This document discusses various cloud formation processes and types of precipitation. It explains concepts like adiabatic temperature changes, orographic and frontal lifting, convection, condensation, and the formation of cirrus, stratus, cumulus clouds. It also discusses high, middle, low clouds, clouds with vertical development, fog, and types of precipitation including rain, snow, sleet, glaze and hail.

1. Clouds and Precipitation
By: Alex Kryzan

2. Adiabatic Temperature Changes and
Expansion and concepts
Temperature changes that
happen when heat isn’t added
or subtracted are called
adiabatic temperature changes.
The rate of adiabatic cooling or
heating in unsaturated air is
called the dry adiabatic rate.
Rate of adiabatic cooling with
saturated air is called wet
adiabatic rate. http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-
kids/0070-adiabatic-temperature-changes.php

3. Orographic lifting
The mountains or big
land forms act as
barriers to the air flow.
Witch forces the air to
ascend.
http://www.sci.uidaho.edu/scripter/geog100/l
ect/05-atmos-water-wx/05-part-7-atmos-
lifting-fronts/ch5-part-7a-atmos-liftin.htm

4. What is a front?
Is the boundary
between colliding
masses of warm and
cold air.
Frontal wedging is a
process that occurs with
a front.
The cold air acts as a
barrier for warm air.
http://okfirst.mesonet.org/train/meteorology/
Fronts.html

5. Convergence
• The lifting of air that
results from air in the
lower atmosphere
flowing together.
http://geology.com/nsta/convergent-plate-
boundaries.shtml

6. Localized convection lifting
This occurs when earth
heats a curtain spot on
earth.
It warms a pocket of air
more then the
surrounding air witch
lowers the pockets
density.
http://www.richhoffmanclass.com/chapter4.ht
ml

7. Stability
When air temperatures
increase with height is
called a temperature
inversion.
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010/06/low-
clouds-over-pacific.html

8. Condensation
When condensation
occurs , tiny bits of
particulate matter,
called condensation
nuclei, serve as surfaces
for water vapor.
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-
kids/0107-condensation.php

9. Types of clouds
Cirrus – clouds are high,
white, and thin. They Stratus – they look like
occur as patches or as sheets or layers that
delicate veil-like sheets cover most of the sky.
or extended wispy
fibers that often have a
feathery appearance.
Cumulus – clouds
consist of rounded
individual cloud masses.
They consist of a flat
base and look like
domes or towers.
http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html

10. High clouds
• It is a group of clouds
• In this group consists of
cirrus, cirrostratus and
cirrocumulus clouds.
• High clouds are made of
ice.
• http://www.windows2u
niverse.org/earth/Atmo
sphere/clouds/high_clo
ud.html

11. Middle clouds
• This group consists of
altostratus and
altocumulus clouds.
• These clouds are made
of ice crystals and water
droplets.
• http://www.windows2u
niverse.org/earth/Atmo
sphere/clouds/high_clo
ud.html

12. Low clouds
• This group consists of
stratus, stratocumulus,
and nimbostratus
clouds.
• These clouds are made
of water droplets.
• http://www.windows2u
niverse.org/earth/Atmo
sphere/clouds/high_clo
ud.html

13. Clouds of vertical development
• These clouds include
cumulus and
cumulonimbus clouds
• They do not spread across
the sky
• They develop by warm air
rising from the surface.
• http://www.windows2uni
verse.org/earth/Atmosph
ere/clouds/high_cloud.ht
ml

14. Fog
• A thick cloud of water
droplets.
• It is a collection of ice
crystals or water
droplets.
• It is a type of stratus.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Fog

15. Cold cloud precipitation
• The Bergeron process is
a theory that relates the
formation of
precipitation to super
cooled clouds, freezing
nuclei, and the different
saturation levels of ice
and liquid water.

16. Warm cloud precipitation
• When the air is
saturated.
• When it is
supersaturated with ice
the collision
coalescence process
begins.
• That is a theory of
raindrop formation in
warm clouds and they
collide with large cloud
droplets.

17. Rain and snow
• Rain is water
evaporation in the
clouds.
• Snow is when the
temperatures drop and
the evaporation turns
to a solid.

18. Sleet, glaze, hail
• Sleet is rain and snow
mixed.
• Glaze is a layer of ice
formed by freezing rain.
• Hail is frozen rain
• http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Hail