Making Clouds
Rising and Falling Air
Sea and Land Breezes
L
H
H
L
Low Pressure
Air cools below
the dew point
temperature
Water condenses
into droplets
Clouds
form!
Dew point
level
Air expands
& cools as it
rises
Rising air
L
Way to Make a Cloud #1:
Surface Heating
(a.k.a. Localized
Convective Lifting)
Clouds
Composed of billions of
microscopic water droplets and/or
ice crystals
latent heat as it condenses, further
warming the air and driving it
upward = a “feedback loop”
High Pressure
Clear blue
skies!
Falling air
Dew point
level
Air compresses
& warms as it
sinks
Water droplets
evaporate
Air is warmer than
the dew point
temperature
H
The bottom line?
Low pressure = Rising air = clouds
High pressure = falling air = clear skies
Surface Map
• The western side of Colorado get 80% of the state’s
precipitation, while the eastern side of the
Continental Divide (the side we’re on) gets only
20%. Why is that?
Way to Make a Cloud #2:
Orographic Lifting
“Rainshadow
desert”
Cascade Range
WET
DRY
• Of all the states, why does Florida have the most
thunderstorm days per year?
Way to Make a Cloud #3: Convergence
Wind
L
Wind
Way to Make a Cloud #4: Frontal Wedging
Four Ways to
Make Air Rise?
1.Surface heating
2.Orographic lifting
3.Convergence (at the
surface)
4.Frontal wedging