Cumulonimbus cloud

         CUMULONIMBUS CLOUD (CB)

   'Cumulonimbus' (CB) is also called 'thunderstorm clouds'. The name ' Cumulonimbus' means 'Rain Heap'. There are two different types of Cumulonimbus clouds:

•  Calvus meaning 'the bald'. It is called 'The Bald' because it has a rounded fluffy top and no anvil. (Shown below)

•  Capillatus meaning 'hair'. It is called this because unlike the Calvus, the Capillatus gas an anvil. (Shown below)                                            
  
  
  
  
  

    When you see this cloud it looks like a towing almost castle like, with a fluffy cauliflower look, or else with a flat anvil top. This enormous cloud is sometimes refers to as the ' king cloud ', or ' cloud 9'.

  
  

  
  
  

  These cloud extend over the whole height o the Troposphere, there are even some occurrences when they reach up into the lower Stratosphere. The Cumulonimbus cloud can generate thunderstorms that release as much energy as an atomic bomb! Cumulonimbus develops in unstable and moist atmospheric conditions. It continues to rise because it is continually warmed by latent heat. Latent heat: is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system, during a constant-temperature process that is specified in some way. An example is latent heat of fusion for a phase change, melting, at a specified temperature and pressure.

  
  

  When the cloud is over you it is almost impossible to tell whether it is a Nimbustratus or an Cumulonimbus cloud over your head. Some ways to figure if its a Cumulonimbus is if there are:

  
  

  •  Strong Winds
  • Thunder and/or lightning

  Cumulonimbus clouds can produce large quantities of rain, severe weather such as hail, heavy snow, and tornadoes. 
     An Anvil is produced in the highest area of the Troposphere where its coldest. The Anvil is made up of frozen water particles, clumped up in a thin layer of ice on top if the cumulonimbus cloud.
     Cumulonimbus clouds penetrate the atmosphere to great heights and their rapid updraft speeds ans turbulence's, are best avoided by aircraft, but it is the effects closer to the ground that are most evident to us. The downdraft associated with the fall of rain can be great, releasing a strong, cold storm outflow near the ground.
      Powerful thunderstorms often have a line of towering Cumulus Congestus clouds leading up to the main part of the storm. These clouds are called 'Flanking clouds'. They are fed by an outflow of cold air, and may eventually merge into the parent storm.
      
  

  

  
  
    'Fractus Clouds' are shreds of clouds often seen below Cumulonimbus. They are a adornment cloud, having been torn off of a larger cloud by strong winds. Customarily short-lived, and may develop and merge with other clouds, or else they dissipate.
  

  

  
  
  

    'Mammatus clouds' (also called 'breast clouds') are formed on the under side of an anvil top when strong downdrafts push bundles of warm moist air into an area of cooler air. When most people see the Mammatus cloud they think something bad is about to happen, but actually it signifies the ending of a bad storm.

   

  
      'Pileus clouds' are associated with the Cumulonimbus clouds. Pileus clouds form over the tops of the rising cumulonimbus.When rising air pushes up a cold, moist layer sufficiently fast for it to cool, and further saturate and grow ice crystals.
  

  

  
  

                   THUNDERSTORMS

      At any given time, about 2,000 Thunderstorms rage across Earth. Storms can result anywhere in the world, but most generally take place in equilateral reqions. All Thunderstorms have lightning, but other than that storm attributes vary widely. Most Thunderstorms bring brief, intense rainfall, followed by strokes of lightning. A small group of Thunderstorms can bring extreme weather. Less common features are flooding rains, heavy hail, and tornado's. 

       'Lightning' heats the air greatly, causing it to expand violently, which is a great crashing noise called 'thunder'. Lightning is a giant spark created when an enormous imbalance of positive and negative charge transpire. There in fact are four different types of lightning:

  • Intracloud Lightning, is the most common type of lightning. this is an arc between the upper and lower parts of the cloud that have opposite charges.Also called 'Cloud-to-cloud'.
    
    

  • Inter-cloud Lightning, is a less common type of lighting. This type of lightning discharges between adjacent Cumulonimbus clouds, when their areas of opposite charge are located close to each other.
    
  • Cloud-to-ground negative polarity, strikes connect to the negative at the bottom of the Thunderstorm and the positive charge attracted in the ground beneath.
    
  • Cloud- to-ground positive polarity, strikes connect to the positive charge high in the Thunderstorm and a negative charge that is attracted in the ground below.
    
    
    
  
      The power of a Thunderstorm is very strong. So powerful that the amount of energy generated in an average Thunderstorm is 10 times as much as the energy generated by The World's Largest Hydroelectric Dam, which produced 3,427 terawatt-hours in 2010. 
      The energy of the storm is released when the water vapor condenses and rain falls. most of the energy heats up in the atmosphere, but a small amount drives the strong winds that comes along with Cumulonimbus. 
      The three main ingredients for creating Thunderstorms are: 
  • moisture
  • instability
  • lift (turbulence)

     Thunderstorms are generated by convection (convection: in Meteorology and Oceanology, the up and down motion of air or water caused by temperature difference). One way to trigger convection is by heating the bottom of the atmosphere, for example the heat is managed into the air. The heated air becomes light and resilient causing the air to rise, similar to the hot air in a Hot-Air Balloon.