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.
This of course begs the query “What cloud extends into the stratosphere?”
The most usefull answer is: clouds initially form in the troposphere. But tall cumulonimbus can ascend through the tropopause reaching far into the stratosphere.
What cloud type will form in stable air?
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.
It may seem that all clouds represent unstable air but it is not so. 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.
You should be asking “What type of clouds form in an unstable environment?”
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.
One more inquiry we ran across in our research was “Why do clouds form in stable environments?”.
So, the gentle, broad upward motion that occurs in stable environments results in layered, stratiform clouds and large areas of steady precipitation (if nimbostratus clouds form). That’s in stark contrast to the potentially vigorous upward motions caused by positively buoyant air parcels in unstable environments.
Moreover, what type of clouds form when there is a front?
If air is lifted into a stable layer: stratus or nimbostratus clouds are often the result (common along warm fronts) if air is lifted into a conditionally unstable layer: cumulus or cumulonimbus are often the result (common along cold fronts).
What conditions are associated with stratus clouds?
Stratus clouds form in calm, stable conditions when gentle breezes raise cool, moist air over colder land or ocean surfaces. These clouds can exist in a variety of thicknesses and are sometimes opaque enough to darken days, allowing for little light to pass through. What weather is associated with stratus clouds?
How do stratocumulus clouds form?
Satellite view of wave clouds forming many kilometers downwind of the mountains in Scotland and Ireland. 17 The mixing of a moist layer of air near the surface can produce a deck of stratocumulus clouds Cold air move over warm surface Stratocumulus clouds forming in rows over the Atlantic ocean as cold, dry arctic air sweeps over Canada.
Stratiform clouds are basically flat and layered. Instability is a situation in which rising air will continue to rise since it is less dense than the surrounding air. Clouds developing in a deep layer of instability will often develop into thunderstorms. Think of bubbles rising in a pot of water- that is instability being released in action.
Whether the air is stable or unstable within a layer largely determines cloud structure. Since stable air resists convection, clouds in stable air form in horizontal, sheet-like layers or “strata.” Thus, within a stable layer, clouds are stratiform.
What can you find in the stratosphere?
Travis Scott said he wasn’t aware of the deadly surge at his Astroworld Festival until “minutes before” a post-concert news conference, saying, “You can only help what you He described an atmosphere where it’s difficult to decipher audience.
What are facts about the stratosphere?
The following list highlights the characteristics and facts of the stratosphere in more detail. The stratosphere is the second layer of the atmosphere (above the troposphere.) 2. It extends from a height of approximately 10 km (6 miles) to 50 km (30 miles) above the Earth’s surface.
“The lower stratosphere has cooled by a globally averaged ~0.3-0.5 K/decade since 1979. The global-mean cooling has not occurred monotonically, but rather is manifested as two downward “steps ” in temperature, both of which are coincident with the cessation of transient warming after the major volcanic eruptions of El Chichon and Mt. Pinatubo.
How cold is the stratosphere?
The stratosphere is very cold, ranging in temperatures from negative 68°F to negative 5°F. However, temperature increases with altitude in the stratosphere, which is opposite from the troposphere. What is special about the stratosphere? The stratosphere contains the ozone layer, which shields the Earth from harmful radiation emitted from the Sun.