Earth's surface that causes air to rise rapidly. As the air
rises, it cools and moisture condenses into clouds and
precipitation .

Usually the areal extent of such rains is small, being

limited to a diameter of about 10km.
 In this type of precipitation, a packet of air which is
warmer than the surrounding air due to localized
heating rises because of its lesser density.

Air from cooler surroundings flows to take up its

place, thus setting up a convective cell.

The warmer air continues to rise, undergo cooling

and results in precipitation.

Depending up on the moisture, thermal and other

conditions, light showers to thunderstorms can be
expected in convective precipitation.
The extent is small and diameter is about 10 km.
 Orographic Precipitation
It results when warm moist air of the ocean is forced to rise
by large mountains. As the air rises it cools, moisture in the
air condenses and clouds and precipitation result on the
windward side of the mountain while the leeward side
receives very little. This is common in British Columbia.