Weather

Weather

1. Types of Clouds

   • Cumulus Clouds: fluffy, heaped, or piled up - altitude from 2,000 to 6,000 m
   • Stratus Clouds: flat, white, and layered- altitude up to 2,000 m
   • Cumulonimbus Clouds: Very tall and large clouds piling on top of another - altitude from 6,500 to 60,000 m
   • Cirrus Clouds: wispy, altitude above 6,000 m

2. Types of Fronts:

   • Warm Front:
     • the boundary of an advancing mass of warm air, in particular the leading edge of the warm sector of a low-pressure system.
   • Occluded Front:
     • when a cold front overtakes a warm front.
   • Cold Front:
     • the boundary of an advancing mass of cold air, in particular the trailing edge of the warm sector of a low-pressure system.
   • Stationary Front:
     • is a pair of air masses, neither of which is strong enough to replace the other. On a weather map, this is shown by an inter-playing series of blue spikes pointing one direction and red domes pointing the other

3. Pressure Systems

   • High: clear skies and fair weather
   • Low: forming clouds & precipitation, or rain or snow

4. Air Masses: Large Bodies of Air

   • Maritime Polar: Cool, Damp
   • Maritime Tropical: Damp, humid
   • Continental Polar: Dry, Cool
   • Continental Tropical: Dry, Humid
   • Artic: Cold, Dry (-40° C)

5. Severe Weather

   • Hurricanes: A hurricane is a type of storm called a tropical cyclone, which forms over tropical or subtropical waters.
   • Thunderstorms: a storm with thunder and lightning and typically also heavy rain or hail.
   • Tornadoes: violently rotating column of air that spins while in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud.