Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Popular articles What cloud does hail from? Popular articles. Esther Fleming January 17, Table of Contents.
Eventually, the entire cloud or air mass fills up with ice crystals at the top of the air mass. The negatively charged particles sink to the bottom. When the negative and positive charges get big enough, a spark or lightning occurs.
This is similar to static electricity sparks that consumers see at home but is much bigger. Lightning is hotter than the sun and sometimes is caused by negative ions in the clouds that are attracted to positive ions on the ground. Lightning heats the air around it because it is so hot that thus creating a booming sound called thunder.
The air expands fast from the heat and cools quickly, creating the sound known as thunder. Most lightning will occur inside a cloud, But sometimes it occurs outside between the cloud and the ground. It can strike trees, rods, and even people causing severe injury and damage. There are several different types of lightning produced by storm clouds.
Cloud to ground lightning is the most common and occurs in a zig-zag pattern that hits the ground and often returns upward to the air mass or cloud. This is called the return stroke of the lightning bolt. Intra cloud lightning occurs within the clouds and does not reach the ground. Sheet lightning will light up the cloud producing bright light inside. Heat lightning may be produced when the clouds are too far away to hear thunder.
It often produces a reddish color similar to sunset due to the heat generated. Spider lightning is described as horizontal lightning often seen on the underside of clouds. These are a few different types of lighting produced by atmospheric conditions. Severe thunderstorms are described as storms with hail 1 inch or larger with winds over 50 miles per hour. Thunderstorms occur in the spring and summer in climates with warm weather in the afternoon or evening.
Rainfall from severe thunderstorms causes flash flooding, brings down trees, powerlines, and destroy homes. Lightening from severe storms causes many fires around the world. Large hailstones can damage property and kill livestock on farms. These severe thunderstorms occur in the United States and around the world. Severe thunderstorm warnings are issued by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center when weather conditions create a serious threat to property and life.
Damaging winds are a part of severe thunderstorms. Hail is formed when drops of water freeze together in the cold upper regions of thunderstorm clouds. These chunks of ice are called hailstone s. Most hailstones measure between 5 millimeters and 15 centimeters in diameter, and can be round or jagged. Hailstones are not frozen raindrops. Frozen rain falls as water and freezes as it nears the ground.
Hail actually falls as a solid. Hailstones are formed by layers of water attaching and freezing in a large cloud. A frozen droplet begins to fall from a cloud during a storm, but is pushed back up into the cloud by a strong updraft of wind.
When the hailstone is lifted, it hits liquid water droplets. Those droplets then freeze to the hailstone, adding another layer to it. The hailstone eventually falls to Earth when it becomes too heavy to remain in the cloud, or when the updraft stops or slows down. Certain parts of the world receive more hail than others. The approach of the summer monsoon season in India brings severe thunderstorms, often with tornado es and hail.
A particularly deadly hail storm in Moradabad, India, in killed more than people. China also experiences frequent hail storms, as do parts of the Midwestern United States. Not surprisingly, people have tried to find ways to prevent hail.
In the 18th century, Europeans began trying to prevent hail by firing cannon s into clouds and ringing church bells. In the 20th century, Russia and the United States tried cloud seeding. Cloud seeding is adding chemical particles into clouds from rocket s or aircraft. Cloud seeding is thought to control rain and hail. Above: Fair weather cumulus clouds over a field Courtesy Wikipedia. If updrafts become stronger, those seemingly innocuous cumulus clouds may grow taller into what we call cumulonimbus clouds.
These are the awe-inspiring and ominous clouds mainly observed during the summer months and can be indicative of developing thunderstorms, including lightning, hail, heavy rain and even tornadoes.
The strongest thunderstorms can even produce cumulonimbus clouds that tower up to 60, feet! Above: Textbook example of a towering cumulonimbus cloud Courtesy Wikipedia. Personally, stratus clouds are my least-favorite and I'm sure that likely goes for most people. These clouds, which look like a layer of gray blanketing the sky, are generally associated with wet conditions.
They typically form when warm air is lifted over cold air, which allows the water vapor to condense rather uniformly, transforming the sky into a gray and dreary scene. In fact, stratus clouds can last for days and bring cool temperatures, persistent rain, drizzle, or even snow.
Above: Layer of stratus clouds Courtesy Wikipedia. Now on to my favorite type of cloud, cirrus clouds! Ever notice those high, thin and wispy clouds that usually make for beautiful sunsets?
Yep, those are cirrus.
0コメント