November 22, 2022

Meteorology is the study of weather and prediction of weather based on observations and historical data. Extensively, it also covers climatology and atmospheric physics. Although weather can be beautiful, like a red cloud streaking across the sky during a sunset, or it can be unpleasant, like when your clothes are drenched with sweat and stick to you on a humid summer day. However, it can also be extremely dangerous, which is why the study of meteorology is important. It can even predict natural disasters like hurricanes.

To forecast weather, meteorologists use technology and conditions of the atmosphere for the given place or time. Because they are used to predict severe weather, weather warnings are vital.

Clouds

When small drops of water condense, the base of a cloud is created. There are high clouds, middle clouds, and low clouds. High clouds form 6,000 meters above the ground and they are mostly ice crystals. Middle clouds form between 2,000-6,000 meters and are formed from water and ice crystals, while low clouds form between the ground and 2,000 meters and are almost always made up of raindrops. Nimbostratus clouds are ominously dark but aren’t the most common thunderhead clouds; those would be Cumulonimbus clouds. Looking like cotton, Cumulus clouds are the most prevalent cloud shape. 

Air

Air is an agent of change. For instance, it can transport particles long distances from one place to another, all the way across the earth. Relative humidity is a measure of the concentration of water vapor in the air. When relative humidity is 100%, water begins to condense out of the air. This is why cold drinks “sweat.” This air is considered saturated, so it absorbs more vapor. For the water to condense, bits of dust, salt, or smoke are required for the molecules to stick to it. This particle-filled air can condense high in the atmosphere or on the ground or on objects. If a mass of air is compressed, work is done on it, and if it is done faster than the mass can transfer heat away, it is said to undergo adiabatic heating, which literally means adiabatic means without heat transfer. Adiabatic cooling is where the air mass expands and cools.

Storms

Mid-latitude cyclones are storm systems that sweep across land from east to west and typically travel thousands of miles. A thunderstorm starts with humid, unstable air rising, condensing and forming a cumulus cloud. The falling raindrops create a downdrift of cooler air, while the falling cool air and rising warm air makes a storm cell. Particle collisions within the cloud result in static charges. Eventually, the difference in charge ends in a discharge from one charged location to another. The lighting heats the air through which it passes, causing it to expand and contract rapidly. Thunder is the pressure wave created by this. When air circulates in a cumulonimbus cloud, it can form a funnel cloud that extends below the cloud. Once this funnel cloud reaches the ground it is called a tornado. These violent storms are most common in the plains of the United States, but can also occur in Australia and Asia. Tornadoes can have winds between 65 and 450 kilometers per hour. 

Weather can be peaceful and stunning, yet it can turn volatile at any second. Fortunately, the predictive sciences of Meteorology can help us survive and thrive while being in weather, and maintain a level of safety while enjoying it.