Atmospheric Physics In 100 Words Or Less

The Sun heats the surface of the Earth. Warm air at the surface is less dense than the cold air above it, causing convection. The rising air expands and cools – while the sinking air compresses and heats. If the lapse rate is greater than the adiabatic lapse rate (10C per km) the air is unstable and storms can form. If the lapse rate is less than the adiabatic lapse rate, the air is stable and storms don’t form (i.e. inversion.)

When cold air overrides warm moist air (like in North Carolina over the weekend) the lapse rate gets very large and violent storms form.

Blaming global warming for tornadoes is freaking stupid (i.e. Time Magazine) because tornadoes usually require passage of a strong cold front.

About Tony Heller

Just having fun
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5 Responses to Atmospheric Physics In 100 Words Or Less

  1. Andy Weiss says:

    Yes. And it’s been going on for billions of years.

  2. Latitude says:

    and that’s the way I learned it too……………….;-)

  3. Dave G says:

    I believe this setup is going to happen in the midwest again in the next 24 hours

  4. Doug Proctor says:

    By AGW theory, the air warms not by insolation but by retained re-radiated solar energy. The air warms first, then bleeds its heat content into the oceans and the land, which comes to a new equilibrium, by which time more CO2 causes more heat to be retained and the cycle goes on.

    The two theories should have different time periods for the oceanic warming. If insolation is the cause, then sunshine penetration of +60m would cause much faster heating than surface-contact transfer of “warmer” air. The time-depth of temperature rises in the oceanic top 750m should not match what a slightly warmed air mass above the oceans would cause in the alternate view. And universe.

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