Stability in Relation to Cloud Type 

The degree of stability of the atmosphere helps to determine the type of clouds formed. For example, figure 2-4-12 shows that if stable air is forced to ascend a mountain slope, clouds will be layerlike with little vertical development and little or no turbulence. Unstable air, if forced to ascend the slope, causes considerable vertical development and turbulence in the clouds. The base of this type of cloud can be determined by mechanical lifting as analyzed on a Skew-T.

AEROGRAPHRS MATE 3 & 2, NAVEDTRA 10363-E1, Naval Education and Training Program Development Center, Pensacola, FL., 1976.

Figure 2-4-11.Determination of clouds base when the dewpoint and temperature are known.

AEROGRAPHERS MATE 1 & C, NAVED-TRA 10362-B, Naval Education and Training Program Development Center, Pensacola, FL., 1974.

GLOSSARY OF METEOROLOGY, American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA., 1959. METEOROLOGY FOR ARMY AVIATORS, United States Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, AL., 1981.

MODERN PHYSICS, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, 1972.

Figure 2-4-12.Illustration showing that very stable air retains its stability ever when it is forced upward, forming a flat cloud. Air which is potentially unstable when forced upward becomes turbulent and forms a towering cloud.

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