Weather

What are stratus clouds and what do they bring?

They are clouds that form in flat layers close to the ground. They usually cover all or most of the sky. As stratus clouds thicken they may produce drizzle, rain or snow. Then they are called nimbostratus clouds.

What are cumulus clouds and what do they bring?

They are clouds that look like cotton and form less than 2 km above the ground. short cumulus clouds usually indicate fair weather. Towering clouds with flat tops, of cumulonimbus clouds, often produce thunderstorms.

How do air masses move and what winds are reponsible for it?

the prevailing westerlies and jet streams push air masses from west to east.

What are the characteristics of a maritime air mass?

they form aver oceans and are very humid

what are the characteristics of a continnental air mass?

they form over land and are drier than maritime air masses

what are the characteristics of a tropical air mass?

warm air and low pressure

what are the common types of precipitation?

Rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow and hail

What is a stationary front and what are its characteristics?

Some times cold and warm air masses meet but neither is strong enough to push the other. Where the cold and warm air mass meet, water vapor in the air condenses into rain, snow, fog, or clouds. If a stationary front stalls, it may bring many days of clouds and precipitation.

what are flash floods?

a flash flood is a sudden, violet flood that occurs shortly ofter a storm.

what is hail?

A hailstone is a round pellet of ice larger than5mm in diameter. Hail only forms in cumulonimbus clouds during spring/summer.

what are floods?

A flood is an over flowing of water in a normally dry area. it occurs when the volume of water in a river increases so much that the river overflows its channel.

what is realative humidity and how is it measured?

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what are fronts?

A boundary where two air masses meet but do not mix.

What is a thunderstorm and what happens during one?

A thunderstorm is a small storm often accompanied heavy precipitation and frequent thunder and lightning.

What are cirrus clouds and what do they bring?

Cirrus clouds form at high altitudes, and at ow temperatures. They are made of ice crystals and indicate fair weather.

what is a cold front and what characteristics does it have?

Happens when a faster cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass, forcing it upward. as the warm air cools and reaches the dew point, clouds form and heavy rain or snow may fall. After it passes, it brings colder and drier air, with clear skies, a shift in wind direction and lower temperatures. these fronts are fast moving.

What is a warm front and what characteristics does it have?

Happens when a faster warm air mass over takes a slower cold air mass, sliding ontop of it. if the warm air is humid, light rain or snow falls, if not, then scattered clouds form. beacuse it is a slow moving front, it could be rainy or cloudy for days. after it passes, the weather tends to be warmer and humid.

What is an occluded front and what are its characteristics?

Happens when a warm air mass is caught between two cooler air masses. the denser cold air masses move under te less dense warm air mass and push it upwards. the two cooler air masses meet in the middle and may mix.The temperature near the ground becomes cooler as the warm air mass is cut off, or occluded from the ground. Thw weather may turn cloudy and rain or snow may fall.

What it the most common kind of precipitation?

It is droplets of water larger than 0.5 mm in diameter, or rain.

How do clouds form and what two factors are needed for cloud formation?

Warm moist air rises from the surface. As air rises, it cools. At a certain height, air cools to the dew point and condensation begins. The two factors needed are the cooling of the air and particles in the air.

What is freezing rain?

When rain falls and freezes on contact when they touch a cold surface.

How do cumulonimbus clouds form and what does it bring?

When warm air is forced upward along a cold front or on hot, humid, afternoons in the summer and spring. They are fluffy towering clouds with flat tops. It brings thunderstorms and possibly tornadoes. they are also called thunder heads.

what is a drought?

a long period of scarce rainfall or dry weather is known as a drought. a drought reduces the supplies of ground water and surface water.Droughts are usually caused by dry weather systems that remain in one place for weeks or months at a time.

what is an air mass?

an air mass is a huge body of air in the lower atmosphere that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height.

how are air masses classified?

by temoerature and humidity

what are the characteristics of a polar air mass?

cold air masses that form north of 50 degrees north latitude and south of 50 degrees south latitude..

What is sleet?

it forms when raindrops fall through a layer of air that is below 0 celsius and freezes. Ice particles less than 5mm are called sleet.

how do you measure rain?

it is collected by an open ended tube called a rain gauge. the amount of water is read by reading a scale. to get the actual depth it is necessary to divid by ten.

what is snow?

it is formed when water vapor is converted directly into ice crystals.

what are the four major types of air masses?

maritime tropical, continental tropical, maritime polar, and continental polar.

How do you measure snow?

measuring the depth of water it produces. 10 cm of snow is equal to 1 cm of rain.

what is precipitation?

precipitation is any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface.