Chapter 5.

Forms of Condensation
&
Precipitation
Forms of Condensation &
Precipitation
1. Condensation occurs when water
changes from vapor to liquid, to produce
dew, fog or clouds
2. The air must be saturated
3. There must be a surface on which
condensation can occur - e.g. blades of
grass (dew) and condensation nuclei
Forms of Condensation &
Precipitation - 2
1. Condensation nuclei - microscopic dust
particles, smoke, salt particles
2. Need condensation nuclei in order to get
condensation when RH is about 100%
3. The most effective nuclei are hygroscopic
(water absorbent) - e.g., crystals of sulfates &
nitrates
4. Cloud formation depends on adiabatic cooling
as a parcel of air ascends
(adiabatic = no heat added or lost)
Condensation Trails (aircraft
contrails)
1. Consist of ice crystals
2. Form above 9 km, where the air temperature is
-50C
3. Engine exhausts contain hot humid air and
condensation nuclei such as sulfates
4. Trails last longer if the air is nearly saturated,
and there are no strong winds
5. Trails do not start immediately behind the
engines – why?
Clouds
1. Clouds are visible aggregates of minute
droplets of water or tiny crystals of ice
2. Cloud classification by form : cirrus,
cumulus, stratus
3. Cloud classification by height: high (bases
above 6000 m), middle (2000 to 6000 m), low
(below 2000m), clouds of vertical
development (more than one height range)
Clouds - 2
1. High clouds - cirrus, cirrostratus,
cirrocumulus; not usually precipitation
makers
2. Middle clouds - altocumulus, altostratus
3. Low clouds - stratus, stratocumulus,
nimbostratus (rain clouds)
Cirrus
Cirrostratus
Cirrocumulus
Altocumulus
Altostratus
Nimbostratus
Summer cumulus
Clouds - 3
1. Clouds of vertical development -
cumulus (fair weather), cumulonimbus
(storm clouds)

2. Lenticular clouds often form on leeward

side of mountains
Lenticular Cloud
Fog
1. Fog is a cloud with its base at or very
near the ground

2. Fogs can be formed by cooling the air, or

by adding water vapor
Fogs caused by Cooling
1. Condensation produces fog when the
temperature of the layer of air in contact with
the ground falls below its dew point

2. Radiation fog - results from radiation cooling

of ground & adjacent air
3. Radiation fog occurs at night under clear skies
4. Radiation fog is thickest in valleys (cold air),
burns off 1 to 3 hours after sunrise
Fogs caused by Cooling - 2
1. Advection fog - caused when warm moist air
passes over a cold surface

2. Advection fogs are frequently very thick

3. Upslope Fog - created when relatively humid

air moves up a gradually sloping plain, or
steep slopes of mountains
Radiation Fog
Advection Fog
Science & Serendipity
Occurrence of Fog
• Fig 5-12 shows average number of days
per year with fog.
• Pacific Northwest, California, New
England
• Cold ocean climates lower the
temperature of the air, increasing the RH
to 100%, so water vapor condenses out
Heavy fog days/year
Fogs formed by Evaporation
1. Evaporation fogs are caused by the addition
of water vapor
2. Two types - steam fog & frontal (precipitation)
fog
3. If cool air moves over warm water, enough
water may evaporate to saturate the air
immediately above. As the rising vapor meets
the cold air, it condenses - steam fog
Fogs … by Evaporation - 2
1. Steam fog is common over lakes & rivers when
the water is warm and the air is cold

2. When frontal wedging occurs, warm air is lifted

over cold air. If the resulting clouds yield rain,
and the cold air below it is near the dew point,
enough rain can evaporate to produce frontal
or precipitation fog
Steam Fog
Dew & Frost
1. Dew is water vapor condensed on
objects that have radiated enough
energy to drop their temperature below
the dew point of the air

2. White frost forms when the dew point of

the air is below freezing
How Precipitation Forms
1. Cloud droplets are very small - 20 μm.
Numerous condensation nuclei share the
available water vapor
2. Because they are small, cloud droplets
fall very slowly. Probably evaporate.
3. Raindrops have diameters around 2000
μm (2 mm)
How Precipitation Forms - 2
1. To form a raindrop, cloud droplets must
increase by a million times to produce
"massive" rain drops

2. "Massive" rain drops are formed by the

Bergeron process and by collision-
coalescence
The Bergeron Process

1. The Bergeron process is the process

by which ice crystals attract water
droplets, thereby becoming large enough
to produce rain.
Bergeron Process - 2
• Process relies on two properties of water
1. One - Pure water suspended in air does not
freeze until the temperature drops to -40C.
However, supercooled water droplets will freeze
on contact with particles that have a form closely
resembling that of ice
2. Two - The saturated vapor pressure above ice
crystals is somewhat lower than above
supercooled liquid droplets (basically because
ice is solid), so ice crystals attract more water
vapor than the liquid droplets, and grow faster
Bergeron Process - 3
1. Water in the liquid state at temperatures below
0C is called supercooled.
2. Supercooled water droplets condense on what
are called freezing nuclei.
3. Freezing nuclei are much less numerous than
condensation nuclei.
4. Second important property of water - the SVP
above ice crystals is somewhat lower than
above supercooled liquid droplets (because ice
is solid)
Bergeron Process - 4
1. Thus when air is saturated wrt liquid droplets, it
is supersaturated
2. Ice crystals therefore collect more water
molecules than they lose by sublimation, and
grow bigger - and so we get precipitation
3. For the Bergeron process to work, at least the
upper portions of clouds must be cold enough
to produce ice crystals. Mostly occurs at mid-
latitudes
Precipitation from Warm Clouds
Collision-Coalescence

1. Large droplets(>20 μm) formed when "giant"

condensation nuclei (such as sea salt) are
present, or when hygroscopic particles exist.

2. Large droplets fall faster than small droplets,

and add to their size as they fall by colliding
and coalescing with the small droplets.
Because they get larger, they fall faster, etc.
Precipitation from Warm Clouds
Collision-Coalescence - 2
1. If the drops get too big, they are broken up
because of air resistance, and the smaller
drops start the process over again.

2. Process is most efficient over the tropical

oceans. There are fewer condensation nuclei,
so each drop can pick up more of the smaller
droplets, and thus grow larger.
Forms of Precipitation - 1
1. Cloudbursts - unusually heavy rainfall
2. Drizzle - fine uniform drops of water with a
diameter less than 0.5 mm
3. Mist - precipitation containing the very
smallest droplets able to reach the ground
4. Virga - Rain evaporates before it hits the
ground
Forms of Precipitation - 2
1. Rain, snow, sleet, glaze, hail

2. Rain - drops of water that fall from a

cloud and have a diameter of at least 0.5
mm.
3. Maximum size of rain drops is about 5
mm
Forms of Precipitation - 3
1. Snow - is precipitation in the form of ice
crystals or aggregates of ice crystals
2. Sleet - small particles of ice that are clear to
translucent. Snowflakes melt, then refreeze
before hitting the ground.
3. Hail - precipitation in the form of hard rounded
pellets or irregular lumps of ice. Hailstones
build up successive layers as they move up
and down in a strong convective cloud.
Forms of Precipitation - 4
1. Hail is produced only in cumulonimbus clouds
where updrafts reach 160 km/h. Needs an
abundant supply of supercooled water.
2. Rime - deposit of ice crystals formed by the
freezing of supercooled fog or cloud droplets
on objects with surface temperatures below
freezing.
3. Freezing rain - rain falling in liquid form
through a shallow sub-freezing layer of air. The
rain freezes on impact with the ground.
Fig 5-16
Virga (streak)
5-18
Rime
Worst Winter Weather
• Snow flurries
• Blowing Snow
• Drifting Snow
• Blizzard
• Severe Blizzard
• Heavy Snow Warning
Worst Winter Weather - 2

• Freezing Rain
• Sleet
• Traveler’s Advisory
• Cold Wave
• Windchill (Box 3-5)
Precipitation Measurements
1. Standard rain gauge - 20 cm diameter funnel
to a container 2 cm across.
2. Tipping bucket gauge. Weighing gauge.
3. Snowfall is hard to measure, and snowfall is
often underestimated. Use a calibrated stick or
large cylinder.
4. Errors in measurement are caused by local
winds and by obstructions
5. Weather radar - echo is proportional to the
intensity of the precipitation
Intentional Weather Modification
Three broad categories:
• Use energy, mainly heat
• Modify land and water surfaces to
change the albedo
• Provide extra condensation nuclei
Weather Modification
1. Cloud seeding - silver iodide crystals. The
cloud must be supercooled.
2. Researchers are confident that winter
precipitation can be enhanced by seeding
supercooled orographic clouds.
3. Using large hygroscopic particles to seed
warm convective clouds might work.
4. Economic viability uncertain. Also political
ramifications (stealing someone else's rain)
Weather Modification - 2

1. Fog & Cloud Dispersal - can spread

particles of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide)
into layer of supercooled fog or stratus
clouds disperses them. Light snow may
result.
2. Hail suppression - use silver iodide
crystals - no real effect
Hail Damage
Hail Cannon
Weather Modification - 3
1. Frost prevention - frost induced by radiation
cooling is easy to combat
2. Methods either conserve heat, or provide heat
3. Insulation (e.g., paper) conserves heat.
4. Water can be used to keep the crops warm.
Spray the crops with water (before the frost
forms) and rely on the latent heat released
when the water freezes.
5. Best results come from orchard heaters, but
these are expensive.
Sprinklers
Wind machines
Orchard
Heaters
Inadvertent Weather
Modification
1. Cities modify weather. Get about 10% more
rain than country. Effect also occurs downwind.
2. Particulate matter emitted by cities include
hygroscopic particles and freezing nuclei.
3. Cities are warmer than the countryside.
Surface heating of air tends to increase the
environmental lapse rate, thus enhancing
instability.
4. Large buildings of cities cause convergence,
and enhance the upward flow of air.
Rainfall by
day of week
Clouds & Climate
• Moderate resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
• False-color average for a month of optical
thickness
• How much solar radiation can penetrate
the atmosphere
• Blue- no cloud; red & yellow – very cloudy;
green – in between