Overview

Overview

Clouds and precipitation are integral to weather and can be difficult to forecast accurately. Clouds come in different sizes and shapes that depend on atmospheric motions, their composition, which can be liquid water, ice, or both, and the temperature. While clouds and precipitation are being formed and dissipated over half the globe at any time, their behavior is driven by processes that are occurring on the microscale, where water molecules and small particles collide. We call these microscale processes “cloud microphysics” and microphysics is the focus of this lesson. Three ingredients are required for the formation of clouds: moisture, aerosol, and cooling. If any one of these is missing, a cloud will not form. Over eighty years ago, a simple hypothesis was developed to explain the formation of clouds. This hypothesis has been thoroughly tested and validated and is now called Koehler Theory. We will learn the elements of Koehler Theory and how to use them to determine when clouds will form and when they will not, becoming only haze. Clouds do not automatically precipitate. In fact, most clouds do not. We will learn about the magic required for precipitation to form. Thus, cloud formation through precipitation is a series of microsteps, each of which is necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve precipitation.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• identify cloud types
• describe the essentials for cloud formation
• on a Koehler curve, explain the behavior of a particle in different supersaturation environments
• explain the lifecycle of cloud formation through precipitation

Questions?

If you have any questions, please post them to the Course Questions discussion forum. I will check that discussion forum daily to respond. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you, too, are able to help out a classmate.