WEATHER THEORY

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 LESSON OUTLINE
Introduction and Overview (5 min)
This lesson will cover aspects related to weather theory and differing weather
phenomenon encountered in flight.
Lesson Content (90 min)
Lesson content will be delivered from the following presentation slides.
Evaluation (10-15 min)
Short oral quizzing on weather theory and hazards.

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 WEATHER THEORY (PHAK C12)
Weather is an important factor that influences aircraft performance and flying safety.
It is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place with respect to variables, such
as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, visibility, and barometric pressure.
The term “weather” can also apply to adverse or destructive atmospheric conditions, such
as high winds.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
The atmosphere is a blanket of air made up of a mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth
and reaches almost 350 miles from the surface of the Earth.
This mixture is in constant motion.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Composition:
In any given volume of air, nitrogen accounts for 78 percent of the gases that
comprise the atmosphere, while oxygen makes up 21 percent.
Argon, carbon dioxide, and traces of other gases make up the remaining one percent.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Layers:

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)

Troposphere:
The first layer, known as the troposphere, extends from 4 to 12 miles over the
northern and southern poles and up to 48,000 feet over the equatorial regions.
The vast majority of weather, clouds, storms, and temperature variances occur within
this first layer of the atmosphere. Inside the troposphere, the average temperature
decreases at a rate of about 2 °Celsius every 1,000 feet of altitude gain, and the
pressure decreases at a rate of about one inch per 1,000 feet of altitude gain.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Tropopause: Stop & traps moisture
At the top of the troposphere is a boundary known as the tropopause, which traps moisture and the associated
weather in the troposphere.

The altitude of the tropopause varies with latitude and with the season of the year; therefore, it takes on an elliptical
shape as opposed to round.

Location of the tropopause is important because it is commonly associated with the location of the jet stream and
possible clear air turbulence.

The temperature in the tropopause remains fairly constant with changing altitude.

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 Warm air rises because it is less dense
THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12) Cold air sinks because it is more dense

Circulation Pattern:

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Circulation Pattern:
Warm air rises because heat causes air molecules to spread apart.

As the air expands, it becomes less dense and lighter than the surrounding air.

As air cools, the molecules pack together more closely, becoming denser and heavier than warm air.

As a result, cool, heavy air tends to sink and replace warmer, rising air.

Solar heating causes higher temperatures in equatorial areas, which causes the air to be less dense and rise.

As the warm air flows toward the poles, it cools, becoming denser and sinks back toward the surface.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Atmospheric Pressure:
The unequal heating of the Earth’s surface not only modifies air density and creates circulation patterns; it also
causes changes in air pressure or the force exerted by the weight of air molecules.

Although air molecules are invisible, they still have weight and take up space.

The actual pressure at a given place and time differs with altitude, temperature, and density of the air.

These conditions also affect aircraft performance, especially with regard to takeoff, rate of climb, and landings.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Coriolis Force: force created by the rotation of the Earth
Areas of low pressure exist over the equatorial regions and areas of high pressure exist over the polar regions due
to a difference in temperature.

The resulting low pressure allows the high pressure air at the poles to flow along the planet’s surface toward the
equator.

The force created by the rotation of the Earth is known as the Coriolis force.

The Coriolis force deflects air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, causing it to follow a curved path instead of
a straight line.

The Coriolis force causes the general flow to break up into three distinct cells in each hemisphere.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Coriolis Force: Air heats up at about 60 degrees lattitude, and creates a cell.
Air deflects to the Right in the Northern Hemisphere due to the Rotation of the Earth.

Right Deflection Right Deflection

Left Deflection Left Deflection

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Coriolis Force:

Quick Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIyBpi7B-dE

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Coriolis Force:
Within 2,000 feet of the ground, the friction between the surface and the atmosphere
slows moving air. Slow pace & different direction.
The wind is diverted from its path because of the frictional force.
Thus, the wind direction at the surface varies somewhat from the wind direction just a
few thousand feet above the Earth.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Standard Atmospheric Pressure: Sea Level 29.92 Hg Pressure 59 °F (15 °C)
(reference
To provide a common reference, the International Standard point
Atmosphere nothasalways
(ISA) true)
been established.

These standard conditions are the basis for certain flight instruments and most aircraft performance data.

Standard sea level pressure is defined as 29.92 "Hg and a standard temperature of 59 °F (15 °C).

Atmospheric pressure is also reported in millibars (mb), with 1 "Hg equal to approximately 34 mb.

Standard sea level pressure is 1,013.2 mb.

Typical mb pressure readings range from 950.0 to 1,040.0 mb.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Atmospheric Pressure:
As altitude increases, atmospheric pressure decreases.
On average, with every 1,000 feet of increase in altitude, the atmospheric pressure decreases 1 "Hg. As pressure
decreases, the air becomes less dense or thinner.

This is the equivalent of being at a higher altitude and is referred to as density altitude.

As pressure decreases, density altitude increases and has a pronounced effect on aircraft performance.

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Atmospheric Pressure: Decrease 5 Hg in because increase in 5000 ft.

5,000’
MSL

Sea Level

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 THE ATMOSPHERE (PHAK C12)
Standard Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure:
How temperature and pressure decrease with altitude.

2,000’ MSL: Standard Temperature= 11 Standard Pressure= 27.9

c 2
- -
2c 1”
1,000’ MSL: Standard Temperature= 13 Standard Pressure= 28.9
c 2
- -
2c 1”
Sea Level: Standard Temperature= 15 Standard Pressure= 29.9
c 2

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 WIND AND CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
Air flows from areas of high pressure into areas of low pressure because air always seeks
out lower pressure.
The combination of atmospheric pressure differences, Coriolis force, friction, and
temperature differences of the air near the earth cause two kinds of atmospheric motion:
Convective currents (upward and downward motion)
Wind (horizontal motion, left & right)

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 WIND AND CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
In the Northern Hemisphere, the flow of air from areas of high to low pressure is
deflected to the right and produces a clockwise circulation around an area of high
pressure.
This is known as anticyclonic circulation (clockwise)
The opposite is true of low-pressure areas; the air flows toward a low and is deflected to
create a counterclockwise or cyclonic circulation (counter-clockwise).
High Pressure = Clockwise/Anticyclonic Circulation
Low Pressure = Counterclockwise/Cyclonic Circulation

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 WIND AND CURRENTS (PHAK C12)

Downward Upward
Outward Inward
Clockwise Counter-Clockwise

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 WIND AND CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
The Thumb Trick: Northern Hemisphere
Must be done with the Right Hand (does not work with the Left Hand)
Thumbs Down = High Pressure System
Thumbs Up = Low Pressure System

High Pressure System Low Pressure System

Fingers Rotate: Clockwise
(Air Circulates Clockwise)
Thumb Points: Up
(Air Flows Up)

Thumb Points: Down

(Air Flows Down)

Fingers Rotate: Counter-Clockwise

(Air Circulates Counter-Clockwise)

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HURRICANES ARE ALWAYS LOW
PRESSURE
 CONVECTIVE CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
Plowed ground, rocks, sand, and barren land absorb solar energy quickly and can
therefore give off a large amount of heat; whereas, water, trees, and other areas of
vegetation tend to more slowly absorb heat and give off heat.
The resulting uneven heating of the air creates small areas of local circulation called
convective currents.
Convective currents cause the bumpy, turbulent air sometimes experienced when flying
at lower altitudes during warmer weather.

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 CONVECTIVE CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
Sea and Land Breezes: Cool air sinks over the ocean, more dense
Flows High to low pressure

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 CONVECTIVE CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
Unequal Heating of Earth’s Surface: example of turbulence

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 CONVECTIVE CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
Man Made Obstructions:
Obstructions on the ground affect the flow of wind and can be an unseen danger.

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 CONVECTIVE CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
Mountainous Areas:
While the wind flows smoothly up the windward side of the mountain and the upward
currents help to carry an aircraft over the peak of the mountain, the wind on the
leeward side does not act in a similar manner.
As the air flows down the leeward side of the mountain, the air follows the contour of
the terrain and is increasingly turbulent.

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 CONVECTIVE CURRENTS (PHAK C12)
Mountainous Areas:

Looks Like a Stalled Wing

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 WINDSHEAR (PHAK C12)
Wind shear is a sudden, drastic change in wind speed and/or direction over a very
small area.
Wind shear can subject an aircraft to violent updrafts and downdrafts, as well as abrupt
changes to the horizontal movement of the aircraft.
Low Level Windshear:
Low-level wind shear is especially hazardous due to the proximity of an aircraft to the
ground.
Low-level wind shear is commonly associated with passing frontal systems,
thunderstorms, temperature inversions, and strong upper level winds.

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 MICROBURSTS (PHAK C12)
The most severe type of low-level wind shear, a microburst, is associated with convective precipitation into dry air
at cloud base.

Microburst activity may be indicated by an intense rain shaft at the surface but virga at cloud base and a ring of
blowing dust is often the only visible clue.

A typical microburst has a horizontal diameter of 1–2 miles and a nominal depth of 1,000 feet.

The lifespan of a microburst is about 5–15 minutes during which time it can produce downdrafts of up to 6,000 feet
per minute (fpm) and headwind losses of 30–90 knots, seriously degrading performance. It can also produce strong
turbulence and hazardous wind direction changes.

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 MICROBURSTS (PHAK C12)

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 MICROBURSTS (PHAK C12)
Microburst Delta Crash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDfodeURad0

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 Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR): 2040 seconds

Ted Fujita “Mr. Tornado” he created the F0-F5 tornado severity scale in 1971
. Fujita noticed a starburst-like pattern in the uprooted trees and the observation led him to theorize about
microbursts. The theory met with skepticism at first. Most researchers believed that downdrafts would
substantially weaken before reaching the ground and not pose a threat to aircraft. They blamed tornadoes and gust
fronts as the primary causes of storm damage.
. On May 29, Fujita and NCAR's James W. Wilson recorded the first microburst observed on radar. What they saw
confirmed Fujita's hypotheses.
. The Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS) Microburst Detection Algorithm uses Terminal Doppler
Weather Radar (TDWR) data to detect microbursts in the airport terminal
 ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY (PHAK C12)
The stability of the atmosphere depends on its ability to resist vertical motion.

A stable atmosphere makes vertical movement difficult, and small vertical disturbances dampen out and disappear.

In an unstable atmosphere, small vertical air movements tend to become larger, resulting in turbulent airflow and
convective activity.

Instability can lead to significant turbulence, extensive vertical clouds, and severe weather.

Rising air expands and cools due to the decrease in air pressure as altitude increases.
The opposite is true of descending air; as atmospheric pressure increases, the temperature of descending air
increases as it is compressed.

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 THE ADIABATIC PROCESS (PHAK C12)
The adiabatic process takes place in all upward and downward moving air.

When air rises into an area of lower pressure, it expands to a larger volume.

As the molecules of air expand, the temperature of the air lowers.

As a result, when a parcel of air rises, pressure decreases, volume increases, and temperature decreases.

When air descends, the opposite is true.

The rate at which temperature decreases with an increase in altitude is referred to as its lapse rate.

As air ascends through the atmosphere, the average rate of temperature change is 2 °C (3.5 °F) per 1,000 feet.

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 THE ADIABATIC PROCESS (PHAK C12)
Since water vapor is lighter than air, moisture decreases air density, causing it to rise.

Conversely, as moisture decreases, air becomes denser and tends to sink.

Since moist air cools at a slower rate, it is generally less stable than dry air since the moist air must rise higher before
its temperature cools to that of the surrounding air.

The dry adiabatic lapse rate (unsaturated air) is 3 °C (5.4 °F) per 1,000 feet.

The moist adiabatic lapse rate varies from 1.1 °C to 2.8 °C (2 °F to 5 °F) per 1,000 feet.

Dry air- denser and tends to sink

Water vapor/moist air- low density, causes it to rise

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 TEMPERATURE INVERSION (PHAK C12)
As air rises and expands in the atmosphere, the temperature decreases.

There is an atmospheric anomaly that can occur; however, that changes this typical pattern of atmospheric behavior.

When the temperature of the air rises with altitude, a temperature inversion exists. Inversion layers are commonly
shallow layers of smooth, stable air close to the ground.

The temperature of the air increases with altitude to a certain point, which is the top of the inversion.

The air at the top of the layer acts as a lid, keeping weather and pollutants trapped below.

If the relative humidity of the air is high, it can contribute to the formation of clouds, fog, haze, or smoke resulting in
diminished visibility in the inversion layer.

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 INVERSION (PHAK C12)
Salt Lake City Winter Inversion

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 RELATIVE HUMIDITY (PHAK C12)
Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere at a given time.
Relative humidity is the actual amount of moisture in the air compared to the total
amount of moisture the air could hold at that temperature.
For example, if the current relative humidity is 65 percent, the air is holding 65 percent
of the total amount of moisture that it is capable of holding at that temperature and
pressure.
100% is visible moisture-snow, rain ect.

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 DETERMINING CLOUD BASES (PHAK C12)
With an outside air temperature (OAT) of 85 °F at the surface and dew point at the
surface of 71 °F, the spread is 14°.
Divide the temperature dewpoint spread by the convergence rate of 4.4 °F (2.5C), and
multiply by 1,000 to determine the approximate height of the cloud base.
Example:
14/4.4 = 3.18
3.18 x 1,000 = 3,180 ft AGL.
Spread/4.4F(1000)=AGL

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Fog is a cloud that is on the surface.
It typically occurs when the temperature of air near the ground is cooled to the air’s dew
point.
At this point, water vapor in the air condenses and becomes visible in the form of fog.
Fog is classified according to the manner in which it forms and is dependent upon the
current temperature and the amount of water vapor in the air.

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Radiation Fog: Cool surface with Little to no wind (at night or early morning)
On clear nights, with relatively little to no wind present, radiation fog may develop.
Usually, it forms in low-lying areas like mountain valleys.
This type of fog occurs when the ground cools rapidly due to terrestrial radiation, and
the surrounding air temperature reaches its dew point.

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Radiation Fog:

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Advection Fog: wind required to move moist air to cold surface (sea breeze)
When a layer of warm, moist air moves over a cold surface, advection fog is likely to
occur.
Unlike radiation fog, wind is required to form advection fog.
Winds of up to 15 knots allow the fog to form and intensify; above a speed of 15
knots, the fog usually lifts and forms low stratus clouds.
Advection fog is common in coastal areas where sea breezes can blow the air over
cooler landmasses.

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Advection Fog:

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Upslope Fog: Forced up mountain range
Upslope fog occurs when moist, stable air is forced up sloping land features like a
mountain range.
This type of fog also requires wind for formation and continued existence.
Upslope and advection fog, unlike radiation fog, may not burn off with the morning
sun but instead can persist for days.
They can also extend to greater heights than radiation fog.

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Upslope Fog:

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Steam Fog: cold air, over warmer water
Steam fog, or sea smoke, forms when cold, dry air moves over warm water.
As the water evaporates, it rises and resembles smoke.
This type of fog is common over bodies of water during the coldest times of the year.
Low-level turbulence and icing are commonly associated with steam fog.

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Steam Fog:

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Ice Fog: water vapor immediately turns into ice crystals
Ice fog occurs in cold weather when the temperature is much below freezing and
water vapor forms directly into ice crystals.
Conditions favorable for its formation are the same as for radiation fog except for
cold temperature, usually –25 °F or colder.
It occurs mostly in the arctic regions but is not unknown in middle latitudes during
the cold season.

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 FOG (PHAK C12)
Ice Fog:

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 CLOUDS (PHAK C12)
Clouds are visible indicators and are often indicative of future weather.
For clouds to form, there must be adequate water vapor and condensation nuclei, as well as
a method by which the air can be cooled.
When the air cools and reaches its saturation point, the invisible water vapor changes into a
visible state.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Cloud type is determined by its height, shape, and characteristics.
They are classified according to the height of their bases as:
Low
Middle
High clouds
Clouds with vertical development

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)

Cirrus Clouds

Alto Clouds

Strato Clouds

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Low Clouds:
Low clouds are those that form near the Earth’s surface and extend up to about 6,500
feet AGL.
They are made primarily of water droplets but can include supercooled water droplets
that induce hazardous aircraft icing.
Typical low clouds are stratus, stratocumulus, and nimbostratus.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Middle Clouds:
Middle clouds form around 6,500 feet AGL and extend up to 20,000 feet AGL.
They are composed of water, ice crystals, and supercooled water droplets.
Typical middle-level clouds include altostratus and altocumulus.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
High Clouds:
High clouds form above 20,000 feet AGL and usually form only in stable air.
They are made up of ice crystals and pose no real threat of turbulence or aircraft
icing.
Typical high level clouds are cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Clouds with Extensive Vertical Development:
Clouds with extensive vertical development are cumulus clouds that build vertically into towering cumulus or
cumulonimbus clouds.
The bases of these clouds form in the low to middle cloud base region but can extend into high altitude cloud levels.
Towering cumulus clouds indicate areas of instability in the atmosphere, and the air around and inside them is
turbulent.
These types of clouds often develop into cumulonimbus clouds or thunderstorms.
Cumulonimbus clouds contain large amounts of moisture and unstable air and usually produce hazardous weather
phenomena, such as:
Lightning
Hail
Tornadoes
Gusty winds
Wind shear

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Cumulus Clouds:
Heaped or piled clouds.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Stratus Clouds:
Formed in layers.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Cirrus Clouds:
Ringlets, fibrous clouds.
Also high level clouds.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Castellanus Clouds:
Common base with separate
vertical development.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Lenticular Clouds: TURBULENCE!
Lens-shaped, formed over mountains
in strong winds.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Nimbus Clouds:
Rain-bearing clouds.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Fracto Clouds:
Ragged or broken.

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 CLOUD TYPES (PHAK C12)
Cumulonimbus Clouds:
Thunderstorm clouds.

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 AIR MASSES (PHAK C12)
Air masses are classified according to the regions where they originate.
They are large bodies of air that take on the characteristics of the surrounding area or
source region.
A source region is typically an area in which the air remains relatively stagnant for a
period of days or longer.
During this time of stagnation, the air mass takes on the temperature and moisture
characteristics of the source region.

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 AIR MASSES (PHAK C12)
Air mass passing over a warmer surface:
An air mass passing over a warmer surface is warmed from below, and convective currents form, causing the air to
rise.
This creates an unstable air mass with good surface visibility.
Moist, unstable air causes cumulus clouds, showers, and turbulence to form.

Air mass passing over a colder surface:

An air mass passing over a colder surface does not form convective currents but instead creates a stable air mass
with poor surface visibility.
The poor surface visibility is due to the fact that smoke, dust, and other particles cannot rise.

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 AIR MASSES (PHAK C12)

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
As an air mass moves across bodies of water and land, it eventually comes in contact
with another air mass with different characteristics.
The boundary layer between two types of air masses is known as a front.
Front Types:
Warm
Cold
Stationary
Occluded

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Warm Front:
A warm front occurs when a warm mass of air advances and replaces a body of colder air.

Warm fronts move slowly, typically 10 to 25 miles per hour.

The slope of the advancing front slides over the top of the cooler air and gradually pushes it out of the area.

Warm fronts contain warm air that often has very high humidity.

As the warm air is lifted, the temperature drops and condensation occurs.

Generally, prior to the passage of a warm front, cirriform or stratiform clouds, along with fog, can be expected to
form along the frontal boundary.

In the summer months, cumulonimbus clouds (thunderstorms) are likely to develop.

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Warm fronts:

Weather Precedes the Front Boundary

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Cold Front:
A cold front occurs when a mass of cold, dense, and stable air advances and replaces a body of warmer air.

Cold fronts move more rapidly than warm fronts, progressing at a rate of 25 to 30 mph.

However, extreme cold fronts have been recorded moving at speeds of up to 60 mph.

A typical cold front moves in a manner opposite that of a warm front.

It is so dense, it stays close to the ground and acts like a snowplow, sliding under the warmer air and forcing the less dense air aloft.

The rapidly ascending air causes the temperature to decrease suddenly, forcing the creation of clouds.

As the cold front passes, towering cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds continue to dominate the sky.

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Cold Fronts:
Weather Follows the Front Boundary

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Stationary Fronts: some warm front weather, some cold front weather
When the forces of two air masses are relatively equal, the boundary or front that
separates them remains stationary and influences the local weather for days.
This front is called a stationary front.
The weather associated with a stationary front is typically a mixture that can be found
in both warm and cold fronts.

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Stationary Fronts:
Warm Front and Cold Front Push Against Each Other

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Occluded Fronts:
An occluded front occurs when a fast-moving cold front catches up with a slow-
moving warm front.
As the occluded front approaches, warm front weather prevails but is immediately
followed by cold front weather.

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Occluded Fronts:
Warm Front and Cold Front Move Together

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 FRONTS (PHAK C12)
Front Symbols:

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 THUNDERSTORMS (PHAK C12)
The 3 Stages:
Cumulus Stage: vertical build
It begins with the cumulus stage, in which lifting action of the air begins.
If sufficient moisture and instability are present, the clouds continue to increase in vertical height.
Continuous, strong updrafts prohibit moisture from falling.

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 THUNDERSTORMS (PHAK C12)
The 3 Stages:
Mature Stage: RAIN!
Within approximately 15 minutes, the thunderstorm reaches the mature stage, which is the most
violent time period of the thunderstorm’s life cycle.
At this point, drops of moisture, whether rain or ice, are too heavy for the cloud to support and
begin falling in the form of rain or hail.
This creates a downward motion of the air or downdrafts
Warm, rising air; cool, precipitation-induced descending air; and violent turbulence all exist
within and near the cloud.

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 THUNDERSTORMS (PHAK C12)
The 3 Stages:
Dissipating Stage:
Once the vertical motion near the top of the cloud slows down, the top of the cloud spreads out
and takes on an anvil-like shape.
At this point, the storm enters the dissipating stage.
This is when the downdrafts spread out and replace the updrafts needed to sustain the storm.

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 THUNDERSTORMS (PHAK C12)
Storm has Matured - Rain,
The 3 Stages: Updrafts and Downdrafts

Storm is Dying
Downdrafts

Storm is Building
Updrafts

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 THUNDERSTORMS (PHAK C12)
A good rule of thumb is to circumnavigate thunderstorms identified as severe or giving
an extreme radar echo by at least 20 nautical miles (NM) since hail may fall for miles
outside of the clouds.
If flying around a thunderstorm is not an option, stay on the ground until it passes.

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 THUNDERSTORMS (PHAK C12)
When flying around this thunderstorm, we direction should a pilot divert?

The Anvil Indicates:

Direction of Storm
Movement

Pilot Diverts This Way Storm Moving This Way

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 SQUALL LINES (PHAK C12)
A squall line is a narrow band of active thunderstorms.
Often it develops on or ahead of a cold front in moist, unstable air, but it may develop in
unstable air far removed from any front.
The line may be too long to detour easily and too wide and severe to penetrate.
It often contains steady-state thunderstorms and presents the single most intense weather
hazard to aircraft.
It usually forms rapidly, generally reaching maximum intensity during the late afternoon
and the first few hours of darkness.

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 SQUALL LINES (PHAK C12)

Too Long to Circumnavigate

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 TORNADOES (PHAK C12)
Tornadoes occur with both isolated and squall line thunderstorms.
Reports for forecasts of tornadoes indicate that atmospheric conditions are favorable for
violent turbulence.
An aircraft entering a tornado vortex is almost certain to suffer loss of control and
structural damage.
Since the vortex extends well into the cloud, any pilot inadvertently caught on
instruments in a severe thunderstorm could encounter a hidden vortex.

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 TORNADOES (PHAK C12)

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 TURBULENCE (PHAK C12)
Potentially hazardous turbulence is present in all thunderstorms, and a severe thunderstorm can destroy an aircraft.

Strongest turbulence within the cloud occurs with shear between updrafts and downdrafts.

Outside the cloud, shear turbulence has been encountered several thousand feet above and 20 miles laterally from a
severe storm.

A low-level turbulent area is the shear zone associated with the gust front.

Often, a “roll cloud” on the leading edge of a storm marks the top of the eddies in this shear, and it signifies an
extremely turbulent zone.

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Roll
Cloud
 ICING (PHAK C12)
Updrafts in a thunderstorm support abundant liquid water
with relatively large droplet sizes.
When carried above the freezing level, the water becomes
supercooled.

Supercooled water freezes on impact with an aircraft.

Clear icing can occur at any altitude above the freezing level,
but at high levels, icing from smaller droplets may be rime or
mixed rime and clear ice.

The abundance of large, supercooled water droplets makes

clear icing very rapid

Pilots should be alert for icing anytime the temperature

approaches 0 °C and visible moisture is present.

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 ICING (PHAK C12)
Types of Icing:

Clear Ice:
Clear in color.
Mostly develops from large water droplets.
Freezes like an icicle, as it runs back along the wing.
Rime Ice:
Milky in color.
Mostly develops from smaller water droplets.
Water droplets freeze on impact with the aircraft.
Mixed:
Mixture of Clear and Rime ice.

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 ICING (PHAK C12)
Clear Ice:
Clear in Color
Runs Back Along Wing
Looks Like Icicle
Difficult to Remove

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 ICING (PHAK C12)
Rime Ice:
Milky in Color
Builds On Leading Edge
More Brittle
Easier to Remove

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 HAIL (PHAK C12)
Hail may be encountered in clear air several miles from thunderstorm
clouds.
As hailstones fall through air whose temperature is above 0 °C, they
begin to melt and precipitation may reach the ground as either hail or
rain.
Rain at the surface does not mean the absence of hail aloft.
Possible hail should be anticipated with any thunderstorm, especially
beneath the anvil of a large cumulonimbus.
Hailstones larger than one-half inch in diameter can significantly
damage an aircraft in a few seconds.

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 HAIL (PHAK C12)
Hailstone Damage:

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 LIGHTNING (PHAK C12)
A lightning strike can puncture the skin of an aircraft and damage
communications and electronic navigational equipment.
Nearby lightning can blind the pilot, rendering him or her
momentarily unable to navigate either by instrument or by visual
reference.
Nearby lightning can also induce permanent errors in the magnetic
compass.
Lightning discharges, even distant ones, can disrupt radio
communications on low and medium frequencies.

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 LIGHTNING (PHAK C12)
Lightning Strike Damage:

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SOURCES
Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) Chapter 12