CLOUD FORMATION

By
Joseph Okolla

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 OBJECTIVES
 To describe the processes involved in the
formation of cloud.

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 INTRODUCTION
 Cloud forms due to air being lifted and cooling adiabatically
till water vapour condenses
 Height it occurs called condensation level which forms base
of cloud
 Initial lifting of air occurs as follows:
 Turbulence
 Orographic uplift
 Convection
 Slow widespread ascent

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 CONDENSATION LEVEL
 Unsaturated air rising cools adiabatically
 Cooling increases relative humidity of the parcel until dew
point temperature is reached & Relative Humidity 100%
 The level called condensation level & marks the base of cloud

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 CONDENSATION LEVEL cont..

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY TURBULENCE
 Air flow over the surface deformed by friction into a series of
eddies
 Turbulent flow enhanced by trees, buildings, hills etc.
 Air thoroughly mixes within the friction layer
 If situation initially stable it becomes unstable due to
mechanical turbulence & DALR established

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY TURBULENCE
cont..
 Mixing leads to air becoming saturated at some level below
the top of friction layer
 Condensation occurs at some height known as mixing
condensation level
 That forms base of cloud
 If cloud form, DALR extends up to the base of cloud then
SALR extends to top of turbulent layer

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY TURBULENCE
cont..
 Clouds formed basically layer type
 In particular stratus and later develop to stratocumulus
 With stable air, the inversion is low & stratus formed
 With unstable air, inversion is higher resulting to
formation of stratocumulus
 In winter Stratocumulus may also contain ice crystals & if
thickness between 1500 and 3000 ft snowflakes can form

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY TURBULENCE
cont..

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY CONVECTION
 Air heated near the surface convection currents develop as
bubbles of heated air called THERMALS
 Air cools adiabatically, if air sufficiently unstable it rises till it
attains it s dew point temp
 Base of cloud formed at Convective Condensation Level
 From CCL cloud continues to grow bigger depending on availability of
moisture & instability
 Clouds formed are heaped or cumuliform
 Convective clouds over sea show no significant diurnal variation
 Over land they disperse in the late afternoon or change to
stratocumulus

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY
CONVECTION cont…
 Flight conditions in and around TCU/CB characterized by
 Turbulence
 Icing below 00C (severe to -250C, light icing to -400C
 Precipitation in form of showers, possibly hail
 Electrical discharges
 Downdraughts below the cloud
 Gusting surface wind

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY CONVECTION
cont..

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY OROGRAPHIC
LIFTING
 Air forced to rise over mountain, ranges or hills
 Subjected to adiabatic cooling
 Condensation takes place at some height
 Varied types of clouds form
 In moist stable air stratus form on the windward side
 In moist slightly unstable air cumulus form
 Air moist & sufficiently unstable cumulonimbus cloud form
 Air not moist enough medium clouds form
 Clouds form continuously on windward side & disperse or
evaporate on the lee ward side

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY OROGRAPHIC
LIFTING cont..

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 CLOUD FORMATION ON MOUNTAIN
WAVES
 Sometimes clouds form on the waves that develop on the lee
ward side
 Clouds appear motionless as air flows through them
 Clouds formed are lens shaped known as Altocumulus
Lenticularis
 With great amplitude of waves roll cloud form known as
Rotor clouds they resemble Cu or Sc

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 CLOUD FORMATION ON MOUNTAIN
WAVES cont..

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 CLOUD FORMATION ON MOUNTAIN
WAVES cont..
 Water droplets do not freeze in the lenticular clouds
no matter how much they are supercooled
 Hence high concentration of supercooled water droplets
 Severe icing may not be encountered
 Due to limited extension it constitutes a minor problem
 With wind speed > 20 knots flying on the leeward
side can be dangerous

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY SLOW
WIDESPREAD ASCENT
 Vertical motion caused by large wind system such as
depressions & anticyclones
 Vertical motion in a depression distributed extensively with
slow vertical velocities which may persist for many days
 Slow widespread has a marked effect on temperature of the
environment
 Air becomes unstable as lapse rate steepens & cloud
formation becomes very wide

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY SLOW
WIDESPREAD ASCENT cont..
 In the tropics the ascent over large area caused by meeting of
two air masses caused by NE and SE trade winds meeting
 In temperate regions due to frontal uplift caused by meeting
of warm air and cold air
 In both ways many types of clouds form

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 CLOUD FORMATION BY SLOW
WIDESPREAD ASCENT cont..

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