This document discusses various atmospheric and meteorological phenomena including: - How compressed air heats up due to increasing pressure and how air cools when the number of molecules decreases. - How air warms when rising over mountains and how this process can create deserts on the leeward side. - How warm and cold air interact, with warm air rising above cooler, denser air. - How unequal heating can lead to air pockets and uplift used by birds to reach high altitudes. - The three categories of high-level clouds made of ice crystals. - The signs of rain shown by middle-level clouds and their ability to produce fog. - How unstable air can lead to cumul

1. By Ashley Judd

2.  Compressed air heats up because the
pressure increases
 When there is less air molecules in the air the
temperature decreases
 If the air cools to the dew point it can
continue to cool
http://depositphotos.com/3831034/st
ock-photo-Pumping-bicycle-tire.html

3.  When the air rises over the mountains and
the mountains side is edged enough to lift
the air
 this process heats the mountain
 The leeward side of the mountain is likely to
be a desert because of this
http://ag.arizona.edu/watersh
edsteward/resources/module/
Climate/az-climate_pg2.htm

4.  When cold air and warm air meet
 The warm air rises above the cold air because
the cooler air is more dense
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu
/~tbw/wc.notes/4.moisture.atm.
stability/frontal_wedging.htm

5.  Low air flows upward together; it cant go
down so it goes up
 This creates heating and can easily result in
thunderstorms
http://www.weather.com/outlook/wea
ther-news/news/articles/soaking-
rains-drought-florida_2011-07-07

6.  This makes air pockets due to unequal
heating
 The warmer air makes and uplift which birds
use to help them fly to great heights
 These clouds are above condensation level
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect14/Sect14
_1c.html

7.  Warmer air is less dense so it continues to
rise Vs. the cooler air around it.
 You measure this by taking the change of
temperature rates at different parts of the
atmosphere
 When air temperature decreases gradually,
even when the temperature rises with height
http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/basic5
.html

8.  This is water vapor that turned into liquid on
a surface due to cooling temperatures
 Referred to as “dew point”
 Needs a surface to condense
http://artwelove.com/artwork/-
id/29b69065

9.  Cirrus clouds are thin, long, and lacy
 Cumulus clouds are large and bumpy with a
flat base
 Stratus clouds are low and often jointed
together
http://media.hcpss.org/newcode
/ekits/ekits.php?eKitID=161

10.  Cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus
 They are thin, white, and often made of ice
crystals
http://www.2d-digital-art-
guide.com/types-of-clouds.html

11. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=middle+clouds&hl=en&safe=active&gbv=
2&biw=1024&bih=453&tbm=isch&tbnid=sBtuNWyTP0aM-
M:&imgrefurl=http://www.meted.ucar.edu/fire/s290/unit6/print_2.htm&doci
d=tpdLN7pCXQIb4M&imgurl=http://www.meted.ucar.edu/fire/s290/unit6/m
edia/graphics/clouds_by_height.jpg&w=500&h=350&ei=HtnzTtPBM8Ph0QHC
0_GuAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=5&sig=104574880544260111202&page=3&
tbnh=91&tbnw=130&start=22&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:22&tx=87&ty=61
 Round,
 Some are more dense than others
 Can span and make a sheet over the sky
 Altocumulus and Altostratus

12.  Stratus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus
 They show signs of rain
 They produce fog
http://www.free-online-private-pilot-
ground-school.com/Aviation-Weather-
Principles.html

13.  Caused by unstable air
 They have their own category
http://www.ikonet.com/en/visualdictio
nary/earth/meteorology/clouds.php

14.  Can be made by prevailing winds
 Moisture from warm water moves into fog
 No difference between fog and clouds
http://danielbroadway.
blogspot.com/2009/01
/vfx-tip-3-
compositing-fog-or-
mist.html

15.  Relies on super cooling and saturation
 Appears to be ice crystals when falling
 Most ice crystals usually melt before hitting
the ground
http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.e
du/~tbw/wc.notes/5.cond.pre
cip/precipitation/bergeron_pr
ocess.htm

16.  Large drops are caused by salt bringing the
humidity out of the air
 They collide and join with smaller droplets
http://www.cbs6albany.com/sections/
weather/research/topics/topicfive/

17.  Rain laves at 0.5 mm
 Snow flakes usually melt at four degrees
Celsius
 Ice crystals will join together at -5 degrees
Celsius
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~atomic/s
nowcrystals/photos/photos.htm

18.  Sleet is rain that freezes when its close to the
ground
 Glaze is rain that was turned to ice just when
it hit an object
 Hail starts small but gets bigger as it gets
blown back up and down in the atmosphere
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-
for-kids/0117-sleet.php