Clouds 101
This part of the water cycle is responsible for water vapor turning into clouds as warm air rises and cools higher up in the atmosphere.
What is condenstation?
These clouds result in thunderstorms.
What are cumulonimbus clouds?
This type of air mass is the coldest.
What is an arctic air mass?
In the mid-latitudes, 30-60 degrees, winds tend to come from this direction.
What is the west?
What is low pressure?
This prefix is added to the names of clouds to indicate they are in the middle level.
What is alto-?
These clouds are low-lying, big puffy clouds.
What are cumulus clouds?
The P n an air mass, such as mP or cP. means what?
What is polar?
This causes the winds to curve because of the rotation of the Earth.
What is the Coriolis Effect?
High pressure systems tend to have this type of weather.
What is cooler and sunny.
This is the layer of the atmosphere where clouds form.
What is the troposphere?
This cloud, or part of the name of a cloud, means layered clouds.
What is stratus?
What is formed over a continent?
In the latitudes closer to the equator and poles, the global winds flow from this direction.
What is east?
On a station model, what do two full lines and one half line represent on the end of the line showing wind direction?
What is a wind speed of 25 knots?
This prefix or suffix means that clouds have rain in them.
What is nimbo- or -nimbus?
This name is given to layered clouds found in the middle layer of the troposphere.
What are altostratus clouds?
Warm air masses end in a T on a weather map. What does T stand for?
What is tropical?"
Around 30 degrees north or south from the equator, there is a zone that has relatively light winds. As a result, sailing ships would get stuck in these zones. Ships would sometimes have to throw horses off their ships to conserve food and water which lead to the name of this zone. What is it?
What are the horse latitudes?
This term is given to the clouds formed by the exhaust of jets high in the atmosphere.
What are contrails?
What are cirrus or cirro- clouds primarily composed of?
What are ice crystals?
These type of puffy clouds are found in the upper level of the troposphere.
What are cirrocumulus clouds?
This is what an m, or maritime, means in an air mass.
What is formed over the ocean?
If the Earth didn't rotate, air would simply move in these two directions.
What are north and south?
This name is given to the easterly winds that sailing ships used to travel from Europe to the Americas.
What are the Trade Winds?