Scin137 Week 3 Forum Responses

reply posts 100-200 words.  All posts should be readable and use scientific terminology properly.

#1

The weather around the Kentucky and Tennessee line is nothing but cold, cloudy and rainy. We are under several flash flood warning and it looks like we have no end in sight. The types of clouds that are hovering over my house are Nimbus clouds. Nimbus comes from the Latin word meaning rain if you didn’t know.  To be considered a Nimbus cloud the base has to be under 2,000 meters above the earth and produce rain or snow. The exact clouds that are here are nimbostratus clouds which are low level black looking clouds that produce that dark gloomy rainy weather that we all hate.

 

While I was reading this weeks reading one of the most interesting things is how they attempt to figure out the global cloud coverage. To me I wonder what the necessity of this information  is and how is it used during while reading the weather? Also I was reading about the temperature of the air and the displacement. Just like electricity it seems that it wants to go to the path of least resitants. is this the reason it rains so much in the mountains? Any how thanks for taking the time to read my post.

#2

I am currently located on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and the current weather I am currently located on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and the current weather in Honolulu, Hawaii is Partly Cloudy with temperatures at 78 degrees Fahrenheit.   The current time is 1:00 pm and there are current trade winds blowing from the south at 9 mph.  After reviewing the currently weather, there seems to be a little chance of rain.

 

As I sit outside, I observe the sky filled prominently with Cumulus clouds which appear as white, fluffy, and cotton-like clouds.  The general shape of the cumulus clouds consists of a flat bases with rounded top and are about 1000 meters above the ground.  While reviewing the reading this week, I learning that cumulus clouds are formed from rising dense air bubbles that cool at saturation point.  Afterwards, the condensation of moisture will form a cumulus cloud.  Cumulus clouds belong to the cloud group of Family D – clouds with vertical development which can indicate fair weather.

 

After reviewing this week’s course work a couple questions came to my mind.  First, this week I learned about parcels of air and how they rise depending on the temperature, but my question is: Is clouds formed from parcels of air rising and is that the same thing as a thermal?  Next, I understand that cumulus clouds can form vertically into cumulonimbus clouds, and they can evaporate and leave behind stratocumulus clouds but:  Do cumulus clouds cause precipitation such as rain or snow?  Lastly, I understand aerosols are small particles of dust, smoke and pollutants, but I was wondering:  How does aerosols negatively affect cloud formations?

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