What type clouds can be expected when an unstable air mass?
Clouds formed by vertical currents in unstable air are cumulus meaning accumulation or heap; they are characterized by their lumpy, billowy appearance. Clouds formed by the cooling of a stable layer are stratus meaning stratified or layered; they are characterized by their uniform, sheet-like appearance.
What type of clouds can be expected when an unstable air mass is forced to ascend a mountain slope?
Clouds with extensive vertical development can be expected when an unstable airmass is forced to ascend a mountain slope. Standing lenticular clouds in mountainous areas indicate turbulence. Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with the greatest turbulence.
What are characteristics of unstable air?
Air is considered unstable, in the lowest layers of an air mass when the air is warmer and or more humid than the surrounding air. When this occurs the air will rise, as that air parcel is warmer than the air surrounding it. In an unstable environment, the weather can change suddenly and can be violent.
What would you expect from an unstable air mass?
Unstable air will generally have tall cauliflower-like clouds known as cumulus, These grow quickly and are associated with showers of heavy rain. Some get so tall that ice forms near their tops, giving a fluffy, bright white appearance to what is called the anvil cloud-head.
What happens when unstable air is forced to rise?
Clouds formed when stable air is forced to rise are generally thin and precipitation, if any, is moderate or light. Conversely, when unstable air rises, clouds are often towering and precipitation can be heavy.
Which cloud type below would most likely form in an unstable atmosphere?
Cumulus clouds developing into thunderstorms in a conditionally unstable atmosphere over the Great Plains.
What types of clouds might we find forming in a stable atmosphere describe the characteristics of these clouds?
Clouds in a stable atmosphere tend to spread out horizontally, resulting in cirrostratus, altostratus, nimbostratus or stratus forming in the stable air. Clouds are more likely to grow vertically in an unstable/conditionally unstable atmosphere, as the warm air parcel from the ground tends to keep rising upwards.
Are stratus clouds stable or unstable?
Because thermal infrared absorption from liquid water is so efficient, many stratus clouds are unstable, because, as the cooling strengthens, condensate builds up, longwave cooling further strengthens, and the layer becomes increasingly susceptible to convective overturning (hence stratocumulus formation).
When unstable air is forced to rise towering clouds and stormy conditions are expected?
When air rises, it expands and cools adiabatically. When unstable air is forced to rise, towering clouds and stormy conditions are expected. Air that resists vertical motion is described as being stable. Clouds form because rising air cools as it comes in contact with colder air aloft.
What types of clouds and precipitation if any form when stable air is forced aloft?
Conditional instability is when the air is stable for an unsaturated parcel of air and is unstable for a saturated parcel of air. What types of clouds and precipitation, if any, form when stable air is forced aloft. The clouds are typically wide spread and are not very thick, they can cause light precipitation.
Which cloud type forms in an unstable environment?
cumulus variety Clouds forming in such unstable environments are of the cumulus variety, which as you may recall, means "heap cloud." Cumulus clouds are "heap clouds," and have a bubbly, or billowy appearance.
What clouds are stable and unstable?
The words to distinguish between clouds produced by instability and other clouds are stratiform for clouds forming in a stable layer and convective clouds for clouds developing in an unstable environment. Convective clouds have vertical development and often extend through a significant depth of the troposphere.
Are cirrus clouds stable or unstable?
statically stable Cirrus cloud layers are in general statically stable in an absolute sense, with lapse rates less than the moist-adiabatic rates with respect to either water or ice. Some cirrus clouds are located above stable layers, indicating that they are associated with upper-level fronts.
What happens when an unstable air mass is forced upward?
Unstable air forced upward will cause clouds with considerable vertical development and associated turbulence. Moist, stable air flowing upslope will produce stratus type clouds. Clouds are divided into four families, according to height.
What are high level clouds made of?
ice crystals High-level clouds occur above about 20,000 feet and are given the prefix “cirro.” Due to cold tropospheric temperatures at these levels, the clouds primarily are composed of ice crystals, and often appear thin, streaky, and white (although a low sun angle, e.g., near sunset, can create an array of color on the clouds).
What types of clouds and precipitation of any form when stable air is forced aloft quizlet?
Conditional instability is when the air is stable for an unsaturated parcel of air and is unstable for a saturated parcel of air. What types of clouds and precipitation, if any, form when stable air is forced aloft. The clouds are typically wide spread and are not very thick, they can cause light precipitation.
What is an example of orographic clouds?
An example of orographic clouds would be: clouds forming over a warm ocean current. clouds forming on the windward slope of a mountain.
What are 4 type of clouds?
The different types of clouds are cumulus, cirrus, stratus and nimbus.
What type of weather is associated with unstable air choose all that apply?
Describe the weather associated with unstable air. Unstable air tends to generate thunderstorms towering clouds and possibly tornadoes.
When air is forced to rise what happens?
Clouds Form When Air is Forced to Rise.
How do orographic clouds form?
Orographic clouds develop in response to the forced lifting of air by the earth's topography (mountains for example). Air passing over a mountain oscillates up and down as it moves downstream.
What are cumulus clouds?
What are cumulus clouds? Cumulus clouds are detached, individual, cauliflower-shaped clouds usually spotted in fair weather conditions. The tops of these clouds are mostly brilliant white tufts when lit by the Sun, although their base is usually relatively dark.
What are the 3 main type of clouds?
While clouds appear in infinite shapes and sizes they fall into some basic forms. From his Essay of the Modifications of Clouds (1803) Luke Howard divided clouds into three categories; cirrus, cumulus and stratus. The Latin word 'cirro' means curl of hair.
What are convective clouds?
Convective clouds or cumuliform clouds (Cu) look like stacks of cotton balls. They form when warm humid air rises through cooler surrounding air in the atmosphere. The buoyancy (tendency of objects to sink or rise due to density differences with their surroundings) associated with the warm air drives strong updrafts.
What are orographic clouds?
Orographic clouds are clouds that develop in response to the forced lifting of air by topographical features on the earth's surface, like mountains for example. Air passing over a mountain will oscillate up and down as it moves downstream (see diagram below).
What are nimbus clouds?
A nimbus cloud is a cloud that produces precipitation. Usually the precipitation reaches the ground as rain, hail, snow, or sleet. Falling precipitation may evaporate as virga. Since nimbus clouds are dense with water, they appear darker than other clouds.
What is a stratus cloud made of?
Description. Stratus clouds look like featureless gray to white sheets of cloud. They can be composed of water droplets, supercooled water droplets, or ice crystals depending upon the ambient temperature.
What are cirrus stratus and cumulus clouds?
Three types of clouds Clouds form in three basic patterns: Cirrus, from cirro, meaning curly or fibrous. Stratus, from strato, suggesting sheets or layers. Cumulus, from cumulo, indicating heaped or piled.
What’s the difference between cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds?
Cumulus clouds are formed due to the vertical flow of air. Cumulus clouds appear huge and are dome-shaped. Cumulonimbus clouds appear like huge mountain and have an anvil shaped top portion. These clouds are grey in colour and are responsible for fair and pleasent weather.
What’s the meaning of cumulus clouds?
heap, accumulation Definition of cumulus 1 : heap, accumulation. 2 (New Latin, from Latin) : a dense puffy cloud form having a flat base and rounded outlines often piled up like a mountain — see cloud illustration.