Almost black clouds of snow over the city, here it will snow and fill the whole city with snow. Such is the power and strength of nature. nearby are still green meadows in the suburbs with Christmas trees.
Modern weather forecasts are based on complex computer simulations. These simulations use physical equations that describe the atmosphere, including air movement, solar heat, cloud formation and rain. The gradual improvement of forecasts over time means that today's five-day forecasts are as accurate as three-day forecasts were 20 years ago.
But you don’t need a supercomputer to predict how the weather will change above your head in the next few hours - such signs have been known in different cultures for many thousands of years. By following the sky and having some knowledge of cloud formation, you can predict whether it will rain.
Moreover, a little understanding of the physics of cloud formation emphasizes the complexity of the atmosphere and sheds light on the reasons why predicting weather for a period longer than several days is such a difficult task.
Here are six types of clouds that you can see, and how they can help you understand the weather.
Cumulus clouds
Small white fluffy clouds
Clouds appear when the air cools to the dew point, the temperature at which the air can no longer cope with the water vapor contained in it. At this temperature, water vapor condenses and forms droplets of liquid water, which we see as a cloud. For this to happen, air must be forced to rise in the atmosphere, or moist air must come in contact with a cold surface.
On a sunny day, the rays warm the earth, which heats the air located directly above it. Due to convection, heated air rises and forms cumulus clouds. These “good weather” clouds are like cotton wool. If you look at the sky filled with cumulus clouds, you can see that they have a flat bottom, located at the same level for all clouds. At this altitude, air rising from ground level is cooled to the dew point. From cumulus clouds, it usually doesn’t rain - which means the weather will be fine.
2) Cumulonimbus clouds
Small cumulus clouds do not rain in the rain, but if they increase and grow in height, this is a sign that there will be heavy rain soon. This often happens in the summer, when morning cumulus clouds turn into cumulonimbus in the afternoon.
Not far from the earth, cumulonimbus clouds are clearly formed, but with height they begin to become smokier at the edges. Such a transition indicates that the cloud no longer consists of water droplets, but of ice crystals. When gusts of wind blow water droplets outside the cloud, they quickly evaporate in a drier environment, which is why the edges of water clouds are very sharply defined. Ice crystals carried outside the cloud do not evaporate so quickly, making the edges of such a cloud look smokier.
ОтветитьУдалитьCumulonimbus clouds often have a flat top. Inside such a cloud, air convection occurs and it gradually cools until it reaches the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. At this moment, it loses buoyancy and can no longer rise higher. Instead, it extends to the sides, forming the characteristic shape of the anvil.