What is meteorology
7.E.1.2 Water Cycle, Clouds & Meteorology
Study of the entire atmosphere, including the weather
Who studies the weather
Meteorologist
What does a meteorologist need
to know to predict weather
Water Cycle Phases
1. How atmosphere heats & cools
2. How clouds form & produce rain
3. What makes the wind blow
Condensation - the forming of tiny droplets of water as water vapor cools
Evaporation - the process where the sun’s heat turns liquid water into water vapor
Transpiration - emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants
Ground Water - water beneath Earth’s surface
Precipitation - any form of water that falls to Earth's surface from the clouds
Run-off - water that flows across the land and enters rivers & streams; eventually flows
into rivers/lakes/oceans
Winds carry the water vapor from the ocean over the continents
Sunlight provides the energy that evaporates water from the surface of Earth
The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere is a significant aspect of the weather
patterns on Earth
The water cycle never ends
What are clouds
How are clouds formed
Cloud prefixes
collection of small water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air
when the air is cooled and condensation occurs
cirro – high altitude
alto – middle altitude
nimbo – rain, precipitation
cumulo – heap
strato – layer
7.E.1.2 Water Cycle, Clouds & Meteorology
Cloud Classifications/Types
Low-level Clouds (below 6,500 feet)
 Stratus - uniform grey or white color
 Cumulus – puffy & piled up
 Stratocumulus - Low-level clumps or patches of cloud varying in color from bright
white to dark grey
 Cumulonimbus – (aka thunderclouds) heavy and dense low-level clouds, extending
high into the sky in towers, plumes or mountain shaped peaks
Middle-level Clouds (between 6,500 and 20,000 feet above surface)
 Altostratus - large mid-level thin grey or blue colored clouds
o sun cannot cast shadows when shining through
 Altocumulus – mid-level clouds that appear as cotton balls in the sky, cloud puffs
or as dozens of small loose bands or ripples likes waves on the sea
 Nimbostratus - dark grey or bluish grey featureless layers of clouds, thick enough
to block out the sun
High-level Clouds (above 20,000 feet above surface)
 Cirrus – (aka mare’s tails) appear to be brushed across the sky and are hair-like in
appearance; blue sky visible through portions of the cloud; these clouds are mostly
white
 Cirrostratus – sheet-like, nearly transparent clouds that cover a large part of the
sky
 Cirrocumulus – high-level cumulus clouds that have a patchy, wavelike appearance
or appear as ripples in the sky