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Atmospheric instability is a condition where the Earth's atmosphere is considered to be unstable and as a result local weather is highly variable through distance and time. [ clarification needed ] [ 1 ] Atmospheric instability encourages vertical motion, which is directly correlated to different types of weather systems and their severity.
A good example of convective instability can be found in our own atmosphere. If dry mid-level air is drawn over very warm, moist air in the lower troposphere , a hydrolapse (an area of rapidly decreasing dew point temperatures with height) results in the region where the moist boundary layer and mid-level air meet.
Important atmospheric characteristics such as saturation, atmospheric instability, and wind shear are critical in severe weather forecasting, by which skew-T log-P diagrams allow quick visual analysis.
The lifted index (LI) is the temperature difference between the environment Te(p) and an air parcel lifted adiabatically Tp(p) at a given pressure height in the troposphere (lowest layer where most weather occurs) of the atmosphere, usually 500 hPa . The temperature is measured in Celsius.
Convective Instability, denoted in the red highlighted region ("positive area"), on a Skew-T log-P diagram. In meteorology, convective instability or stability of an air mass refers to its ability to resist vertical motion. A stable atmosphere makes vertical movement difficult, and small vertical disturbances dampen out and disappear.
The Turner stability class or Turner stability index is a classification of atmospheric stability over an interval of time based on measurements of surface-level wind speed and net solar radiation. Classes range from 1 (most unstable) to 7 (most stable).
Usually, within the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) the air near the surface of the Earth is warmer than the air above it, largely because the atmosphere is heated from below as solar radiation warms the Earth's surface, which in turn then warms the layer of the atmosphere directly above it, e.g., by thermals (convective heat transfer). [3]
S for s uperior air (dry air formed by significant upward lift in the atmosphere). The third letter designates the stability of the atmosphere; it is labeled: k if the air mass is c older (“ k older”) than the ground below it. w if the air mass is w armer than the ground below it.