9/19/16

Humidity
-Specifying amount of water vapor in air

Absolute Humidity
- represents the amount of water vapor
density
-Unit is g/cm33
Specific Humidity
-comparison of mass of water vapor to mass
of all air

Mixing ratio
-comparison of mass of water vapor to mass
of dry air
Specific humidity and mixing ratio are
usually used in studying the atmosphere
since it is not affected by the volume. The
unit is g/kg.

Actual vapor pressure

-partial pressure of water vapor
Saturation vapor pressure
-pressure that the water molecules would
exert
-describes how much water vapor is
necessary to make the air saturated at a
given temperature

if air is saturated with water vapor at a given

data

9/19/16

Relative Humidity (RH)

-Ratio of the amount of water vapor in the
air to the maximum water vapor
-required for saturation at a particular
temperature

x100%

 RH is expressed in percentage
Supersaturated- air with RH greater that
100%

Factors affecting Relative Humidity

1. Change in air's water vapor content
2. Change in temperature

Clouds

-visible
-visible aggregate
aggregate of
of tiny
tiny water
water droplets
droplets or
or ice
ice crystals
crystals suspended
suspended in
in the
the air
air

High Clouds
Cirrus
above 6000m
generally ice crystals and are thin

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/cirrus1.jpg

Middle Clouds
between 2000m and 7000m
water droplets but some are ice crystals
depending on the temperature

Low Clouds
below 2000m
water droplets and may contain ice in cold
weather

Clouds with Vertical Development

Cloud Development
Convection
Level of free convection-level when rising
air
Condensation level- elevation at which
clouds are formed

 Topography
Orographic uplift- foced lifting of air along
a topographic barrier
Lifting produces cooling and if air is humid,
clouds are formed. These clouds are called
orographic clouds.
Rain shadow- Part of the leeward side
where precipitation is noticeably less

Precipitation

Types:

Rain don't always reach the ground due to

low humidity causing faster evaporation. As drops becomes
smaller, rate of fall decreases.

Virga-evaporating streaks of evaporation

Encounter of rapid rising air. If speed of air is is greater than the
terminal velocity of raindrop, it will be suspended or carried away

Rain shower- suspended particles fall and it happens when

updraft weakens or the direction becomes downdraft

-brief and sporaic

Cloudburst- excessively heavy shower

Acid rain- Happens when rain combines with gaseous pollutants
such as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen

1. Rain
falling drops of water with a diameter
equal to, or greater than 0.5mm
Usually from stratus clouds
Drizzle
-fine uniform drops of water whose diameter
is smaller than 0.5mm

Note: Rain don't always reach the ground

due to:
1. low humidity causing faster evaporation
As raindrops becomes smaller, rate of
fall decreases.
Virga-evaporating streaks of evaporation

2. Encounter of rapid rising air.

If speed of air is greater than the terminal
velocity of raindrop, it will be suspended or
carried away
Rain shower
-suspended particles fall and it happens
when updraft weakens or the direction
becomes downdraft
-brief and sporaic
Cloudburst- excessively heavy shower

What is the shape of a raindrop?

Rain Fall Intensity

2. Snow
Fallstreaks
-ice crystals and snowflakes from cirrus clouds
Flurries
-From developing cumulus clouds
-light showers that fall intermittently for short
durations and produce only light accumulation

Snow Squall
-More intense shower
-usually from cumuliform clouds
Snow ball intensity
Blizzards

3. Sleet and Freezing Rain

Sleet or Ice pellets
-formed when snowflake falls to warmer air
that it melts and becomes ice as it passes a
deep subfreezing surface layer

Freezing rain or Glaze

-happens when raindrops reaches a cold
surface layer beneath a cloud then the
raindrops freeze forming thin veneer of ice
Frizzing drizzle
-small drops of freezing rain

Rime
-white or milky granular ice
-produced when super cooled cloud or fog
strike an object whose temperature is below
freezing that tiny droplets freeze

4. Hail
Hailstones
-pieces of ice , either transparent or partially
opaque ranging in some size of peas to that
of golf balls or larger

Air Pressure

-Mass of air above a given level

References
https://www.niwa.co.nz/education-andtraining/schools/students/layers
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmos/layers.html
http://www.theozonehole.com/atmosphere.htm
http://www.preservearticles.com/201103044368/vitalinformation-on-the-layers-and-importance-of-theatmosphere.html
http://www.vtaide.com/png/atmosphere.htm
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0490e/x0490e07.htm
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cyc/upa/jet.rxml
http://www.livescience.com/27825-jet-stream.html