The sun (solar radiation) is largely responsible for the movement of air and water around our planet. The Role of Mountains ( Topography) The topography is another factor to consider when analyzing the movement of warm and humid air masses. But what happens when two moving air masses meet ?
In general, clouds move at a speed and direction of the prevailing wind at the altitude where the clouds are occurring. The direction and speed of the wind depends on the pressure differences between the areas of high and low pressure. As you go up in altitude over a particular location, the winds will vary in direction and speed. Usually, the speeds increase with altitude up to a certain point, and then they decrease.
Typically, clouds can move 30-120 miles per hour. It depends on the situation and the type of cloud that determines the speed. For instance, high cirrus clouds can travel at a speed of more than 100 mph during the jet stream. Clouds during the thunderstorm can travel at speed up to 30 to 40 mph.
One of the next things we wondered was: why are the clouds moving so fast?
Section SummaryAll observers agree upon relative speed. Distance depends on an observer’s motion. Length contraction L is the shortening of the measured length of an object moving relative to the observer’s frame: L =L0√1− v2 c2 = L0 γ L = L 0.
What causes clouds to form?
That cools the water they leave behind. Heat causes some of the liquid water – from places like oceans, rivers and swimming pools – to change into an invisible gas called water vapor. This process is called evaporation and it’s the start of how clouds are formed.
This allows the parcel of air to rise until all of the ‘surplus’ water vapor has condensed and all the latent heat has been released. Therefore, the main reason which stops clouds growing upwards is the end of the release of latent heat through the condensation process.
One article argued that heat causes some of the liquid water – from places like oceans, rivers and swimming pools – to change into an invisible gas called water vapor. This process is called evaporation and it’s the start of how clouds are formed.
Do clouds ever collide?
Clouds do not collide. There is nothing unusual about this, since clouds are not objects, but just condensed water droplets in the air. Humidity in between two clouds that are nearby is usually very similar to that inside the two clouds, so getting this area to condense into clouds is not very difficult.
While reading we ran into the query “How do clouds explode?”.
The answer is that In the event of cloud burst, droppets of water-filled clouds suddenly come towards the ground. Cloud burst is also known as a flash flood, it occurs when clouds with very high humidity stop at one place and droplets of water begin to mix together.
This causes the cloud to be potentially warmer than its surrounding air, and it keeps developing upwards until it runs out of water to condense, or, in case of temperature inversion, encounters warmer air. Studied under C. Donald Ahrens, author of Meteorology Today. Almost all clouds stop before they get to the Stratosphere, by the Tropopause.
Why does reducing the temperature of a cloud cause condensation?
Therefore, reducing its temperature decreases its ability to hold water vapor so that condensation occurs. Method (b) is the usual way that clouds are produced, and it is associated with air rising in the lower part of the atmosphere.
What are the benefits of moving to cloud?
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What happens to air as it rises up?
Rising Air a key process in the production of clouds and precipitation. Imagine a block of air, or air parcel, rising upward through the atmosphere. The air parcel expands as it rises and this expansion, or work, causes the temperature of the air parcel to decrease. As the parcel rises, its humidity increases until it reaches 100%.