Weather “U” Lesson Five Special Clouds and Review

Published by wxgeekwxworld
January 2, 2012, Category: Meteorology

Our Look into a few special types of clouds and also a review of all the clouds.

Mamatus Clouds are found around Severe Weather, they can sometimes be mistaken as developing tornado because of their downwards apperance. However these types of clouds do mean downward motion however they are pockets of cold air trying to sink towards the surface. You will usually see this cloud form on the outer edge of a Supercell thunderstorm.

The next type of special cloud here in the photo above is known as a Wall Cloud. These clouds are also common in supercell thunderstorms. If this cloud is present it is very important to watch for the potential development of a Torando near by. When I took this photo a tornado spawned about 3 miles east of this cloud formation.

This cloud above is known as a Gust Front. I took this image while I was living in Japan of an approaching gust front. The major thing with these types of clouds are that they indicate very strong winds are approaching. It is not uncommon to see winds reach 60+mph with this cloud. So when these clouds are approaching your area make sure to stay away from loose objects that could be thrown in the air. This type of cloud is associated with strong thunderstorms also.

So to summarize all of the clouds that we have learned about through Lesson 1-5 we can see that clouds form in three etages or levels of the sky. The highest level is where we find the cirrus clouds. The lowest level is where we find the clouds of precipitation. And the mid level is where we find the clouds that tell us of the type of fronts approaching the area.

So here is the Chapter 1 Review Questions from Lessons 1-5:

1. What are three low clouds?

2. What are two high clouds?

3. What is one mid cloud?

4. This cloud’s tops can extend into the middle etage or level?

5. What is the name of a Thunderstorm Cloud?

6. What cloud would be associated with fair weather conditions?