Monday, April 12th

1. Weather Journal

2. Cloud Types

3. Sky Photos

Quick Review…

• Saturday and Sunday were sunny and the temps started cool on Saturday and slowly warmed over the weekend.

• This Common in areas of :

• High Pressure / Low Pressure

HIGH PRESSURE

Quick Review…

• This morning started off warm and cloudy with a chance of showers later in the day.

• Today we will experience:

• Higher Pressure / Lower Pressure

LOWER PRESSURE

Weather Journals

• Please write down the dates of :Saturday (4/10)Sunday (4/11)and Today (4/12)

Three Main Cloud groups

Cumulus

Stratus

Cirrus

Cumulus – A Low Cloud

Cumulus

Cumulus Clouds Grow Upward!

These are called “Towering Cumulus” or “Cumulocongestus”

Finally…They are Thunderstorm Clouds!

Officially called “Cumulonimbus” Clouds

If they grow large enough….They become Severe Thunderstorms.There are some specific clouds

associated with Severe Thunderstorms.

They are….

Mammatus Clouds

Mammatus are pouches hanging from the bottom of a cloud

Sometimes a “Wall Cloud” will form

This is a part of the cloud that lowers really close to the ground

90% of all tornadoes form from Wall Clouds

The other type of low cloud is a “Stratus” Cloud

These are layer or blanket clouds

They are the clouds on gray, dreary days

Stratus are most common in winter

If a stratus cloud forms on the ground….

It is called “Fog”

If a stratus cloud Rains….

It’s called a “Nimbostratus”

The next level of clouds are “Mid-Level” Clouds

“Alto” is a word meaning middle

“Altocumulus” are cumulus clouds higher in the atmosphere

Many times they look like popcorn

“Altostratus” look very much like regular Stratus clouds

But they are sometimes thinner and not complete across the sky

The highest clouds in the sky are Cirrus Clouds.

They form so high up that all the water in them has frozen to ice

Cirrus Clouds are very white in color…..

…and wispy in shape

Some Other Odd forms of clouds include…

Contrails

Formed from the exhaust of Jets

Lenticular

Which are cumulus clouds smoothed out by strong winds

Many times they are reported as UFO’s

“Pileus” clouds form on the top of mountains

They often look like caps over the mountain top

“Noctilucent” clouds glow in the dark

They are very rare and few good pictures of them exist

The last type of very rare cloud is a “Nacreus” cloud

“Nacreus” clouds shine like the inside of a clam shell

Now…

Try to name these clouds

Cumulus

Altocumulus

Cumulonimbus

Lenticular

Stratus

Cirrus

Cirrus (again)

Mammatus

Wall Cloud

That’s All

Now…Please take out your sky photos and try to identify the

clouds you see.