Nimbostratus / Stratus

                    NIMBOSTRATUS CLOUD (NS)

      Nimbostratus Cloud produces large quantities of rain, and in cold weather can produce snow. This cloud does not bring thunder storms or hail.The name 'Nimbostratus' means 'rain layer'. Its a mid dark, formless layer that completely masks out the sun (hence 'rain layer').
     Nimbostratus symbol is:

   

        Because of rain the base of the cloud is difficult to see. For this reason the Nimbostratus can sometimes be mistaken for Stratus, Stratocumulus, or Altostaratus cloud.  The Nimbostratus -like most clouds- is formed by the water cycle (also called the hydrologic cycle):

                                                                    Stratus(ST)

                                  

       The word 'Stratus' comes from the Latin word 'layer'. The symbol for stratus is:          
Stratus hovers just above the ground below 2000 meters. There formation consists of a horizontal gray layer that spreads over a large area. 
    There are three types of Stratus Cloud; known fog and mist. The difference between fog and stratus is mainly the fog cloud is closer to the ground then stratus, and the difference between mist and stratus is, stratus is much thicker. 
    Stratus -and fog- most commonly form in September and October. This because the longer nights, and moist air  that comes after summer. This all helps form Stratus and fog. Stratus is a unique type of cloud because it forms on -unlike other clouds- the ground. Stratus cloud dose not bring rain but can leave a kind of dew or mist behind.
    Fog can form within an hour or until morning. Especially when the skies are blue and light winds, causing the mercury to drop more quickly.
    The Pacific Northeast coastline, has one of the most foggiest weather,including New England and over the Central Appalachian mountains. The Rocky mountains and the Southwest Desert have the least common fog 
     Early morning fog may rise to form a Stratus. All together there are for different types of fog: 
                  Radiation Fog: is formed the same way dew is; on long night the ground cools quickly by radiation (hence the name). As the temperature drops the humidity rises. Light winds are also required for they gently mixes the moist air with the cool air near the ground. More stronger winds can mix the dry air from the ground, with the warmer air from above. This keeps the air near the surface from becoming saturated.
   Radiation Fog is most commonly seen in Autumn, especially around river valley's. Cold air from above falls to the bottom, this provides the cool air above. The water from the river and streams provides the water vapor needed to increase the relative humidity and evaporation. These types of fog are commonly known as 'Valley Fogs'. 
   To forecast Radiation fog there are certain guidelines to follow such as; if the temperature is about 14 F below the temperature at sunset, also if the wind speed is less than 5 knots (or 9 kilometers), then there is a good chance Radiation fog will form.
    

        Advection Fog: Advection means 'blown horizontally'. Advection Fog most commonly forms off the coast of California near to San Fransisco. This is because when the warm moist air blows over the Pacific, it can cause an exchange with the surface. This makes the humidity increase casing Advection Fog to form. 
   Advection Fog can also appear off the East coast, also off the coast of Japan. These fogs can form at all times of the year and can last for more than a week.
   Advection Fog can occur when warm air flows from the water to cooler lands, making fog common along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. During fall and winter  the saturation of the air happen when the moist air flows from the Gulf over to cooler lands. This processes also occurs in New England and London.  

         Evaporation fogs: are sometimes called 'Frontal Fogs'. Evaporation Fog can often occur after a hot shower when everything 'fogs up', this happens when the hot water from the shower evaporates into the air this makes it rather humid eventually becoming saturated and forming fog.
Evaporation fog can occur around the area of warm fronts, which is why it is also called Frontal Fogs. Frontal Fogs form when rainfall evaporates into warm air and mixes with the cold air near the ground. Because of this Frontal Fogs can only occur after long periods of rain fall, for it takes 5 times for the water to evaporate causing the air to become saturated. For example you cannot 'fog up' the bathroom by taking a short shower. 
    Evaporation Fog can also form over lakes, after much colder air moves over warmer air. The colder air has less vapor pressure then that over water causes evaporation to become more rapid. This rapid evaporation saturates the air above even more quicker. After evaporation the condensation would start warming the air. The warm air would rise and mix with the cool air above, causing both to become saturated which in turn leads to more fog to form. 
    When Evaporation Fog forms over a lake  it  can easily be mistaken as steam rising from the water. Because of this Evaporation Fog is sometimes called 'Steam Fog'. Steam Fog is most common in late autumn and early winter, forming in cold areas for example: the northern mid-latitude regions. Steam fog is common when when cold air blows over unfrozen waters.

        Upslope Fog: As air rises over a mountain barrier, air expands and cools making the humidity level rise. When the air becomes saturated Upslope Fog will form. Upslope Fog is common around the Appalachian Highlands such as the Smoky Mountains.
   Upslope forms best when the air flowing upward is cold, so it dose not required much lifting before saturation occurs.        
   

      

Cumulus Cloud

                  Cumulus Clouds
   
       Cumulus Clouds, are one of the most common of clouds. The name Cumulus means "heap", and there are three types of species of Cumulus: 

• Cumulus Humilis
• Cumulus Medicocris  
• Cumulus Congestus     

   

 Congestus (above)                                                             Humilis (below)

                                         

                  Mediocris (above)

     Low and detached Cumulus clouds look like big cauliflowers.These clouds have a fairly short lifespan that's why most Cumulus don't produce rain. Only Cumulus Congestus bring rain out of the three, and when they do rain its usually in short spurts. If they don't rain, then continue to build up until becoming the storm cloud, Cumulonimbus. 
     Cumulus Clouds form when cool liquids heat up and evaporate, this process is called thermals or atmospheric convection. Which is the process of carrying moist up into the atmosphere, this is a caused by solar heat.
  When the moist air has risen to a point in the atmosphere, and solidify into a liquid again, -and visible- then condenses during the day to form a Cumulus cloud. Inside the cloud water droplets condense causing the cloud to grow larger, which eventually the Cumulus can produce rain.
         

Clouds

different types of clouds

  When you see a cloud its unique. Clouds are one of the most dynamic creations in the natural world. Sometimes they'll be a white fluffy mass skimming the sky, other times there a huge mountain storm cloud that pound the ground with rain, hail, sleet and lighting up the sky with crashes of lighting.
  Clouds form from the water cycle:

Each cloud has there own name. In 1803 Luke Howard, also known as "the man who named the clouds," named all the clouds after Latin words that give a small explanation of their characteristics. Such as the Cirrus Cloud, Cirrus meaning "wisp" and Stratus meaning "layer".
     

     

  Scientists also gave clouds their own symbol. These symbols were the language of the clouds, for example instead of writing"Cumulus"  they would put the symbol :     

                   Different types of clouds
There are many types of clouds, so scientists put them in category's: low clouds, mid clouds and high clouds. 

   low clouds are about 6,500 feet high. so when we see them, there characteristics and there unique shape can be clearly seen with the naked eye from the ground.  Low cloud types include: Stratus, Nimbostratus, Cumulonimbus (which can also be classified as a high cloud), Stratocumulus and fog (which is a type of Stratus that fell to the ground). Mid clouds include: Altocumulus, Altostratus, and Lenticular clouds. Last but not least, high cloud types: Cirrus, Cirrostratus, Cirrocumulus, and Cumulonimbus Clouds.

 
      

Atmosphere

different layers of the atmosphere                                                                                               

There are many different layers of the atmosphere, here is a diagram to show the layers and their names:

  There are five layers of the atmosphere: the Troposphere, the Stratosphere, the Mesosphere, the Thermosphere and the Exosphere.

   The Earth’s atmosphere is made up of different types of gases mixed together. The gases in the atmosphere are:  nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Including some variables of gases, and particles.  

    Our layer of the Atmosphere, the Troposphere, is about 4.4 mile miles high, from the Poles about 9.3 miles above the Tropic zones. Also about 10.6 mile high near the Equator. The Troposphere is the lowest of the five layers.

  The Stratosphere is where the Ozone Layer is. The Ozone Layer contains 90% of the Ozone (or O3) in the Earth’s Atmosphere. The Ozone protects us by absorbing most of any harmful Sun Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation. Some man-made Halogen compounds affect the Ozone Layer causing it to have holes, these hole are mainly over the South Pole.The Stratosphere is where you’ll see air- planes flying, and weather balloons.

  The Mesosphere has frictional heating caused by air density this heat incinerates meteors coming through the Mesosphere. This layer of the Atmosphere extends from 31 miles to around 53 miles above the Earth. 

  Another thing you'll find in the Mesosphere are Noctilucent clouds.    

 

    There is no known proof of what Noctilucent clouds are made of, the most accepted theory is that Noctilucent clouds (NLC) are made up of meteortical dust particles covered in ice crystals. The ice crystals contain dust particles from meteors, comets and asteroids that have been incinerated coming through the Mesosphere.These particles are microscopic, about the size of the particles in the smoke from cigarettes. The best time to see Noctilucent clouds is mainly in the summer at twilight, for at twilight the sun is below the horizon. This is because when the sun is below the horizon its light shines on Noctilucent clouds making them glitter,this can be seen with the naked eye. This cloud can be mistaken for the Cirrus cloud:

 
         The Thermosphere, is the fourth layer of the atmosphere (also called "the heat sphere").This layer of the Atmosphere's air in extremely thin, that once your up there, your considered an astronaut. The Thermosphere is about 370 miles above the Earth.
  This layer of the atmosphere  (Thermosphere) is out of all the layers is more greatly affected by the suns energy. In the Thermosphere the temperature can become up to or greater than 3,100 °F. Though in the Thermosphere the air density is so low that you can barley notice.
  In the Thermosphere you'll find the Auroras (below).

     From Space (below)

    The Auroras, are made up of widely spread gas molecules in the Thermosphere, these molecules become electrically charged by heat and radiation coming from the sun which breaks them into Ions. In the Poles the Ionized gases glow into red, yellow and green lights called the Auroras.Auroras are also called the Northern and Southern lights. These colorful lights sway through the night sky.
   The Exosphere,is the highest layer of the Atmosphere, it extends about 10,000 km from the Thermosphere.
  The Exosphere is the limit to our Atmosphere. The Atmosphere merges into outer space with its air extremely thin. In the Exosphere air atoms and molecules escapes. In this layer of the Atmosphere helium and hydrogen are prime components and are the only present at extremely low densities. This is where satellites are orbiting also you'll find the International Space Station (ISS). 
   Below are links to see the ISS in action and to explain more about it:

  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-iss-stream
  http://iss.astroviewer.net/index.php