Clouds
The word for "curl" or wispy, feathery clouds at high altitude and low temperatures. Made of ice crystals and indicate fair weather.
Cirrus Clouds
An instrument used to measure precipitation.
Rain gauge
Rain that falls through a layer of air below O degrees Celsius, forming ice particles smaller than 5mm (the size of an eraser on the end of a pencil).
sleet
An overflowing of water in a normally dry area.
Flood
How do clouds form?
When water vapor in the air condenses to form liquid water or ice crystals.
The word for "heap." These clouds look like cotton balls. When they are short the indicate fair weather, when they are tall or towering ___________nimbus clouds indicate heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Cumulus Clouds
Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
Precipitation
Water vapor in a cloud that is directly converted to ice crystals.
snow
A long period of low precipitation.
Drought
How does cooling air affect humidity?
As air cools the amount of water vapor it holds decreases. The water vapor condenses to form liquid water or ice crystals
These clouds form in thick, flat layers. They are spread out and cover all or most of the sky. The sky overhead is cloudy and gray. As they thicken and darken they change to nimbo_________clouds indicating drizzle, rain, or snow
Stratus Clouds
List the common types of precipitation
rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow, and hail
Round pellets of ice that are larger than 5mm (larger than the eraser at the end of a pencil). Only forms in cumulonimbus clouds (thunderstorm clouds).
Ice pellets form when strong updrafts repeatedly carry ice through cold regions of a cloud. Ice forms in layers like a tree ring or onion when cut in half. The more updrafts the bigger the hailstone.
hail
What are the causes and effects of floods?
Causes: hurricane or swelling of a river due to heavy rain or snow melt - gains speed and strength
which can uproot trees, move boulders, wash away building and bridges.
dams and levees (embankment) can protect cities from the damage of floods
What is the term for when temperature at which condensation begins? (Hint temperatures above freezing create droplets and temperatures below freezing create ice crystals)
dew point
The clouds found at the highest level of the atmosphere
Cirrus
The clouds found at the low-level of the atmosphere that indicates cloudy, or rainy weather.
stratus and nimbostratus
Rain that freezes to ice as it touches a cold surface.
freezing rain
What is a drought?
a long period of scarce rainfall or dry weather (usually weeks or months at a time)
What two conditions are required for cloud formation?
1.) Cooling of the air and, 2.) the presence of particles in the air. Particles can be bacteria, dust, and smoke.
The clouds found at the medium-level of the atmosphere.
cumulous, altocumulus, altostratus,
What kid of weather do cumulous clouds indicate?
Sunny, fair weather!
What are the particles in the air made of?
Smoke, bacteria, dust, or salt
What are the cause and effects of droughts?
Droughts can cause crop failure (death of plants) and famine (hunger), and dry ponds and streams cause animals to suffer.
People can prepare for droughts by conserving water and planting drought-resistant crops (which are plants that have been bred to withstand dry conditions).
A thin layer of ice on the ground or on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in above freezing air comes into contact with a solid surface
Frost