METEOROLOGY

Private Pilot License

REGULATIONS
 COURSE OUTLINE
• The atmosphere
• Heating process in the
atmosphere
• Atmospheric pressure
• The general circulation pattern
• Pressure system
• Wind • Clouds
• Local winds • Precipitation
• Atmospheric stability • Fog and Mist
• Temperature inversions • Thunderstorms
• Air masses and Fronts
•Tropical Cyclones
• Meteorological services
THE ATMOSPHERE
What is Atmosphere?
• is a mixture of gases, Nitrogen
and Oxygen
• Nitrogen 78.1%
• Oxygen 20.9%
• Argon 0.9%
• Carbon dioxide, Methane,
Rare (inert) gases0.1%

So, Meteorology is ….
• a study of atmosphere and its
various components and how
they interact.
Vertical Division of the Atmosphere
 Troposphere
• The troposphere is the first
layer above the surface and
contains half of the Earth's
atmosphere. Weather occurs
in this layer.

• From sea level to 20,000 feet

over the poles and up to
48,000 feet at the equator.
• At the top of troposphere is a
boundary known as
tropopause.
• Jetstream and clear air
turbulence is located in this
region.
 Stratosphere
• The atmospheric level above
the tropopause is known as
stratosphere.

• It extends up to 160,000
feet.

• Many jet aircrafts fly in the

stratosphere because it is
very stable. Also, the • At the top of stratosphere is
ozone layer absorbs harmful a boundary known as
rays from the Sun. stratopause.
 Mesosphere
• Directly above the
stratosphere is the area
called mesosphere.

• It extends up to the
mesopause boundary at
about 280,000 feet.

• Meteors or rock fragments

burn up in the mesosphere.
 Thermosphere
• After mesosphere, is
the another layer
called thermosphere.

• The thermosphere is
a layer with auroras. It
is also where the
space shuttle orbits.
Temperatures in the atmosphere
Heating Processes in the Atmosphere
• Radiation
• Solar
Radiation
• Terrestrial
Radiation

• Seasons
• Winter
• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Nature of surface  Water

 Land

• can be very hot during

the day • Water temperature
• can cool down at night doesn’t vary that much
whether day or night.
• This phenomenon is related to specific heat.
• The ability of an object to heat up, cool
down or retain heat.
 • Color of surface

• Dark object tends to absorb more

of the sun’s rays resulting in more
heating.

• Light objects reflects most of the sun’s

rays back to the atmosphere with very
little effect on the surface.
Effect of Variable Heating

• It creates convection currents,

an important method of heat
transfer.

• Hot air expanding becomes

lighter and rises. This is an
example of convection.

• Cool air from the sea moving

to replace the air that has
risen. We call this as sea
breeze which is an example of
advection.
 Other factors affecting Variable
Heating
• Clouds
 It diffuses solar radiation.

• Wind
 Its mixing effect affects
different air masses.

• Coastal Proximity
 Temperature in areas near
coastline tend to be less
extreme.
 Atmospheric Pressure
• Gas molecules in the atmosphere
are constantly moving.
• They exert a force on the object they
hit. This force is called atmospheric
pressure.
• To measure such pressure, a
barometer is used.
 Effect of Altitude on Atmospheric
Pressure
• ISA Temperature: • ISA Pressure:
 15°C at MSL, decreasing at  1013.25hPa, decreasing at
2°C/ 1000 feet 1hPa/ 30 feet
• Aircraft Performance

• If air is thin, more speed is required to obtain enough

lift for takeoff, therefore takeoff roll is longer.
• At higher altitudes, due to the decreased density of
air, aircraft engines and propellers are less efficient.
 Atmospheric Circulation
• Atmospheric circulation is the movement of air around the surface
of the earth.

• The Earth is curve, tilted, rotating and orbiting around the sun
thus affecting the amount of heat striking the surface.
• In theory, areas of low pressure exist over the equatorial regions
while high pressure exist over the polar regions.
• Solar heating causes air to become less
dense and rise in the equatorial region.
• As the warm air flows towards the poles, it
cools, becoming more dense, and sinks
back to the surface. This movement is
known as Subsidence.
• The circulation of air is modified by several
factors one of which is the rotation of the
earth. The force created by the earth’s
rotation is called Coriolis force.
• The Coriolis force deflects air to the right in
the Northern Hemisphere.
• The amount of deflection differs depending
on the latitude.
• The magnitude of the force depends also
on the speed. The faster the speed, the
greater deviation.
• The speed of the Earth’s rotation causes
the flow to break into 3 distinct cells in each
hemisphere - Hadley cell, Ferrel cell, Polar
cell.
 Circulation Pattern

• Polar cell

• Ferrel cell

• Hadley cell

• Circulation patterns are further

complicated by seasonal changes,
difference between surfaces of
continents and oceans, and other
factors.
• Frictional force caused by the
topography of the Earth’s surface
changes the movement of air in
the atmosphere.
Surface Analysis Chart
 Low Pressure Area
• Lows are frequently associated with
stronger winds and atmospheric lift.
This lift will generally produce cloud
cover, due to adiabatic cooling, once
the air becomes saturated as it rises.
• It turns counter clockwise in the
northern hemisphere.

Weather associated with LPA:

• The rising air in a low will cool and
cloud will tend to form.
• Depending on the stability of air,
large CU, CB or NS cloud will form.
• Rain or heavy showers.
• Turbulence
• Good visibility
 High Pressure Area
• High pressure area is a region where the
atmospheric pressure is greater than the
surrounding area. In some countries, these
regions may be referred to as anti-cyclones
.
• Highs are frequently associated with light
winds and subsidence. Subsidence will
generally evaporate most cloud droplets
after less than 500 meters, due to adiabatic
heating.

Weather associated with HPA:

• The subsiding air in a low is stable.
• As air descends and warms, any cloud
tends to disperse.
• Poor visibility due to stable atmosphere.
Fine weather but hazy.
 Col
• It is a region between two HPAs and two
LPAs.
• It is an area of almost constant pressure
with isobars bending away from the center.

Weather associated with Col:

• The wind is typically light and variable.
• Fog is possible (during winter) and high
temperature (in summer).
• Weather generally is unpredictable.
 Wind
• It is the flow of air in horizontal motion due to
the difference in pressure between two joining
air masses.
• On a MSL Synoptic Chart, the isobars, which
joins lines of equal pressures, indicate both
wind speed and direction.
• If the isobars are close together, wind is
strong. And the further apart the isobars the
weaker the wind.
 Local winds
Sea Breeze (A)
• It is a wind from the sea that develops over
land near coasts.
• It is formed by increasing temperature
differences between the land and water
which create a pressure minimum over the
land due to its relative warmth and forces
higher pressure, cooler air from the sea to
move inland.

Land Breeze (B)

• It occurs exactly opposite reason to sea
breeze.
• At night, the land cools more quickly than
the sea.
• The result is that the flow of air is now from
the land out to the sea.
• Land breeze are strongest during the early
hours of the morning.
Katabatic wind
• It is a wind that blows down a mountain
slope during the night and in the early
morning when the land loses heat by
radiation.
• The land then cools the air in contact
with it and on a slope the dense air
mass “slides” down the slope under the
influence of gravity.

The katabatic wind speed depends on:

• The size and steepness of the
mountain
• How cloudy the sky is
• Surface friction
• Length of the night

Anabatic wind
• The opposite of katabatic wind.
• This less dense air flow up the slope.
Mountain waves
• When a wind flows towards a mountain
producing a series of standing waves.
• They are periodic changes of
atmospheric pressure, temperature and
orthometric height in a current of air
caused by vertical displacement.
• They can also be caused by the surface
wind blowing over an plateau or even by
upper winds deflected over a thermal
updraft or cloud street.
Wind Shear
• Refers to the variation of wind over
either horizontal or vertical distances,
the difference in wind speed and
direction over a relatively short
distance in the atmosphere.
• An additional hazard of turbulence is
often associated with wind shear.
• It is commonly observed near
microburst and downburst caused by
thunderstorms, weather fronts, areas
of locally higher low level winds
referred to as low level jets, near
mountains, radiation inversions that
occur due to clear skies and calm
winds, buildings, wind turbines, and
sailboats.
Wake Turbulence
• The turbulence that is formed behind
an aircraft as it passes through the
air. This turbulence includes various
components, the most important of
which are wingtip vortices and
jetwash.
• These vortices’ are at its greatest
strength when the aircraft generating
is heavy, clean, and slow.
• Wake turbulence is especially
hazardous during the landing and
takeoff phases of flight.
• Wake turbulence generation begins
at rotation and ends at touchdown.
 Atmospheric Stability
Definitions:
• As a parcel of air rises the pressure around it
reduces. Therefore as is rises, it will expand and it
will cool. The air is said to be cooling adiabatically.
• Adiabatic means a change in temperature not due to
heat transfer but a change in pressure around its
surroundings.
• The lapse rate  is the change of atmospheric
temperature with height.
• Environmental Lapse Rate
• Adiabatic Lapse Rate 
Environmental Lapse Rate
• Refers to the actual change of temperature
with altitude for the stationary atmosphere.
• The ELR at a given place varies from day to
day and even during each day.
• As an average, the ICAO defines an ISA with
a temperature lapse rate of 1.98 °C/1,000 ft
from sea level to 11 km (36,090 ft).

Adiabatic Lapse Rate

• When unsaturated air cool adiabatically at
approximately 3°C/ 100 feet, this is known as
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR).

• When saturated air in a form of water vapor

changes to liquid, it gives off latent heat, it
slows down the adiabatic cooling process.
The air cools at a slower rate, this is called
Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate (SALR) at
approximately 1.5°C/ 1000 feet.
 Atmospheric Stability
• Atmospheric stability is the air’s resistance to any
disturbing effect.
• The ability to resist the narrowing of the spread
between air temperature and dewpoint.

• The lapse rate determines the atmosphere's

resistance to vertical motion, or stability. 
• If the lapse rate equals the DALR then there is
no resistance to vertical motion. 
• If the lapse rate is larger, or "more stable"  the
atmosphere resists vertical motion.
• An atmosphere in which the lapse rate is smaller
(more negative) than the DALR is "unstable" and
tends to spontaneously mix. 
• The only region of the atmosphere which is
generally unstable is the layer immediately
above heated ground, in which thermals form.
 Temperature Inversion
• It is a deviation from the normal change of
an atmospheric property with altitude (an
increase in temperature with height).
• When there is an inversion, it indicates a
very stable atmosphere.
Types of Inversion
Radiation Inversion
• Occurs after an overnight cooling of the
ground which in turn cools the lowest
layer of the atmosphere.

Subsidence Inversion
• Usually occurs when different density of
air in the atmosphere subside more
causing some adiabatic warming.
• When a warm layer of air overlying
colder air occurs about 4000 to 6000
feet above the earth’s surface, inversion
sets in.

Frontal Inversion
• Movement of a cold front results in cold
dense air forcing warmer air aloft.
 Clouds
• A cloud is a visible mass of droplets or frozen
crystals floating in the atmosphere above the
surface of the earth.
• All clouds are divided into 3 groups based on
the height of their base.

High Clouds
• Usually forms above 20,000 feet AGL and
form only in stable air.
• They are made of ice crystals and pose
no real threat of turbulence or airframe
icing.
• Typical high clouds are cirrus, cirrostratus,
and cirrocumulus.
Mid-level Clouds
• Usually forms between 6,500 feet AGL and
extends up to 20,000 feet AGL.
• They are composed of water, ice crystals, and
super-cooled water droplets.
• Typical middle-level clouds include altostratus
and altocumulus.
• Altostratus clouds can produce turbulence and
may contain moderate icing.
• Altocumulus clouds, which usually form when
altostratus clouds are breaking apart, also may
contain light turbulence and icing.

Low Clouds
• Low clouds are those that form near the Earth’s
surface and extend up to 6,500 feet AGL.
• They are made primarily of water droplets, but can
include super-cooled water droplets that induce
hazardous aircraft icing.
• Typical low clouds are stratus, stratocumulus, and
nimbostratus.
Basic cloud types
 Precipitation from clouds
Drizzle
• Consist of very small water droplets.
This type of precipitation is
associated with stratus clouds.
Rain
• Large water droplets coming from
nimbostratus cloud. Also varying
degrees from stratocumulus and
altostratus clouds.
Showers
• Occurs as a sudden start and
stopping of precipitation with clear
breaks in between. These fall with
varying degrees of intensity from
cumulus, cumulonimbus and
altocumulus type of clouds.
Hail
• Usually occurs from large towering
cumulus and cumulonimbus type of
cloud.
Snow
• Occurs when star shaped ice
crystals develop within a cloud
before falling. This is most
commonly seen from the stratus
group of clouds.
Virga
• This doesn’t reach the ground, so its
not really precipitation. The rain falls
from the base of a cloud but
evaporates before it reaches the
ground.
 Fog and Mist
• Fog is a form of stratus cloud at low level
with the horizontal visibility down to below
1000 meters.
• If the visibility is 1000 meters or more,
then it is known as mist.
• Basically fog forms by the same method
as cloud. Fog types are categorized
according to how they form.
• Fog is one of the most frequent causes of
low visibility at airports and as such is a
significant hazard to aviation.
• Fog forms when the difference between
temperature and dew point is generally
less than 2.5°C.
Radiation fog
• is formed by the cooling of land after sunset
by thermal radiation in calm conditions with
clear sky.
• The cool ground produces condensation in
the nearby air by heat conduction.
• Radiation fogs occur at night, and usually
do not last long after sunrise.

Advection fog
• Occurs when moist air passes over a cool
surface by advection (wind) and is cooled.
• Wind is required to form advection fog.
• Winds of up to 15 knots allow the fog to
form and intensify; above a speed of 15
knots, the fog usually lifts and forms low
stratus clouds.
• Advection fog is common in coastal areas
where sea breezes can blow the air over
cooler landmasses.
Steam fog
• Forms when cold, dry air moves over
warm water. As the water evaporates,
it rises and resembles smoke.
• This type of fog is common over bodies
of water during the coldest times of the
year.
• Low-level turbulence and icing are
commonly associated with steam fog.
• It often causes freezing fog, or
sometimes hoar frost.

Dispersal of fog
• Sun light to warm up the earth’s
surface.
• An increase in wind strength.
 Thunderstorms
• Thunderstorm is a form of weather
characterized by the presence of
lightning and thunder.
• It is a cumulus cloud that has grown
into a cumulonimbus.
• For a thunderstorm to develop, it
needs the following:
 An unstable atmosphere
 Abundant moisture to feed
the cloud.
 A trigger to start the air
rising.
 Thunderstorm can be defined by the trigger that
starts the air rising:
• Convective storms are caused by surface
heating over land in summer.
• Frontal storms are caused by cold front
forcing warmer air upwards.
• Orographic storms are started by air rising
over a mountain.
• Nocturnal storms occur over the ocean at
night and are caused by cooling at the top of
a large cumulus cloud.
 Life cycle of a thunderstorm

Cumulus stage is Dissipating stage last stage

characterized by warm, of an active thunderstorm.
Mature stage is
strong updrafts which may Both updrafts and downdrafts
characterized by both
be as fast as 4000 feet per mix weakens leaving a
updrafts and downdrafts,
minute. No precipitation at continuous rain until the cloud
extremely turbulent.
this stage. is empty.
Lightning and rain begins
at this stage.
 Air mass and Fronts
Air mass
• Is a large volume of air that have
characteristics of temperature and
water vapor content.
• Air masses cover many hundreds or
thousands of square miles, and
slowly change in accordance with the
surface below them.
• They have continental and maritime
source regions, with different
temperature and moisture
characteristics..

Groupings:
• Tropical maritime form over
warm tropical waters and bring
warm, moist air.
• Tropical continental
• Polar maritime forms over a
polar region and brings cool,
dry air with it.
• Polar continental
Cold front
• Occurs when a mass of cold, dense, and stable air
advances and replaces a body of warmer air.
• Cold fronts move more rapidly than warm fronts,
progressing at a rate of 25 to 30 m.p.h.
• A typical cold front moves in a manner opposite that of
a warm front; because it is so dense, it stays close to
the ground and acts like a snowplow, sliding under the
warmer air and forcing the less dense air aloft.
Before passage:
• Prior to the passage of a typical
cold front, cirriform or towering
cumulus clouds are present, and
cumulonimbus clouds are possible.
• Rain showers and haze are
possible due to the rapid
development of clouds.
• The wind from the south-southwest
helps to replace the warm
temperatures with the relative
colder air.
• A high dewpoint and falling
barometric pressure are indicative
of imminent cold front passage.
After passage:
• As the cold front passes, towering
cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds
continue to dominate the sky.
• Depending on the intensity of the
cold front, heavy rain showers form
and might be accompanied by
lightning, thunder, and/or hail.
• More severe cold fronts can also
produce tornadoes.
• During cold front passage, the
visibility will be poor, with winds
variable and gusty, and the
temperature and dewpoint drop
rapidly.
• Temperature will fall and barometric
pressure begins to gradually
increase.
Warm front
• Occurs when a warm mass of air advances and
replaces a body of colder air.
• Warm fronts move slowly, typically 10 to 25 miles per
hour (m.p.h.).
• The slope of the advancing front slides over the top of
the cooler air and gradually pushes it out of the area.
• Warm fronts contain warm air that often has very high
humidity.
• As the warm air is lifted, the temperature drops and
condensation occurs.
Before passage: After passage:
• Prior to the passage of a warm • Clouds starts to clear up.
front, cirrus, cirrostratus, altostratus, • Some light rain or showers.
nimbostratus are present. Then • Temperature starts to warm up
stratus and fog.
while pressure slightly rise.
• Heavy continuous rain because of
rising of stable air forming stratiform
clouds or NS.
• Wind from the south-southeast.
• Cool temperature and steadily
falling barometric pressure are
indicative of warm front passage.
• Poor visibility.
 Tropical Cyclone
• Cyclones are intense low pressure
systems that develop in tropical oceans.
• The main difference between cyclones
and other depressions is the destructive
winds which can reach speeds of up to
150 knots.
• The main characteristics are:
 They form between about 5 and 15
latitude N.
 They form over water whose
temperature is about 28C or warmer.
 The lowest surface pressure is in the
eye.
 The strongest winds are around the
eye.
Cyclone formation and track
 Meteorological Services
Aerodrome Forecasts (TAF)
• A Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) refers to the forecast conditions
within a 5 NM radius of the center of an aerodrome or runway complex.

New format (TAF)

Weather codes and translation
(TAF) samples
HONG KONG (VHHH)
TAF VHHH 171100Z 1712/1818 15010KT 8000 FEW025 TX27/1807Z
TN19/1723Z BECMG 1715/1717 VRB05KT TEMPO 1718/1806 3000 HZ BR
BECMG 1802/1804 29010KT BECMG 1809/1811 12005KT

JANDAKOT (YPJT)
TAF AMD YPJT 171043Z 1712/1806
25010KT 9999 LIGHT SHOWERS OF RAIN FEW015 BKN030
FM171700 21005KT 9999 SCT015
FM180200 21013KT 9999 SCT030
PROB30 1719/1724 0300 FOG
RMK
T 19 18 16 15 Q 1015 1015 1015 1016

PERTH (YPPH)
TAF AMD YPPH 171040Z 1712/1818
25010KT 9999 LIGHT SHOWERS OF RAIN FEW015 BKN030
FM171700 21005KT 9999 SCT015
FM180200 21013KT 9999 SCT030
PROB30 1719/1724 0300 FOG
RMK
T 21 18 16 15 Q 1014 1014 1014 1015
Aerodrome Weather Reports (METAR)
• A Aerodrome Weather Report (METAR) is a report of an actual
observation of weather conditions.

HONG KONG (VHHH)

VHHH 171100Z 1712/1818 15010KT 8000 FEW025 TX27/1807Z TN19/1723Z
BECMG 1715/1717 VRB05KT TEMPO 1718/1806 3000 HZ BR
BECMG 1802/1804 29010KT BECMG 1809/1811 12005KT
VHHH 171600Z 11006KT 060V160 9999 FEW015 23/18 Q1013 NOSIG

SINGAPORE (WSSS)
WSSS 171100Z 1712/1818 VRB05KT 9999 FEW018CB SCT020
TEMPO 1802/1806 4000 THUNDERSTORMS WITH RAIN SCT015CB BKN018
WSSS 171630Z VRB01KT 9999 FEW018 BKN300 27/25 Q1010 NOSIG

MANILA (RPLL)
RPLL 171100Z 1712/1812 12008KT 9999 SCT025 SCT100 TX31/1806Z TN24/1721Z
TEMPO 1712/1718 10005KT 8000 -RA SCT023 BKN090
RPLL 171600Z 12006KT 8000 SCT023 BKN100 26/25 Q1012 NOSIG RMK A2989

LAPU-LAPU (RPVM)
RPVM 171100Z 1712/1812 04008KT 9999 FEW020 SCT100 BKN250
TEMPO 1712/1718 02006KT 9000 FEW018CB FEW020 BKN090
RPVM 171600Z 34004KT 9999 FEW020 BKN300 25/23 Q1011 A2985
Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS)
• Is a continuous broadcast of recorded ATIS YPPH K 171616
non-control information in busier terminal + APCH:
areas. RWY: 21 AND 24 FOR ARR.
RWY 21 FOR DEP
• ATIS broadcasts contain essential OPR INFO: TWY LIMA 2 AND
information, such as weather information, CHARLIE 3, NOT AVBL DUE WIP.
DEP FREQ 118.7
which runways are active, available
WND: 230/8
approaches, and any other information VIS: GREATER THAN 10 KM
required by the pilots, such as important CLD: SCT035
NOTAMs. TMP: 19
QNH: 1015
• Pilots usually listen to an available ATIS
broadcast before contacting the local
control unit, in order to reduce the ATIS YMML W 171616
controllers' workload and relieve RWY 16 FOR ARRS.
frequency congestion. RWY 27 FOR DEPS
WND: 200/6
• The recording is updated when there is a VIS: GREATER THAN 10 KM
significant change in the information, like CLD: BKN022
a change in the active runway. It is given TMP: 13
QNH: 1018
a letter designation (e.g. bravo), from the
phonetic alphabet.
- END -
Example
• When the bicyclist runs over the nail, the air, having a higher pressure than
the outside air, will rush out.  The air does work against the atmosphere as it
rushes out from the tire.  In doing this work of displacing the outside air, the
air from the tire must use some energy.  That energy comes from the kinetic
molecular energy.  The kinetic energy of the molecules from the tire slows
and the temperature falls.

• No heat has been added or removed from the system yet the expanding air
cools.
This process is called Adiabatic Cooling. It is also called Expansion
Cooling.

• This process is reversible.

• If we took a pump to compress the air, as we would if we were filling the tire,
then the energy used to compress the air is used to increase the kinetic
energy of the molecules.  Compression warms the air.
This process is called Adiabatic Warming.
 
 Example 1
• if we raise a parcel of air from ground level to
100 meters in height, the temperature will
decrease by 1°C. The parcel cools at a rate of
1°C per 100 m or 10°C per km.
• The parcel expanded and did work on its
environment!
• Now, bring the parcel back down to the surface. 
The environment did work on the parcel.
This is an adiabatic process and is reversible.
 Example 2:

•   If we use a moist parcel of air (RH = 100%)

• The rising air cooled and produced condensation.  The
condensation released latent heat so the rising parcel
does not cool as rapidly with height as a dry parcel.
• Parcel cools only 0.6°C per 100 m (on average).
• Moist adiabatic lapse rate = 0.6°C per 100 m.
Remember -- This is an average lapse rate.  The actual
one varies!!!
• If the moisture falls out of the parcel as rain, the
process is not reversible.
Reversible only if no moisture has been removed!
If we (somehow) lift the parcel: It will cool at the dry adiabatic lapse rate. The parcel
will find itself cooler than the environmental (sounding) temperature. At the same
pressure, a cooler parcel will be denser than the environment. Being denser, the
parcel will descend back to where it came from.

STABLE!
 If we (somehow) lift the parcel:  It will cool at the dry adiabatic lapse rate.
The parcel will find itself warmer than the environmental (sounding) temperature.
At the same pressure, a warmer parcel will be less dense than the environment.
Being less dense, the parcel will ascend and move farther from where it came from.
UNSTABLE!
 If we (somehow) lift the parcel:  It will cool at the dry adiabatic lapse rate.
The parcel will find itself at the same temperature than the environmental (sounding)
temperature.
Being the same density, the parcel will not be accelerated in any direction and will remain
where it is.

NEUTRAL STABILITY! -- Dry Neutral, or Conditional Instability

 What triggers the rising air?

• Convection
 What triggers the rising air?
• Frontal Lifting
 What triggers the rising air?
• Orographic lifting
 What triggers the rising air?
• Converging surface winds
Vertical Cross Section View
 Stretching Process
• Vertical
stretching (like
by a strong
updraft) also
increases
rotation
Splitting Process
Right-Moving Supercell
Processes
 Storm Tilt
• Vertical wind shear
and buoyancy
gradients across the
cloud act to tilt the
convective tower in
the downshear
direction. For a given
amount of shear, a
stronger, updraft will
not tilt as much as a
weaker updraft
simply because its
vertical momentum is
stronger.
Right-Moving Supercell
Processes
Additional Effect
 Temperature Inversions
• What is an inversion?
• An inversion is a stable zone in the atmosphere.
Inversions that are weak may only last a day
while strong inversions can stay around for
multiple days until the weather changes. During
a strong inversion, pollution is trapped under this
“cap”, preventing exhaust like carbon monoxide
from vehicles and wood stoves to mix or rise up
in the atmosphere.
Temperature Inversions
 Change of state
• Evaporation is the process by which
molecules in a liquid state (e.g. water)
spontaneously becomes a gas (e.g. water
vapor), without being heated to the boiling
point. It is the opposite of condensation.
Generally, this manifests as the gradual
disappearance of the liquid, when exposed
to a significant volume of gas.
 Change of state
• Condensation is the change in matter of
a substance to a denser phase, such as a
gas (or vapor) to a liquid.[1] Condensation
commonly occurs when a vapor is cooled
to a liquid, but can also occur if a vapor is
compressed (i.e., pressure on it increased)
into a liquid, or undergoes a combination
of cooling and compression.
 Change of state
– Sublimation of an element or compound is the
change from a solid directly to a gas with no
intermediate liquid stage
– Deposition is a process in which gas transforms into
solid. The reverse of deposition is sublimation.
• One example of deposition is the process by
which, in sub-freezing air, water vapor changes
directly to ice without first becoming a liquid.
This is how snow forms in clouds, as well as
frost and hoar frost on the ground.
 MOISTURE
• Humidity is the amount of water vapor in air. Absolute
humidity, relative humidity, and specific humidity are
different ways to express the water content in a parcel of
air. Relative humidity is the most frequently used of
these expressions because of its importance in weather
forecasting.
• Relative Humidity is a term used to describe the
amount of water vapor that exists in a gaseous mixture
of air and water, expressed as a percentage of the
maximum amount of water vapor that could be present if
the vapor were at its saturation conditions
 CALCULATING CLOUD
BASES
• Dewpoint- “dew point” of a given parcel of air is the
temperature to which the parcel must be cooled, at
constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to
condense into water, called dew.
• Cloud bases
– Unsaturated air 5.4 ºF/ 1000ft.
– Dewpoint Temperature cools 1ºF/1000ft
– 4.5ºF/1000ft Converge
•
Temperature (ºF) – Dewpoint (ºF) x 1000ft
4.5ºF