Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Clouds are huge collections of water or ice particles in the air. As the sun's rays warm our planet, they cause water from lakes, rivers, and oceans to evaporate, or change form from a liquid to a gas. The water vapor then travels upward until it reaches a part of the sky where it gets cold enough to condense back into droplets of water. These droplets aren't heavy enough to fall back to Earth, so they remain suspended in midair until the right conditions cause them to fall back to the earth as rain or snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15731 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 What were the stars like when you were young? They went on forever. We lived in Arizona, and the skies always had these little fluffy clouds in them. And they were long, clear, and there were lots of stars at night. And when it would rain, they would all turn – they were beautiful, the most beautiful skies, as a matter of fact. The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire, and the clouds would catch the colors everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasepud 59 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 What were the stars like when you were young? They went on forever. We lived in Arizona, and the skies always had these little fluffy clouds in them. And they were long, clear, and there were lots of stars at night. And when it would rain, they would all turn – they were beautiful, the most beautiful skies, as a matter of fact. The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire, and the clouds would catch the colors everywhere. 96998[/snapback] Cue 2 mins ago.......Peasepud thinks....."I know I'll look geet clever by quoting the Orb lyrics".....google....oh bollocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15731 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 What were the stars like when you were young? They went on forever. We lived in Arizona, and the skies always had these little fluffy clouds in them. And they were long, clear, and there were lots of stars at night. And when it would rain, they would all turn – they were beautiful, the most beautiful skies, as a matter of fact. The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire, and the clouds would catch the colors everywhere. 96998[/snapback] Cue 2 mins ago.......Peasepud thinks....."I know I'll look geet clever by quoting the Orb lyrics".....google....oh bollocks 97006[/snapback] Meenzer and rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Although clouds seem weightless up in the sky, many of the ones that we can see are actually a lot heavier than you might think. A cloud about 1 km wide and 1 km long can contain up to 500 tons of water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 This junior school geography lesson would be more likely to find its target audience at N-O tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 This junior school geography lesson would be more likely to find its target audience at N-O tbh. 97016[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 How clouds form There are four main ways in which clouds are formed: * CONVECTION Clouds formed by convection are created by the fact that warm air rises. When the earth is heated by the sun, it warms up the air closest to the ground. This pocket of warm air, or thermal, then rises up, cooling and expanding as it ascends. Other thermals soon follow, and they rise even higher, thanks to the first thermal clearing a path for them by transferring heat upwards. Eventually, if a thermal rises to a height at which it reaches its saturation point (the point at which the moisture inside the cloud condenses), its moisture becomes visible as a cloud. The thick cumulus clouds of a thunderstorm are examples of convective clouds. * CONVERGENCE Often, when large pockets of air move across the Earth's surface, they collide and mix together, bringing more air into an area than usual. Since the surrounding atmospheric conditions leave them nowhere to go but up, the layers of air are soon pushing against each other, lifting each other higher and higher. Eventually, the layers will reach a height at which the water vapor inside them will condense to form cloud droplets. The vertical motions associated with this type of cloud development are usually weaker than the vertical motions associated with clouds formed by convection. Cirrostratus clouds are often formed by convergence lifting. * LIFTING ALONG FRONTAL ZONES Large bodies of air can either be warm or cold. A front is simply the point at which a warm body of air and a cold body of air collide. Since a cold air mass is denser and heavier than a warm air mass when both masses are at the same pressure, the warm air mass will always be lifted upwards when confronted by a cold air mass. The warm air then cools as it rises, and if the air is moist enough, the water vapor will condense to form cloud droplets. * OROGRAPHIC LIFTING When an air mass meets a mountain, it has no choice but to rise over it. As the air mass ascends the mountain, the water vapor in the air cools, condenses, and form clouds. Orographic clouds are common on the West Coast, where the moist, warm winds of the Pacific are forced to rise over the Rockies when they blow over land. Types of clouds Just as there are different ways to make clouds, there are also different types of clouds to make. Meteorologists give names to different types of clouds because each type of cloud has its own characteristics and effect on the weather. Cumulus, the puffy, cottonball cloud most often seen on a summer day, is probably the most familiar to cloudgazers. These clouds have a flat base and distinct outlines, and their colors range from white to light gray. The bases can be as low as 1 km above the ground, and they usually have a diameter of about a kilometer. Given the right conditions, cumulus clouds can develop into larger, more towering clouds, which usually means precipitation is about to occur. Stratocumulus clouds form a low, lumpy layer of clouds that typically appear near sunset, and are the spreading remains of much larger cumulus clouds. They range in color from dark to light gray and can appear in rows, patches, or as rounded masses with breaks of clear sky in between. Rain or snow rarely fall from these clouds, and they are distinguishable from cumulus clouds by the fact that they usually appear in groups and have flat tops, while cumulus clouds are typically dome-shaped and detached. Altocumulus clouds generally appear as puffy masses, or are sometimes aligned in parallel waves or bands. One part of the cloud is usually darker than the rest. These clouds form as a result of slow lifting that is common ahead of an advancing cold front, and are typically located about three to four km above the ground. In the presence of rising air at cloud level, altocumulus take on the appearance of "little castles," and these clouds are often seen on warm, humid summer mornings and sometimes followed by thunderstorms later in the afternoon. Cumulonimbus clouds are much larger and more vertically developed than the fair weather cumulus cloud. It can exist as a single towering cloud, or can even develop into a line of such towers, also known as a "squall line." Fueled by vigorous convection, these clouds can climb vertically in the atmosphere to an altitude of 12 km or higher. The lower portion of the cloud is made up of water droplets, while at the cloud top, where temperatures are well below 0 C, there are primarily ice crystals. These clouds are capable of developing into great thunderheads which contain all forms of precipitation: snowflakes, snow pellets, large raindrops, and sometimes hailstones. Lightning, thunder, and even violent tornadoes sometimes accompany intense cumulonimbus clouds. Cirrus clouds are the most common of the high-level clouds. These clouds are mainly composed of ice crystals, which come from the freezing of supercooled water droplets and exist at heights (usually above six km) where the temperatures are typically below -38 C. Cirrus are thin, wispy and usually white in appearance. They generally occur in fair weather and move from west to east across the sky, indicating the direction of the prevailing winds. Cirrus can come in several shapes and sizes, from the finger-shapes seen during pleasant weather conditions to the uniform texture of more extensive cirrus clouds, which can be the first sign of an approaching warm front. Cirrostratus clouds are sheetlike clouds that are also composed of ice crystals. Even though cirrostratus can cover the entire sky and can be up to several thousand meters deep, they are relatively transparent, as the sun or the moon can be easily seen through them. Sometimes, the only indication of their presence is given by a halo around the sun or moon. Cirrostratus usually form when a broad layer of air is lifted up by large-scale convergence. Consequently, they tend to thicken as a warm front approaches, signifying an increased production of ice crystals. Nimbostratus clouds clouds are low clouds (below 2,000 m) that are typically dark gray and are associated with light to moderate rain or snowfalls. Its cloud base is often difficult to see, since a layer of fog commonly forms beneath and around the base. Orographic clouds are formed by moist air forced to rise over mountains and other topographical features. When a pocket of air encounters a mountain, it's forced to rise up and cool very rapidly. If the air pocket cools to its saturation point during this process, the water vapor inside it will condense and become visible as a cloud. A pileus cloud is a smooth cloud that is found above or attached to either the top of a topographical feature, such as a mountain, or a growing cumulus tower. Pileus (from the Latin for "skullcap") forms when air at higher levels is forced to rise. The air that is lifted to form the pileus clouds is drier than moist air from lower levels, which is responsible for producing the cumulus towers. Because of this, the cloud experiences little vertical growth and instead takes on a smoother, more horizontal appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15731 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 N-O hater tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catmag 337 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 They sometimes look like marshmallows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 N-O hater tbh. 97038[/snapback] Well slap my ass and call me a bitch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15731 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 N-O hater tbh. 97038[/snapback] Well slap my ass and call me a bitch! 97043[/snapback] Best offer I've had all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 N-O hater tbh. 97038[/snapback] Well slap my ass and call me a bitch! 97043[/snapback] Best offer I've had all day. 97047[/snapback] *Bends over with bottom out awaiting a slap* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark 0 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 N-O hater tbh. 97038[/snapback] Well slap my ass and call me a bitch! 97043[/snapback] Best offer I've had all day. 97047[/snapback] Well you can fuck off with you're clique then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15731 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 N-O hater tbh. 97038[/snapback] Well slap my ass and call me a bitch! 97043[/snapback] Best offer I've had all day. 97047[/snapback] Well you can fuck off with you're clique then. 97075[/snapback] Aww, don't go telling him he's only getting sloppy seconds, he was loving it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15731 Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Curses. Hoisted by my own petard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Carr's Gloves 3982 Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 What were the stars like when you were young? They went on forever. We lived in Arizona, and the skies always had these little fluffy clouds in them. And they were long, clear, and there were lots of stars at night. And when it would rain, they would all turn – they were beautiful, the most beautiful skies, as a matter of fact. The sunsets were purple and red and yellow and on fire, and the clouds would catch the colors everywhere. 96998[/snapback] Cue 2 mins ago.......Peasepud thinks....."I know I'll look geet clever by quoting the Orb lyrics".....google....oh bollocks 97006[/snapback] I was just thinking Meenzer couldn't get any gayer and then this happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JawD 99 Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 How coulds form eh ... Goes right over my head tbh ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CrimsonFault Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 How coulds form eh ... Goes right over my head tbh ... 97149[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Manson 0 Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 N-O hater tbh. 97038[/snapback] Well slap my ass and call me a bitch! 97043[/snapback] Best offer I've had all day. 97047[/snapback] Well you can fuck off with you're clique then. 97075[/snapback] Bliddy hell you'll be drinking bleach before long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15731 Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 N-O hater tbh. 97038[/snapback] Well slap my ass and call me a bitch! 97043[/snapback] Best offer I've had all day. 97047[/snapback] Well you can fuck off with you're clique then. 97075[/snapback] Bliddy hell you'll be drinking bleach before long 97407[/snapback] Mistook Domestos for Blue WKD tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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