Weather

I

Introduction

Weather, state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. The elements of weather include temperature, humidity, cloudiness, precipitation, wind, and pressure. These elements are organized into various weather systems, such as monsoons, areas of high and low pressure, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. All weather systems have well-defined cycles and structural features and are governed by the laws of heat and motion. These conditions are studied in meteorology, the science of weather and weather forecasting.

Weather differs from climate, which is the weather that a particular region experiences over a long period of time. Climate includes the averages and variations of all weather elements.

II

Temperature

Temperature is a measure of the degree of hotness of the air. Three different scales are used for measuring temperature. Scientists use the Kelvin, or absolute, scale and the Celsius, or centigrade, scale. Most nations use the Celsius scale, although the United States continues to use the Fahrenheit scale.

Temperature on Earth averages 15°C (59°F) at sea level but varies according to latitude, elevation, season, and time of day, ranging from a record high of 58°C (140°F) to a record low of -88°C (-130°F). Temperature is generally highest in the Tropics and lowest near the poles. Each day it is usually warmest during midafternoon and coldest around dawn. Seasonal variations of temperature are generally more pronounced at higher latitudes. Along the equator, all months are equally warm, but away from the equator, it is generally warmest about a month after the summer solstice (usually June 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and December 21 or 22 in the Southern Hemisphere) and coldest about a month after the winter solstice (usually December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 or 22 in the Southern Hemisphere). Temperature can change abruptly when fronts (boundaries between two air masses with different temperatures or densities) or thunderstorms pass overhead.

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Temperature decreases with increasing elevation at an average rate of about 6.5°C per km (about 19°F per mi). As a result, temperatures in the mountains are generally much lower than at sea level. Temperature continues to decrease throughout the atmosphere’s lowest layer, the troposphere, where almost all weather occurs. The troposphere extends to a height of 16 km (10 mi) above sea level over the equator and about 8 km (about 5 mi) above sea level over the poles. Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, where temperature levels off and then begins to increase with height. Almost no weather occurs in the stratosphere.

III

Humidity

Humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air. The air’s capacity to hold vapor is limited but increases dramatically as the air warms, roughly doubling for each temperature increase of 10°C (18°F). There are several different measures of humidity. The specific humidity is the fraction of the mass of air that consists of water vapor, usually given as parts per thousand. Even the warmest, most humid air seldom has a specific humidity greater than 20 parts per thousand. The most common measure of humidity is the relative humidity, or the amount of vapor in the air divided by the air’s vapor-holding capacity at that temperature. If the amount of water vapor in the air remains the same, the relative humidity decreases as the air is heated and increases as the air is cooled. As a result, relative humidity is usually highest around dawn, when the temperature is lowest, and lowest in midafternoon, when the temperature is highest.

IV

Cloudiness

Most clouds and almost all precipitation are produced by the cooling of air as it rises. When air temperature is reduced, excess water vapor in the air condenses into liquid droplets or ice crystals to form clouds or fog. A cloud can take any of several different forms—including cumulus, cirrus, and stratus—reflecting the pattern of air motions that formed it. Fluffy cumulus clouds form from rising masses of air, called thermals. A cumulus cloud often has a flat base, corresponding to the level at which the water vapor first condenses. If a cumulus cloud grows large, it transforms into a cumulonimbus cloud or a thunderstorm. Fibrous cirrus clouds consist of trails of falling ice crystals twisted by the winds. Cirrus clouds usually form high in the troposphere, and their crystals almost never reach the ground. Stratus clouds form when an entire layer of air cools or ascends obliquely. A stratus cloud often extends for hundreds of miles.

Fog is a cloud that touches the ground. In dense fogs, the visibility may drop below 50 m (55 yd). Fog occurs most frequently when Earth’s surface is much colder than the air directly above it, such as around dawn and over cold ocean currents. Fog is thickened and acidified when the air is filled with sulfur-laden soot particles produced by the burning of coal. Dense acid fogs that killed thousands of people in London up to 1956 led to legislation that prohibited coal burning in cities.

Optical phenomena, such as rainbows and halos, occur when light shines through cloud particles. Rainbows are seen when sunlight from behind the observer strikes the raindrops falling from cumulonimbus clouds. The raindrops act as tiny prisms, bending and reflecting the different colors of light back to the observer’s eye at different angles and creating bands of color. Halos are seen when sunlight or moonlight in front of the observer strikes ice crystals and then passes through high, thin cirrostratus clouds.