Clouds; Mondays weather Term

Good Monday Morning to you!
Well it looks like a non weather week for us here in sunny Florida with no rain forcasted for the week. April showers are all dryed up. I continue today with Monday weather Terms I went to Jet Stream online weather school from NOAA for this information on my favorite subject. Have a great week!

CLOUDS- From Jet Stream
Clouds form when air is cooled to its dewpoint or the temperature, if the air is cooled, it reaches saturation. Air can reach saturation in a number of ways. The most common way is through lifting.

As a bubble or parcel of air rises it moves into an area of lower pressure (pressure decreases with height). As this occurs the parcel expands. This requires energy, or work, which takes heat away from the parcel. So as air rises it cools. This is called an adiabatic process.

The rate at which the parcel cools with increasing elevation is called the "lapse rate". The lapse rate of unsaturated air (air with relative humidity <100%) is 5.4°F per 1000 feet (9.8°C per kilometer). This is called the dry lapse rate. This means for each 1000 feet increase in elevation, the air temperature will decrease 5.4°F.
Since cold air can hold less water vapor than warm air, some of the vapor will condense onto tiny clay and salt particles called condensation nuclei. The reverse is also true. As a parcel of air sinks it encounters increasing pressure so it is squeezed inward.

This adds heat to the parcel so it warms as it sinks. Warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air, so clouds tend to evaporate as air sinks.
Jess
Cloud Stalker