Clouds
What are the three main ingredients for clouds
water, rising air, dust
What is the shape of a cumulonimbus cloud?
anvil
Which type of air can hold more water vapor: warm or cold?
warm air
What is the basic cause of all weather?
tropical rain
What is a thunderhead cloud called?
cumulonimbus?
In a thunderhead, warm air creates _________ and cold air creates _________.
updrafts
downdrafts
If the humidity of the air is 100%, we say that the air is ________________.
Saturated
The function of the atmosphere that keeps heat from escaping into space is the ______________.
Greenhouse effect
Which type of snow melts slightly on the way down and clumps together?
Wet snow
What is a cloud at ground level called?
fog
Why do we see lightning before we hear thunder?
Because light travels faster than sound
We call is RELATIVE humidity because the percentage is based on the _____________.
temperature
Why do we have seasons?
because of the tilt of the earth's axis
What type of precipitation melts in the air and refreezes when it hits the ground?
freezing rain
What does the words "cumulus", "stratus" and "cirrus" mean?
cumulus: pile or heap
stratus: layer
cirrus: wisp or curl
Lightning travels to earth through a thin channel of charged air called a ________________.
Step leader
The temperature at which cooling air becomes saturated is the ____________.
dew point
Air always flows from an area of __________ pressure to an area of _______ pressure.
high to low
What is the only form of precipitation that never melts in the air?
dry air
What does the prefix "nimbus" and "alto" mean?
nimbus: cloud from which rain is falling
alto: medium height
If a tornado has been spotted, meteorologists would issue a _____________.
tornado warning
Explain why the bathroom mirror is fogged up after you take a shower.
The hot water holds lots of water vapor. When the hot air hits the cold mirror, the temperature of the air drops, it becomes saturated, and the extra water vapor condensates and stays on the mirror.
What are the three main wind systems and where are they found?
trade winds: equator
prevailing westerlies: middle latitudes
polar easterlies: north and south poles
What form of precipitation melts and refreezes in the air creating little pieces of ice?
sleet