Cloud Types Flashcards
Name four types of cloud
Cirrus
Stratus
Cumulus
Cumulonimbus
What are the features of cirrus clouds
Wispy feathers of white cloud
Leave big patches of blue sky behind
Don’t release rainfall
Often form as warm air mass rises over cold air mass
What are the features of stratus clouds
Big flat layers of low cloud
Like a blanket across the sky
Often follow cirrus clouds after warm front starts
Brings steady rain
What are the features of cumulus clouds?
Fluffy clouds
Produce heavy showers
Low cloud
Often follow behind a cold front
What are the features of cumulonimbus clouds?
Tall storm clouds
Very dark
Produce big storm and heavy rain
Often form on a cold front when cold air undercuts behind warm air mass
Name two weather systems
Depressions
Anticyclones
What is a depression
A bad weather system caused by an area of low pressure with different air masses. Warm tropical maritime air meets cold polar maritime air. The warm air is forced to rise and spiral. It has a warm front followed by low pressure and a cold front.
What weather do we get with a depression
Big clouds, heavy rain, strong winds and may bring thunder and lightning. This is frontal rain.
What is the sequence of weather in a depression
A warm front is caused as the warm air mass rises over a cold air mass. Cirrus and prolonged stratus clouds develop on warm front. The cold air spirals around behind the warm air and where it meets it undercuts to create the cold front. Cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds bring heavy rain and storms.
What weather is behind the warm front
The warm air has clear sky and it is dry. The rising warm air leaves this area of low pressure at the centre of the depression.
What weather follows the cold front
Showers and storms and heavy rain with sky then clearing. The air is cooler behind the old front.
What direction does a depression over and what direction do the winds blow
The depression moves west to east
The winds swirl anti-clockwise
