Meteorology of Clouds

© 2013 L.L. Downing. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/05/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0432-2 (sc)

978-1-4918-0433-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013913651

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Contents

Chapter I Cloud Structure and Dynamics

Chapter II Air Mass Clouds

Chapter III Orographic Clouds

Chapter IV Coastal Clouds

Chapter V Marine Clouds

Chapter VI Frontal Clouds

Chapter VII Pressure-pattern Clouds

Chapter VIII Severe-weather Clouds

Chapter IX Tropical Clouds

Chapter X Arctic Clouds

Chapter XI Cloud Base/Tops.

Chapter XII Fog

Chapter XIII Artificial Clouds

Chapter XIV Cloud Phenomena

Chapter XV Clouds’ Radiation Energy Impact

Chapter XVI WMO Cloud Types and their Symbols

Chapter XVII Adiabatic-Diagram Cloud Techniques.

Chapter XVIII A Cumulus-congestus Scenario.

METEOROLOGY DICTIONARY

PHOTO CREDITS

ABBREVATIONS

COMMON LATIN METEOROLOGICAL DESCRIPTORS:

PREFACE

Presented here is an atmospheric-knowledge acquired during several decades of Aviation-Meteorology experience, and presented in terms comprehensible to both weather novices and professional meteorologists, alike.

Dedication

This presentation is dedicated to our College and University meteorology departments, where our future young students will be educated in progessive scientific weather forecasting techniques, and where advanced weather data collection, instrumentation and technology systems, will be developed.

Author: Lloyd L. Downing,

USAAF, USAF, US Civil Service, Retired

U.S Air Force Aviation Meteorologist,

Meteorology Instruction Supervisor,

Weather Superintendent.

READERS NOTE

Refer to the Meteorology Dictionary section, for a comprehensive listing of Meteorological Terms found in this presentation.

B-17 above Stratocumulus cloud. USAAC WWII

INTRODUCTION

Clouds have played an important role in the history of human experience. Ancient mariners anticipated weather conditions at sea by interpreting the different cloud formations they observed. Early Aviators were keenly aware of the significance clouds and weather played in the safety of Operational Aviation (Getting the US. Mail through, for example).

Before the sophisticated organization of todays weather data reporting and collection, forecasters relied heavily on the accuracy of local cloud observations (single-station analysis), especially cloud-form and extent. Cloud-structure and coverage, reveal much valuable information regarding atmospheric-moisture-content, stability, precipitation-forms, weather dangers and imminent significant-weather activity, imperative for accident-free real-time aviation operations, and population safety. Today’s citizens living in America’s ‘Tornado Alley’ region, unfortunately, with the high incidence of spring-time severe weather death’s and property damage, recognize the dangers of a Mammatus (breast-shaped, and very dark) sky.

To truly comprehend the composition and dynamics of our Earth’s atmosphere, we need to become familiar with the dynamics and significance of it’s beautiful signposts, ‘Clouds’.

COMMON U.S. REGIONAL CLOUD-FORMS

(WMO types in parenthesis)

LOW:

Stratus (L6/7), Stratus undulatus (L6), Stratus opacus

nebulosus (L7), Stratus opacus uniformis (L7), Stratus

translucidus (L6).

Fractostratus (L7).

Mammatus (L9), Mammatus w/Cumulus congestus (L9), Mammatus w/Cumulonimbus (L9).

Small Cumulus (L1), Cumulus humilis (L1), Cumulus

mediocris (L1), Cumulus fractus (L1).

Swelling Cumulus (L2), Cumulus congestus (L2).

Stratocumulus (L4/5), Stratocumulus undulatus opacus (L5). Stratocumulus undulatus (L5).

Stratocumulus and Cumulus (L8).

Cumulonimbus (L3/9), Cumulonimbus mesocyclone super

cell (L9), Cumulonimbus calvus (L3), Cumulonimbus

w/Virga (L3/9), Cumulonimbus w/pileus (L9), Cumulonimbus

incus (L9).

MIDDLE:

Nimbostratus (M2), Nimbostratus opacus (M2), Nimbostratus

praecipitatio (M2), Nimbostratus w/pannus (M2).

Altocumulus (M3/9), Altocumulus duplicatus (M7), Altostratus

castellanus (M8).

Altocumulus – Mackerel sky (M5-8).

Altostratus (M1/2), Altostratus undulatus (M2).

HIGH:

Cirrus (H1-6), Cirrus castellanus (H9), Cirrus intortus (H2), Cirrus fibratus (H1/4), Cirrus uncinus (H4), Cirrus radiatus (H1/5/6/8).

Cirrocumulus H9), Cirrocumulus undulatus (H5/9).

Cirrostratus (H7/8), Cirrocumulus nebulosus (H9). Cirrocumulus fibratus (H5/9).

Cirrocumulus duplicatus nebulosis (H9).

(refer to ‘Common Latin Meteorological Descriptors Section’, for assistance with above ‘Latin-qualifiers’).

Chapter I

Cloud Structure and Dynamics

Clouds are visual features of the Earth’s dynamic atmosphere that are associated with both fair and stormy weather conditions. Clouds are present only where the atmosphere is saturated with moisture (moisture which materializes in several different states (of matter) - vapor/gas, water-droplets/liquid, and ice-crystals/solid).

Fog is a water-droplet and water-vapor cloud formation with it’s base touching the earth’s surface.

All of the atmospheres cloud-forms require a lifting mechanism to maintain the suspension of the cloud’s water-droplet and/or ice-crystal content. Atmospheric objects of any measurable mass (excepting Aerosols), free-fall to the earth’s surface, when not supported by a lifting-force.

That lowest part of the earth’s atmosphere which contains water-vapor and nearly all of our weather features, is called the ‘Troposphere’. This layer extends upwards from the earth’s surface to the ‘Tropopause’ (the base of the ‘Stratosphere’). The height of the Tropopause varies directly with the mean-temperature and moisture content of the atmosphere lying directly below it. The quantity Mean Virtual-temperature, is a term which represents both moisture and temperature properties of a layer of air. The Stratosphere is the region existing directly above our Troposphere, which contains no significant moisture (atmospheric thunderstorms do penetrate up into the absolutely stable stratosphere (See Absolute Stability), which then transforms these convective cloud-tops into stratified "Cirrostratus/Cirrus - Anvils). Appearances can be deceiving however, hail-stones, of aircraft damaging size, are frequently ejected out of these benign appearing cloud-forms, for distances up to 20 statute miles.

Extremely rare and unique forms, i.e., Noctilucent clouds occur in the night-time polar Stratospheric skies. It is believed these clouds form when transported frozen water-vapor is deposited upon meteoric-dust. The Stratosphere is an absolutely stable thermal-environment and extremely dry, thus unsupportive of ascending motions required to support most cloud-form existence (gravity also operates in the Stratosphere).

Space is commonly defined as the boundless dimension, beyond the earth’s atmosphere, where a total absence of water-vapor and oxygen is found, this is a truly representative description, meteorologically speaking..

Tropospheric clouds are comprised of water-vapor, water-droplets, ice-crystals, and precipitation products (rain- drops, hail-stones, ice-crystals, snow-crystals), and infrequently, some ridiculous items scooped aloft during severe weather conditions (fish, frogs, insects, etc.).

Minute condensation-nuclei particles (dust/salt/etc.) are solids upon which water-vapor initially condenses and forms water-droplets (cloud elements). Modern science also includes minute freezing-nuclei upon which ice-crystals form through sublimation (direct change of state from a gas to a solid, ie., water-vapor to ice).

Observable clouds are composed of condensed water-vapor (in its’ various states) and consequently, are heavier than air/atmospheric gases. For these cloud-particle masses to exist in the free atmosphere, their physical matter must be supported by ascending air-currents, which, without this physical-support, there would be no sustainable atmospheric cloud formations. What goes up, must come down (a physical truism); the force gravity, is always at work in planet Earth’s atmosphere! These supporting air currents are controlled by the laws of physics and thermodynamics and require our insightful study. The earth’s Troposphere is a very shallow layer, typically increasing in thickness, from poles to the equatorial regions (however a frequent marked change in thickness, is typical, in the near-proximity of the polar Jet Stream. Within the atmospheres’ shallow layer occurs most all of the various cloud-forms and weather phenomena that we experience.

Cloud moisture sources are typically major - Oceans, Seas, Lakes, Rivers Glaciers, Polar-ice surfaces, and the evaporation of surface-water from precipitation surface-deposits, all play a contributing role in providing moisture for our atmosphere. Evaporated moisture, directly from these water/ice surfaces, is transported aloft by lifting factors and contained in our atmosphere, where it is further transported vertically and horizontally by chaotic wind circulations (random thermal and frictional influences work to produce chaos over a protracted time-period), these factors are typically directly-associated with atmospheric pressure systems. Their systems allow clouds to form, typically in tiered/layered atmospheric levels, existing from the immediate earth’s surface-regions, aloft to the upper reaches of the Troposphere (base of the Stratosphere). Moisture is transported aloft from the earth’s surface by these lifting-factor lifting-systems (convective lifting, surface-heating, orographic lifting, elevated terrain lifting, frontal lifting, air mass over-riding, convergent lifting, low level convergence, vertical wind-shearing and atmospheric turbulence (including Jet Stream vertical and horizontal shearing).

If the earth were a perfect sphere, the atmospheric circulation would be much more uniform than it is; our globe has geographically variable surface features, and this variety plays a significant role in the existence of chaotic atmospheric circulations. The result of these dynamic features is an atmosphere that contains principally three tiered-moisture- layers, Low-level, Middle-level and High-level (these regions frequently merge in significant-lifting-factor area cloud producing conditions, i.e., very active frontal-systems or severe weather-systems), these three levels (Low/Middle/High) are confirmed by virtually all natural cloud-height occurrence.

Horizontal and Vertical Wind-shear is produced by discontinuous wind-speed or wind-direction zones, found in the chaotic tropospheric circulation.

World-wide weather organizations use the following cloud levels which basically correspond to the three atmospheric cloud levels described above, these levels are sub-qualified by climatic zones, ‘Polar, Temperate and Tropical’. The following zones are given for the ‘Northern Hemisphere’:

Climate Zones:

The Temperate Zone exists between 23 ½ deg. North and 66 ½ deg. North, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle.

The Polar Zone exists between 66 ½ deg. North and 90 deg. North, between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole.

The Tropical Zone exists between 0 deg. North and 23 ½ deg. North, between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer).

TROPOSPHERIC CLOUD-HEIGHT LEVELS:

(Non-WMO data source)

LOW – Polar/Temperate/Tropical Zones: Surface to 6,500ft.

MIDDLE – Polar: 6,500ft to 13,000ft, Temperate: 6,500ft to 16,500ft, Tropical: 6,500ft to 20,000ft.

HIGH – Polar: 13,000ft to 25,000ft, Temperate: 16,500ft to 45,000ft, Tropical: 20,000ft to 60,000ft.

Cloud formations are typically located within these three atmospheric height levels, with few exceptions. These three layers act as a conduit for energy propagations which take the form of undulating and chaotic air-stream energies, these disturbed streams extend over very long distances (typically hundreds of miles). The energy to create these chaotic-waves is generated by frontal dynamics, or the other lifting-factors that contribute to the atmospheres turbulent transport circulations. This propagation energy is essentially wave-energy of differing frequency, this energy is quite varied depending on source, and makes a strong contribution to the many different cloud-forms found in our atmosphere. These unstable airstreams are typically internally embedded in the cloud formation layers found at the Low, Middle and High levels. However, undisturbed tropospheric environments frequently exist directly above and, or directly