C O N D E N S AT I O N 153

Meters
Feet

55,000
Cirrus

15,000
Cumulonimbus

12,000 40,000
Cirrocumulus

9000

Cirrostratus 25,000

6000
Altocumulus

Altostratus Cumulus

3000 10,000
Stratocumulus
Stratus Nimbostratus
Smog
Fog
(Sea level) 0 0

● FIGURE 6.10
Cloud classification scheme. Clouds are named based on their height and their form.
Observe this figure and Figure 6.11; what cloud type is present in your area today?

anywhere from 500 to 12,000 meters (1650–39,600 ft) above sea
level. From this base, they pile up into great rounded structures, often
with tops like cauliflowers.The cumulus cloud is the visible evidence
of an unstable atmosphere; its base is the point where condensation
has begun in a column of air as it moves upward.
Examine Figures 6.10 and 6.11 to familiarize yourself with
the basic cloud types and their names. Keep in mind that some
cloud shapes exist in all three levels—for example, stratocumulus
(strato = low level + cumulus = a rounded shape), altocumulus, and
cirrocumulus. These three share the similar rounded or cauliflower
appearance of cumulus clouds, which can exist at all three levels.
You may notice that altostratus (alto = middle level + stratus = lay-
ered shape) and cirrostratus have two-part names, but low-level lay-
ered clouds are called stratus only. Lastly, thin, stringy cirrus clouds
are found only as high-level clouds, so the term cirro (meaning
high-level cloud) is not necessary here.
Other terms used in describing clouds are nimbo or
nimbus, meaning precipitation (rain is falling). Thus, the nimbo-
stratus cloud may bring a long-lasting drizzle, and the cumulonimbus
is the thunderstorm cloud. This latter cloud has a flat top, called
an anvil head, as well as a relatively flat base, and it becomes darker
as it grows higher and thicker and thus blocks the incoming sun-
light. The cumulonimbus is the source of many atmospheric con-
cerns including high-speed winds, torrential rain, flash flooding,
thunder, lightning, hail, and possibly tornadoes. This type of cloud
can develop in several different ways as we will soon discuss.
Adiabatic Heating and Cooling The cooling process
that leads to cloud formation is quite different from that associ-
ated with the other condensation forms that we have already ex-
amined. The cooling process that produces fog, frost, and dew is
either radiation or advection. On the other hand, clouds usually
develop from a cooling process that results when a parcel of air on
Earth’s surface is lifted into the atmosphere.
The rising parcel of air will expand as it encounters decreas-
ing atmospheric pressure with height. This expansion allows the
air molecules to spread out, which causes the parcel’s temperature
to decrease. This is known as adiabatic cooling and occurs at
the constant lapse rate of approximately 10°C per 1000 meters
(5.6°F/1000 ft). By the same token, air descending through the
atmosphere is compressed by the increasing pressure and under-
goes adiabatic heating of the same magnitude.

55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 153 6/5/08 10:22:13 PM

 154 C H A P T E R 6 • M O I S T U R E , C O N D E N S AT I O N , A N D P R E C I P I TAT I O N

© Steve McCutcheon/ Visuals Unlimited

© C. Donald Ahrens

Cirrocumulus Cirrostratus
© Mark A. Schneider/ Visuals Unlimited

© Mark A. Schneider/ Visuals Unlimited

Altocumulus Altostratus
© Ralph F. Kresge/ NOAA
M. Trapasso

Stratocumulus Stratus

● FIGURE 6.11
Types of clouds.

However, the rising and cooling parcel of air will eventu- dry adiabatic lapse rate and the lower, postcondensation rate
ally reach its dew point—the temperature at which water va- as the wet adiabatic lapse rate. The latter rate averages 5°C per
por begins to condense out, forming cloud droplets. From this 1000 meters (3.2°F/1000 ft) but varies according to the amount
point on, the adiabatic cooling of the rising parcel will decrease of water vapor that condenses out of the air.
as latent energy released by the condensation process is added A rising air parcel will cool at one of these two adiabatic
to the air. To differentiate between these two adiabatic cooling rates. Which rate is in operation depends on whether condensa-
rates, we refer to the precondensation rate (10°C/1000 m) as the tion is (wet adiabatic rate) or is not (dry adiabatic rate) occurring.

55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 154 6/5/08 10:22:15 PM

 C O N D E N S AT I O N 155

© John Cunningham/Visuals Unlimited

NOAA/NWS

Cirrus Cumulonimbus
©Martin Miller/ Visuals Unlimited

M. Trapasso

Nimbostratus Cumulus

● FIGURE 6.11 (continued)

On the other hand, the warming temperatures of de-

scending air allow it to hold greater quantities of water

Temperature of rising parcel of

vapor. In other words, as the air temperature rises far-

Temperature of air at 2000 m

Temperature of air at 1000 m

parcel of air at 2000 m
Temperature of rising

10,000
ther above the dew point, condensation will not occur,
so the heat of condensation will not affect the rate of

air at 1000 m
rise in temperature. Thus, the temperature of air that is 8000
descending and being compressed always increases at
the dry adiabatic rate.
Altitude (m)

It is important to note that adiabatic temperature 6000 Nor

m
changes are the result of changes in volume and do (6.5 al lap
°C/ s
100 e rate
not involve the addition or subtraction of heat from 0m
)
external sources. 4000
It is also extremely important to differentiate be-
tween the environmental lapse rate and adiabatic lapse rates. Dry a
diaba
In Chapter 4, we found that in general the temperature 2000 tic ra
te (10
.0°C/
of our atmosphere decreases with increasing height above 1000
m)
Earth’s surface; this is known as the environmental lapse
0
rate, or the normal lapse rate. Although it averages 6.5°C 0° 10° 20° 30°
per 1000 meters (3.6°F/1000 ft), this rate is quite variable Temperature (°C)
and must be measured through the use of meteorological
● FIGURE 6.12
instruments sent aloft. Whereas the environmental lapse
Comparison of the dry adiabatic lapse rate and the environmental lapse rate. The envi-
rate reflects nothing more than the vertical temperature ronmental lapse rate is the average vertical change in temperature. Air displaced upward
structure of the atmosphere, the adiabatic lapse rates are will cool (at the dry adiabatic rate) because of expansion.
concerned with temperature changes as a parcel of air In this example, using the environmental lapse rate, what is the temperature of the
moves through the atmospheric layers ( ● Fig. 6.12). layer of air at 2000 meters?

55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 155 6/5/08 10:22:22 PM

 156 C H A P T E R 6 • M O I S T U R E , C O N D E N S AT I O N , A N D P R E C I P I TAT I O N

Stability and Instability Although 4000 4000

Stable Unstable
adiabatic cooling results in the development
of clouds, the various forms of clouds are re-
lated to differing degrees of vertical air move- 3000 Dry 3000
ment. Some clouds are associated with rapidly adiabatic
Lapse rate
rising, buoyant air, whereas other forms result

Height (m)

Height (m)
rate
when air resists vertical movement. 2000 2000
An air parcel will rise of its own accord
as long as it is warmer than the surrounding
layer of air. When it reaches a layer of the
1000 1000
atmosphere that is the same temperature as Dry
itself, it will stop rising. Thus, an air parcel Lapse
adiabatic
rate
warmer than the surrounding atmospheric rate
air will rise and is said to be unstable. On 0 10 20 30 0 10 20 30
the other hand, an air parcel that is colder Temperature (°C)
than the surrounding atmospheric air will
resist any upward movement and will likely ● FIGURE 6.13

sink to lower levels. Then the air is said to Relationship between lapse rates and air mass stability. When air is forced to rise, it cools adiabati-
be stable. cally. Whether it continues to rise or resists vertical motion depends on whether adiabatic cooling is
less rapid or more rapid than the prevailing vertical temperature lapse rate. If the adiabatic cooling
Determining the stability or instability
rate exceeds the lapse rate, the lifted air will be colder than its surroundings and will tend to sink
of an air parcel involves nothing more than
when the lifting force is removed. If the adiabatic cooling rate is less than the lapse rate, the lifted
asking the question, If an air parcel were lifted air will be warmer than its surroundings and will be buoyant, continuing to rise even after the
to a specific elevation (cooling at an adiabatic original lifting force is removed.
lapse rate), would it be warmer, colder, or the In these examples, what would be the temperature of the lifted air if it rose to 2000 meters?
same temperature as the atmospheric air (de-
termined by the environmental lapse rate at
that time) at that same elevation? that aloft, and the environmental lapse rate will be low, thus en-
If the air parcel is warmer than the atmospheric air at the selected hancing stability. With the rapid heating of the surface on a hot
elevation, then the parcel would be unstable and would continue to summer day, there will be a very steep environmental lapse rate
rise, because warmer air is less dense and therefore buoyant.Thus, under because the air near the surface is so much warmer than that above,
conditions of instability, the environmental lapse rate must be greater and instability will be enhanced.
than the adiabatic lapse rate in operation. For example, if the environ- Pressure zones can also be related to atmospheric stability.
mental lapse rate is 12°C per 1000 meters and the ground temperature In areas of high pressure, stability is maintained by the slow sub-
is 30°C, then the atmospheric air temperature at 2000 meters would siding air from aloft. In low pressure regions, on the other hand,
be 6°C. On the other hand, an air parcel (assuming that no condensa- instability is promoted by the tendency for air to converge and
tion occurs) lifted to 2000 meters would have a temperature of 10°C. then rise.
Because the air parcel is warmer than the atmospheric air around it, it
is unstable and will continue to rise ( ● Fig. 6.13).
Now let’s assume that it is another day and all the conditions
are the same, except that measurements indicate the environmental Precipitation Processes
lapse rate on this day is 2°C per 1000 meters. Consequently,
although our air parcel if lifted to 2000 meters would still have Condensed droplets within cloud formations stay in the air and do
a temperature of 10°C, the temperature of the atmosphere at not fall to Earth because of their tiny size (0.02 mm, or less than
2000 meters would now be 26°C. Thus, the air parcel would be 1000th of an inch), their general buoyancy, and the upward move-
colder and would sink back toward Earth as a result of its greater ment of the air within the cloud. These droplets of condensation
density (see again Fig. 6.13). As you can see, under conditions of are so minute that they are kept floating in the cloud formation;
stability, the environmental lapse rate is less than the adiabatic their mass and the consequent pull of gravity are insufficient to
lapse rate in operation. If an air parcel, upon being lifted to a overcome the buoyant effects of air and the vertical currents, or
specific elevation, has the same temperature as the atmospheric updrafts, within the clouds. ● Figure 6.14 shows the relative sizes
air surrounding it, it is neither stable nor unstable. Instead, it is of a condensation nucleus, a cloud droplet, and a raindrop. It takes
considered neutral; it will neither rise nor sink but will remain at about a million cloud droplets to form one raindrop.
that elevation. Precipitation occurs when the droplets of water, ice, or frozen
Whether an air parcel will be stable or unstable is related to water vapor grow and develop masses too great to be held aloft.
the amount of cooling and heating of air at Earth’s surface. With They then fall to Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. The form that
cooling of the air through radiation and conduction on a cool, clear precipitation takes depends largely on the method of formation
night, air near the surface will be relatively close in temperature to and the temperature during formation. Among the many theories

55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 156 6/5/08 10:22:28 PM


Typical raindrop
2 mm
Typical
cloud droplet
0.02 mm
•
Condensation
nucleus
0.0002 mm
● FIGURE 6.14
The relative sizes of raindrops, cloud droplets, and condensation
nuclei.
If the diameter of a raindrop is 100 times larger than a cloud
droplet, why does it take a million cloud droplets to produce
one raindrop?
that try to explain the formation of precipitation, the collision–
coalescence process for warm clouds in low latitudes and the
Bergeron (or ice crystal) Process for cold clouds at higher
latitudes are the most widely accepted.
Precipitation in the lower latitudes of the tropics and in
warm clouds is likely to form by the collision–coalescence pro-
cess. The collision–coalescence process is one in which the name
itself describes the process. By nature, water is quite cohesive (able
to stick to itself). When water droplets are colliding in the circula-
tion of the cloud, they tend to coalesce (or grow together). This
is especially true as the water droplets begin to fall toward the
ground. In falling, the larger droplets overtake the smaller, more
buoyant droplets and capture them to form even larger raindrops.
The mass of these growing raindrops eventually overcomes the
updrafts of the cloud and fall to Earth, under the pull of gravity.
This process occurs in the warm section of clouds where all the
moisture exists as liquid water ( ● Fig. 6.15).
At higher latitudes, storm clouds can possess three distinc-
tive layers. The lowermost is a warm layer of liquid water. Here
the temperatures are above the freezing point of 0°C (32°F). Above
this is the second layer composed of some ice crystals but mainly
supercooled water (liquid water that exists at a temperature be-
low 0°C). In the uppermost layer of these tall clouds, when tem-
peratures are lower than or equal to –40°C (–40°F), ice crystals will
dominate ( ● Fig. 6.16). It is in relation to these layered clouds
that Scandinavian meteorologist Tor Bergeron presented a more
complex explanation.
The Bergeron (or ice crystal) Process begins at great heights
in the ice crystal and supercooled water layers of the clouds.
Here, the supercooled water has a tendency to freeze on any
available surface. (It is for this reason that aircraft flying through
55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 157
P R E C I P I TAT I O N P R O C E S S E S 157
Large cloud
droplet
Small cloud
droplets Small droplets
captured in
wake
(a) (b)
● FIGURE 6.15
Collision and coalescence. (a) In a warm cloud consisting of small cloud
droplets of uniform size, the droplets are less likely to collide because
they are falling very slowly and at about the same speed. (b) In a cloud
of different-sized droplets, some droplets fall more rapidly and can over-
take and capture some of the smaller droplets.
Why do these tiny droplets fall at different speeds?
middle- to high-latitude thunderstorms run the risk of severe ic-
ing and invite disaster.) The ice crystals mixed in with the super-
cooled water in the highest layers of the clouds can become freez-
ing nuclei and form the centers of growing ice crystals. (Essentially,
this is the process that can also create snow.) As the supercooled
water continues to freeze onto these frozen nuclei, their masses
grow until gravity begins to pull them toward Earth. As this fro-
zen precipitation enters the lower layer of the clouds, the above-
freezing temperatures there melt the ice crystals into liquid rain
before they hit the ground. Therefore, according to Bergeron, rain
in these clouds begins as frozen precipitation and melts into a liq-
uid before reaching Earth.
As the melted precipitation falls through the lower, warmer
section of the cloud, the collision–coalescence process may take
over and cause the raindrops to grow even larger as they descend
toward the surface.
Major Forms of Precipitation
Rain, consisting of droplets of liquid water, is by far the most
common form of precipitation. Raindrops vary in size but are
generally about 2–5 millimeters (approximately 0.1–0.25 in.) in
diameter (see again Fig. 6.14). As we all know, rain can come in
many ways: as a brief afternoon shower, a steady rainfall, or the
deluge of a tropical rainstorm. When the temperature of an air
mass is only slightly below the dew point, the raindrops may be
very small (about 0.5 mm or less in diameter) and close together.
The result is a fine mist called drizzle. Drizzle is so light that it is
greatly affected by the direction of air currents and the variability
of winds. Consequently, drizzle seldom falls vertically.
6/5/08 10:22:28 PM
 158 C H A P T E R 6 • M O I S T U R E , C O N D E N S AT I O N , A N D P R E C I P I TAT I O N
Ice crystals dominant
7600 m (-40°C)
(25,000 ft)
5500m Mixed ice and water
(18,000 ft) (-20°C)
Freezing level (0°C)
Liquid water only
1000 m
(3000 ft)
● FIGURE 6.16
The distribution of water, supercooled water, and ice crystals in a high-latitude storm cloud
according to the Bergeron Process theory.
What is the difference between water and supercooled water?
Snow is the second most common form of precipitation.
When water vapor is frozen directly into a solid without first
passing through a stage as liquid water (or sublimation), it forms
minute ice crystals around the freezing nuclei (of the Bergeron
Process). These crystals characteristically appear as six-sided, sym-
metric shapes. Combinations of these ice-crystal shapes make up
the intricate patterns of snowflakes. Snow will reach the ground
if the entire cloud and the air beneath the cloud maintain
below-freezing temperatures.
Sleet is frozen rain, formed when rain, in falling to
Earth, passes through a relatively thick layer of cold air near
the surface and freezes. The result is the creation of small,
solid particles of clear or milky ice. In English-speaking
countries outside the United States, sleet refers not to this
phenomenon of frozen rain but rather to a mixture of rain
and snow.
Hail is a less common form of precipitation than
the three just described. It occurs most often during the
spring and summer months and is the result of thun-
derstorm activity. Hail appears as rounded lumps of ice,
called hailstones, which can vary in size from 5 milli-
meters (0.2 in.) in diameter and up to sizes larger than
a baseball ( ● Fig. 6.17). The world record is a hailstone
30 centimeters (12 in.) in diameter that fell in Australia.
Hailstones dropping from the sky can be highly destruc-
tive to crops and other vegetation, as well as to cars and
buildings. Though primarily a property destroyer, hail-
55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 158
stones have been known to kill animals and
humans.
Hail forms when ice crystals are lifted by
strong updrafts in a cumulonimbus (thunder-
storm) cloud. Then, as these ice crystals circu-
late around the storm cloud, supercooled wa-
ter droplets attach themselves and are frozen
as a layer. Sometimes these pellets are lifted
up into the cold layer of air and then dropped
again and again. The resulting hailstone, made
up of concentric layers of ice, has a frosty,
opaque appearance when it finally breaks out
of the strong updrafts of the cloud formation
and falls to Earth. The larger the hailstone, the
more times it is cycled through the freezing
process and accumulated additional frozen
layers.
On occasion, a raindrop can form and
have a temperature below 0°C (32°F). This
will occur when there is a shallow layer of
below-freezing temperatures all the way to
the ground so that the liquid rain can reach
a supercooled state. These supercooled droplets
will freeze the instant they fall onto a surface
that is also at a below-freezing temperature.
The resulting icy covering on trees, plants,
and telephone and power lines is known as
freezing rain (or glaze). People usually call
the rain and its blanket of ice an “ice storm”
( ● Fig. 6.18). Because of the weight of ice,
glazing can break off large branches of trees, bringing down tele-
phone and power lines. It can also make roads practically impass-
able. A small counterbalance against the negative effects of glazing
is the beauty of the natural landscape after an ice storm. Sunlight
catches on the ice, reflecting and making a diamond-like surface
covering the most ordinary weeds and tree branches.
● FIGURE 6.17
Hailstones can be the size of golf balls, or even larger.
What gives them their spherical appearance?
NOAA
6/5/08 10:22:29 PM

FEMA Photo/Michael Raphael
● FIGURE 6.18
An ice storm can cover a city with a dangerous glazing of ice.
Why are power failures a common occurrence with ice storms?
Factors Necessary for Precipitation
Three factors are necessary for the formation of any type of
precipitation on Earth. The first is the presence of moist air on
the surface. This air obviously represents the source of moisture
(for the precipitation) and energy (in the form of latent heat of
condensation). Second are the condensation nuclei around which
the water vapor can condense, discussed earlier in this chapter.
Third is a mechanism of uplift. These uplift mechanisms are re-
sponsible for forcing the air higher into the atmosphere so that it
can cool down (by the dry adiabatic rate) to the dew point. These
uplift mechanisms are vital to the process of precipitation.
A parcel of air can be forced to rise in four major ways. All
the precipitation that falls anywhere on Earth can be traced back
to one of these four uplift mechanisms ( ● Fig. 6.19):
■ Convectional precipitation results from the displacement of
warm air upward in a convectional system.
■ Frontal precipitation takes place when a warm air mass rises
after encountering a colder, denser air mass.
■ Cyclonic (or convergence) precipitation occurs when air
converges upon and is lifted up into a low pressure system.
■ Orographic precipitation results when a moving air mass
encounters a land barrier, usually a mountain, and must rise
above it in order to pass.
Convectional Precipitation The simple explanation
of convection is that when air is heated near the surface it ex-
pands, becomes lighter, and rises. It is then displaced by the cooler,
denser air around it to complete the convection cycle. The im-
portant factor in convection for our discussion of precipitation is
that the heated air rises and thus fulfills the one essential criterion
for significant condensation and, ultimately, precipitation.
To enlarge our understanding of convectional precipitation,
let’s apply what we have learned about instability and stability.
55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 159
P R E C I P I TAT I O N P R O C E S S E S 159
● Figure 6.20 illustrates two different cases in which air
rises due to convection. In both, the lapse rate in the free
atmosphere is the same; it is especially high during the
first few thousand meters but slows after that (as on a hot
summer day).
In the first case (Fig. 6.20a), the air parcel is not very
humid, and thus the dry adiabatic rate applies throughout
its ascent. By the time the air reaches 3000 meters (9900 ft),
its temperature and density are the same as those of the sur-
rounding atmospheric air. At this point, convectional lifting
stops.
In the second case (Fig. 6.20b), we have introduced
the latent heat of condensation. Here again, the unsatu-
rated rising column of air cools at the dry adiabatic rate
of 10°C per 1000 meters (5.6°F/1000 ft) for the first
1000 meters (3300 ft). However, because the air parcel is
humid, the rising air column soon reaches the dew point,
condensation takes place, and cumulus clouds begin to
form. As condensation occurs, the heat locked up in the
water vapor is released and heats the moving parcel of air,
retarding the adiabatic rate of cooling so that the rising
air is now cooling at the wet adiabatic rate (5°C/1000
meters). Hence, the temperature of the rising air parcel
remains warmer than that of the atmospheric layer it is passing
through, and the air parcel will continue to rise on its own. In
this case, which incorporates the latent heat of condensation,
we have massive condensation, towering cumulus clouds, and a
thunderstorm potential.
Convectional precipitation is most common in the humid
equatorial and tropical areas that receive much of the sun’s en-
ergy and in summer in the middle latitudes. Though differential
heating of land surfaces plays an important role in convectional
precipitation, it is not the sole factor. Other factors, such as sur-
face topography and atmospheric dynamics associated with the
upper air winds, may provide the initial upward lift for air that is
potentially unstable. Once condensation begins in a convectional
column, additional energy is available from the latent heat of con-
densation for further lifting.
This convectional lifting can result in the heavy precipitation,
thunder, lightning, and tornadoes of spring and summer afternoon
thunderstorms. When the convectional currents are strong in the
characteristic cumulonimbus clouds, hail can result.
Frontal Precipitation The zones of contact between
relatively warm and relatively cold bodies of air are known
as fronts. When two large bodies of air that differ in den-
sity, humidity, and temperature meet, the warmer one is lifted
above the colder. When this happens, the major criterion for
large-scale condensation and precipitation is once again met.
Frontal precipitation thus occurs as the moisture-laden warm
air rises above the front caused by contact with the cold air.
Continuous frontal precipitation has caused some devastating
floods through time.
To fully understand fronts, we must examine what causes un-
like bodies of air to come together and what happens when they
do.This will be discussed in Chapter 7, where we will take a more
detailed look at frontal disturbances and precipitation.
6/5/08 10:22:31 PM
 160 C H A P T E R 6 • M O I S T U R E , C O N D E N S AT I O N , A N D P R E C I P I TAT I O N
Warm air
Convectional
Warm air
Cold air
Front
Frontal
● FIGURE 6.19
The principal cause of precipitation is upward movement of moist air resulting from convectional,
frontal, cyclonic, or orographic lifting.
What kind of air movement is common to all four diagrams?
Cyclonic (Convergence) Precipitation The third
mechanism, the cyclonic (also known as convergence), was first
introduced in Chapter 5 (see again Fig. 5.4). When air enters a
low pressure system, or cyclone, it does so (in a counterclockwise
fashion in the Northern Hemisphere) from all directions. When
air converges on a low pressure system, it has little option but to
rise. Therefore, clouds and possible precipitation are common
around the center of a cyclone.
Orographic Precipitation As was the case with convec-
tional rainfall, orographic rainfall has a simple definition and a
somewhat more complex explanation. When land barriers—such
as mountain ranges, hilly regions, or even the escarpments (steep
edges) of plateaus or tablelands—lie in the path of prevailing
winds, large portions of the atmosphere are forced to rise above
these barriers. This fills the one main criterion for significant pre-
cipitation—that large masses of air are cooled by ascent and ex-
pansion until large-scale condensation takes place. The resultant
precipitation is termed orographic (from Greek: oros, mountains).
As long as the air parcel rising up the mountainside remains stable
(cooling at a greater rate than the environmental lapse rate), any
resulting cloud cover will be a type of stratus cloud. However, the
situation can be complicated by the same circumstances illustrated
in Figure 6.20b. A potentially unstable air parcel may need only
the initial lift provided by the orographic barrier to set it in mo-
tion. In this case, it will continue to rise of its own accord (no
longer forced) as it seeks air of its own temperature and density.
Once the land barrier provides the initial thrust, it has performed
its function as a lifting mechanism.
Because the air deposits most of its moisture on the wind-
ward side of a mountain, there will normally be a great deal less
55061_06_Ch06_p140_169 pp3.indd 160
Cyclonic (Convergence)
Rain
shadow
Orographic
precipitation on the leeward side; on this side, the air will be
much drier and the dew point consequently much lower. Also, as
air descends the leeward slope, its temperature warms (at the dry
adiabatic rate), and condensation ceases. The leeward side of the
mountain is thus said to be in the rain shadow ( ● Fig. 6.21a). Just
as being in the shade, or in shadow, means that you are not receiv-
ing any direct sun, so being in the rain shadow means that you do
not receive much rain. If you live near a mountain range, you can
see the effects of orographic precipitation and the rain shadow in
the pattern of vegetation (Figs. 6.21b and c). The windward side
of the mountains (say, the Sierra Nevada in California) will be
heavily forested and thick with vegetation. The opposite slopes in
the rain shadow will usually be drier and the cover of vegetation
sparser.
Distribution of Precipitation
The precipitation a region receives can be described in different
ways. We can look at average annual precipitation to get an overall
picture of the amount of moisture that a region gets during a year.
We can also look at its number of raindays—days on which 1.0
millimeter (0.01 in.) or more of rain is received during a 24-hour
period. Less than this amount is known as a trace of rain. If we
divide the number of raindays in a month or year by the total
number of days in that period, the resulting figure represents the
probability of rain. Such a measure is important to farmers and
to ski or summer resort owners whose incomes may depend on
precipitation or the lack of it.
We can also look at the average monthly precipitation. This
provides a picture of the seasonal variations in precipitation
( ● Fig. 6.22). For instance, in describing the climate of the west
6/5/08 10:22:32 PM
 P R E C I P I TAT I O N P R O C E S S E S 161

−18° 6000 −18° −5°

−15° 5500 −15°

−12° 5000 −12° 0°

−9° 4500 −9°

−6° 4000 −6° 5°

−3° 3500 −3°

Wet
adiabatic
0° 0° 3000 0° 10° rate
(5°C/1000 m)
4° 2500 4°

10° 8° 2000 8° 15°

Dry
adiabatic
rate 13° 1500 13°
(10°C/
1000 m)
Condensation
20° 18° 1000 18° begins 20°

Dry adiabatic
24° 500 24° rate
(10°C/1000 m)
30° 30° 30° 30°
Temp (°C) Temp (°C) Altitude Temp (°C) Temp (°C)
(m)
(a) Existing lapse rate (b)

● FIGURE 6.20
Effect of humidity on air mass stability. (a) Warm, dry air rises and cools at the dry adiabatic rate, soon becom-
ing the same temperature as the surrounding air, at which point convectional uplift terminates. Because the
rising dry air did not cool to its dew point temperature by the time that convectional lifting ended, no cloud
formed. (b) Rising warm, moist air soon cools to its dew point temperature. The upward-moving air subse-
quently cools at the wet adiabatic rate, which keeps the air warmer than the surrounding atmosphere so that
the uplift continues. Only when all moisture is removed by condensation will the air cool rapidly enough at
the dry adiabatic rate to become stable.
What would be necessary for the cloud in (b) to stop its upward growth at 4500 meters?

coast of California, average annual precipitation would not give
the full story because this figure would not show the distinct wet
and dry seasons that characterize this region.
Horizontal Distribution of Precipitation ● Fig-
ure 6.23 shows average annual precipitation for the world’s con-
tinents. We can see that there is great variability in the distri-
bution of precipitation over Earth’s surface. Although there is a
zonal distribution of precipitation related to latitude, this distri-
bution is obviously not the only factor involved in the amount
of precipitation an area receives.
The likelihood and amount of precipitation are based on two
factors. First, precipitation depends on the degree of lifting that
occurs in air of a particular region. This lifting, as we have already
seen, may be due to the collision of different air masses (frontal), to
the convergence of air into a low pressure system (cyclonic or con-
vergence), to differential heating of Earth’s surface (convection), to
the lifting that results when an air mass encounters a rise in Earth’s
surface (orographic), or to a combination of these processes. The
second factor affecting the likelihood of precipitation depends on
the internal characteristics of the air itself, including its degree of
instability, its temperature, and its humidity.
Because higher temperatures, as we have seen, allow air masses
to hold greater amounts of water vapor and because, conversely, cold
air masses can hold less water vapor, we can expect a general de-
crease of precipitation from the equator to the poles that is related to
the unequal zonal distribution of incoming solar energy discussed in
Chapter 3.

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 162 C H A P T E R 6 • M O I S T U R E , C O N D E N S AT I O N , A N D P R E C I P I TAT I O N

However, if we look again at Figure 6.23, we see a great learned about temperature, pressure systems, wind belts, and
deal of variability in average annual precipitation beyond the precipitation.
general pattern of a decrease with increased latitude. In the
following discussion, we examine some of these variations and Distribution within Latitudinal Zones The
give the reasons for them. We also apply what we have already equatorial zone is generally an area of high precipitation—more
than 200 centimeters (79 in.) annually—largely
due to the zone’s high temperatures, high
humidity, and the instability of its air. High
Orographic Rain
Precipitation Shadow temperatures and instability lead to a general
Clouds pattern of rising air, which in turn allows for
precipitation. This tendency is strongly rein-
2500 m Rate of warming forced by the convergence of the trades as they
Rate of cooling 4.0°C 10.0°C/1000 m
after condensation move toward the equator from opposite hemi-
5.0°C/1000 m spheres. In fact, the intertropical convergence
Windward Leeward zone is one of the two great zones where air
Condensation
slope slope
1500 m
level masses converge. (The other is along the polar
Rate of cooling 9°C 14°C front within the westerlies.)
10.0°C/1000 m
In general, the air of the trade wind zones
Uplift is stable compared with the instability of the
500 m
19°C 24°C equatorial zone. Under the control of these
0 steady winds, there is little in the way of at-
(a)
mospheric disturbances to lead to convergent
or convectional lifting. However, because the
trade winds are basically easterly, when they

Station: San Francisco

Latitude: 38°N Longitude: 122°W
Average annual prec.: 55 cm (21.7 in.)
Mean annual temp.: 12.8°C (55°F) Range: 7.2°C (13°F)

°F °C Cm In.
100 30
R. Gabler

30 70
80
(b) 25
20 60
60
10 20
50
40
0
40
20 15
−10
30
0
−20 10

−20 20
R. Gabler

−30
5
(c) −40 −40
10

● FIGURE 6.21
Orographic precipitation and the rain-shadow effect. J F M A M J J A S O N D
(a) Orographic uplift over the windward (western) slope of
the Sierras produces condensation, cloud formation, and ● FIGURE 6.22
precipitation, resulting in (b) dense stands of forest. (c) Semi- Average monthly precipitation in San Francisco, California, is represented by colored
arid or rain-shadow conditions occur on the leeward (eastern) bars along the bottom of the graph. A graph of monthly precipitation figures like this
slope of the Sierras. one gives a much more accurate picture than the annual precipitation total, which
Can you identify a mountain range in Eurasia in which the does not tell us that nearly all the precipitation occurs in only half of the year.
leeward side of that range is in the rain shadow? How would this rainfall pattern affect agriculture?

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 P R E C I P I TAT I O N P R O C E S S E S 163

GEOGRAPHY’S PHYSICAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE

The Lifting Condensation Level (LCL)

W hen you look at clouds in our

atmosphere, it is often quite
easy to see their relatively flat
bases. Cloud tops may appear quite irregu-
lar, but cloud bases are often flat. Even if
the cloud bases do not seem flat, it will be
obvious that the clouds you see all seem
to be formed at the same level above the
surface. This level represents the altitude to
which the air must be lifted (and cooled at
the dry adiabatic rate) before saturation is
M. Trapasso
reached. Any additional lifting and clouds
will form and build upward. Therefore, the
height at which clouds form from lifting is
called the lifting condensation level (LCL)
and can be estimated by the equation:
LCL (in meters) = 125 meters × (Celsius
temperature – Celsius dew point)
For example, if the surface temperature
is 7.2°C (45°F) and the dew point tem-
perature is 4.4°C (40°F), then the LCL is
estimated at 350 meters (1148 ft) above
the surface.
Caution: Keep in mind that different
layers of clouds may exist at the same
time. Low, middle, and high clouds as de-
fined in this chapter may all appear on the
same afternoon. These clouds may have
formed in other regions and be only pass-
ing overhead. The formula presented here
is best used with the lowest level of cloud
cover that appears overhead.

The stratocumulus clouds (bottom layer) show the lifting condensation level (LCL).

move onshore along east coasts or islands with high elevations,
they bring moisture from the oceans with them. Thus, within the
trade wind belt, continental east coasts tend to be wetter than
continental west coasts.
In fact, where the air of the equatorial and trade wind
regions—with its high temperatures and vast amounts of mois-
ture—moves onshore from the ocean and meets a landform
barrier, record rainfalls can be measured. The windward slope
of Mount Waialeale on Kauai, Hawaii, at approximately 22°N
latitude, holds the world’s record for greatest average annual
rainfall—1168 centimeters (460 in.).
Moving poleward from the trade wind belts, we enter the
zones of subtropical high pressure where the air is subsiding. As
it sinks lower, it is warmed adiabatically, increasing its moisture-
holding capacity and consequently reducing the amount of pre-
cipitation in this area. In fact, if we look at Figure 6.23, which
shows average annual precipitation on a latitudinal basis, we can
see a dip in precipitation level corresponding to the latitude of
the subtropical high pressure cells. These areas of subtropical high
pressure are in fact where we find most of the great deserts of the
world: in northern and southern Africa, Arabia, North America,
and Australia. The exceptions to this subtropical aridity occur
along the eastern sides of the landmasses where, as we have al-
ready noted, the subtropical high pressure cells are weak and wind
direction is often onshore. This exception is especially true of re-
gions affected by the monsoons.

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