Wind direction may differ at higher altitudes. This explains why you may feel the wind blowing from the East but see the clouds moving West. The sun solar radiation is largely responsible for the movement of air and water around our planet.
This happens through the science of convection. As a result, the cooler, more dense air is pushed down until it is heated and rises convection. The topography is another factor to consider when analyzing the movement of warm and humid air masses.
Though related to convection, orographic lifting refers to air masses that are driven up and over mountains, rising and cooling as a result. But what happens when two moving air masses meet? Well, that depends on the temperature of each mass. If the air mass is cooler denser it will hoist its warmer, less dense, counterpart further into the atmosphere. In winter, when we experience fair and stable weather conditions, we may also experience thermal inversion. In this instance, the warmer air mass, which rises with altitude, traps the cooler air mass below.
If the dew point is reached, thin layers of clouds will form a visible boundary between the two masses. As previously explained, it is wind currents in the atmosphere that make clouds appear as if they are the ones doing the moving.
So if warm air with lots of moisture in it cools down, the moisture forms little cloud droplets in the air. Air cools as it rises. This is because higher in the atmosphere the pressure is less so the air expands and air cools as it expands. So if moist air rises in the atmosphere, some of the water vapour in rising air condenses forming the tiny cloud droplets. The shape and appearance of the cloud depends on the shape of the rising parcel of air. If the air rises because it is being pushed up over a range of hills the cloud may look long and smooth, called a lenticular cloud.
These often form over the Tararua ranges, between Wellington and the Wairarapa, and also over Canterbury where it is called the nor-west arch cloud. If the cloud is high enough, and cold enough, some of the water droplets might freeze and then the cloud is made of ice crystals as well as or instead of water droplets. Small white cumulus clouds fair weather clouds do not have much water in them, so there is not much to stop sunlight from passing through them and making them look white.
Dark grey rain clouds have lots of water in them and block or absorb the sunlight that falls on them. They also tend to cover the sky, so there is very little chance for sunlight to be reflected off the sides of them. These clouds are formed near to ground surface where the wind speed is relatively low compared to higher altitudes.
Due to low wind speed in this region, cumulus clouds move at low speed up to 10 mph. Lenticular clouds are saucer-shaped clouds that are formed over hills and mountains. Lenticular clouds are considered stationary clouds. However, note that they are not actually stationary. They appear and disappear so fast that one cannot see them moving. A lenticular cloud is also known as a wave cloud because the cloud is formed at the crest of the wind wave and evaporates back to vapor at the trough of the wave.
This process happens so fast that they appear stationary. Yes, clouds move all the time due to the continuous movement of air. This continuous movement of air is caused due to energy imbalance in the atmosphere.
This causes air to move and hence clouds also move along with air all the time. Read more interesting questions about clouds :.
Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Cumulus clouds Image credit: Defi Lenticular Clouds Image credit: Omnisource5. According to him, every question can be solved with curiosity and mind mapping.
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