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Weather is the state of the atmosphere,describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold,wet or dry,calm or stormy,clear or cloudy. On Earth,most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere,the troposphere,just below the stratosphere. Weather refers to day-to-day temperature,precipitation,and other atmospheric conditions,whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time. When used without qualification,"weather" is generally understood to mean the weather of Earth.
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind,tornadoes,hail,thunder and lightning,heavy precipitation,heavy freezing rain,strong winds,wind transporting some substance through the atmosphere such as in a dust storm,among other forms of severe weather.
A virga,also called a dry storm,is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation that evaporates or sublimates before reaching the ground. A shaft of precipitation that does not evaporate before reaching the ground is known in meteorology as a precipitation shaft. At high altitudes,precipitation falls mainly as ice crystals before melting and finally evaporating. That is often due to compressional heating,because air pressure increases closer to the ground. Virga is very common in deserts and temperate climates. In North America,it is commonly seen in the Western United States and the Canadian Prairies. It is also very common in the Middle East,Australia,and North Africa.
The timeline of meteorology contains events of scientific and technological advancements in the area of atmospheric sciences. The most notable advancements in observational meteorology,weather forecasting,climatology,atmospheric chemistry,and atmospheric physics are listed chronologically. Some historical weather events are included that mark time periods where advancements were made,or even that sparked policy change.
Weather modification is the act of intentionally manipulating or altering the weather. The most common form of weather modification is cloud seeding,which increases rainfall or snowfall,usually for the purpose of increasing the local water supply. Weather modification can also have the goal of preventing damaging weather,such as hail or hurricanes,from occurring;or of provoking damaging weather against an enemy,as a tactic of military or economic warfare like Operation Popeye,where clouds were seeded to prolong the monsoon in Vietnam. Weather modification in warfare has been banned by the United Nations under the Environmental Modification Convention.
In meteorology,precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle,rain,sleet,snow,ice pellets,graupel and hail. Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor,so that the water condenses and "precipitates" or falls. Thus,fog and mist are not precipitation;their water vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate,so fog and mist do not fall. Two processes,possibly acting together,can lead to air becoming saturated with water vapor:cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air. Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short,intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers.
Cloud seeding is a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation,mitigate hail or disperse fog. The usual objective is to increase rain or snow,either for its own sake or to prevent precipitation from occurring in days afterward.
Project Stormfury was an attempt to weaken tropical cyclones by flying aircraft into them and seeding them with silver iodide. The project was run by the United States Government from 1962 to 1983. The hypothesis was that the silver iodide would cause supercooled water in the storm to freeze,disrupting the inner structure of the hurricane,and this led to seeding several Atlantic hurricanes. However,it was later shown that this hypothesis was incorrect. It was determined that most hurricanes do not contain enough supercooled water for cloud seeding to be effective. Additionally,researchers found that unseeded hurricanes often undergo the same structural changes that were expected from seeded hurricanes. This finding called Stormfury's successes into question,as the changes reported now had a natural explanation.
This is a list of meteorology topics. The terms relate to meteorology,the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting.
Rainmaking,also known as artificial precipitation,artificial rainfall and pluviculture,is the act of attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitation,usually to stave off drought or the wider global warming. According to the clouds' different physical properties,this can be done using airplanes or rockets to sow to the clouds with catalysts such as dry ice,silver iodide and salt powder,to make clouds rain or increase precipitation,to remove or mitigate farmland drought,to increase reservoir irrigation water or water supply capacity,to increase water levels for hydropower generation,or even to solve the global warming problem.
China is a mountainous country,which leads to rapid dissipation of cyclones that move inland as well as significant amounts of rain from those dissipating cyclones. Typhoon Nina in 1975 caused the collapse of two huge reservoirs and ten smaller dams when 1062 mm (41.81 inches) of rain fell in Henan Province during a 24‑hour period. Super Typhoon Carla was the wettest tropical cyclone on record for mainland China. Since 1957,there has been a downward trend in tropical cyclone rainfall for the country.
Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage,serious social disruption,or loss of human life. These vary depending on the latitude,altitude,topography,and atmospheric conditions. High winds,hail,excessive precipitation,and wildfires are forms and effects,as are thunderstorms,downbursts,tornadoes,waterspouts,tropical cyclones,and extratropical cyclones. Regional and seasonal phenomena include blizzards (snowstorms),ice storms,and duststorms.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the field of Meteorology.
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water for hydroelectric power plants,crop irrigation,and suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems.
The East Asian snowstorms of 2009–2010 were heavy winter storms,including blizzards,ice storms,and other winter events,that affected East Asia from 8 May 2009 to 28 February 2010. The areas affected included Mongolia,China,Nepal,the Korean Peninsula,Japan,Kuril Islands,Sea of Okhotsk,Primorsky,and Sakhalin Island.
Global weather activity of 2006 profiles the major worldwide weather events,including blizzards,ice storms,tropical cyclones,tornadoes,and other weather events,from January 1,2006,to December 31,2006. Winter storms are events in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are forms that only occur at cold temperatures,such as snow or sleet,or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are cold enough to allow ice to form. It may be marked by strong wind,thunder and lightning,heavy precipitation,such as ice,or wind transporting some substance through the atmosphere. Other major non winter events such as large dust storms,Hurricanes,cyclones,tornados,gales,flooding and rainstorms are also caused by such phenomena to a lesser or greater existent.
The 2010–2011 China drought was a drought that began in late 2010 and impacted eight provinces in the northern part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was the worst drought to hit the country in 60 years,and it affected most of wheat-producing regions in the PRC.
The Thailand Royal Rainmaking Project was initiated in November 1955 by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thai farmers repeatedly suffered the effects of drought. The king resolved to do something about it and proposed a solution to the dearth of rain:artificial rainmaking,or cloud seeding. The program is run by the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation. There is no impact evaluation or effectiveness reported.
This glossary of meteorology is a list of terms and concepts relevant to meteorology and atmospheric science,their sub-disciplines,and related fields.
Cloud seeding in the United Arab Emirates is a weather modification technique used by the government to address water challenges in the country. Cloud seeding is also referred to as man made precipitation and artificial rain making. The United Arab Emirates is one of the first countries in the Persian Gulf region to use cloud seeding technology. UAE scientists use cloud seeding technology to supplement the country's water insecurity,which stems from the extremely hot climate. They use weather radars to continuously monitor the atmosphere of the country. Forecasters and scientists have estimated that cloud seeding operations can enhance rainfall by as much as 30-35% percent in a clear atmosphere,and up to 10-15% in a more humid atmosphere. This practice has caused concerns regarding the impact on the environment because it is difficult to predict its long-term global implications.
References
- ↑ "Weather modification". Beijing Meteorological Bureau. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- 1 2 "北京市气象台今年首发雷雨大风蓝色预警 (Beijing Meteorological Bureau issues blue thunderstorm warning for first time this year)". People's Daily (in Chinese). 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2007-11-15.[ permanent dead link ]
- ↑ Chen, Jieqiong (2007-08-15). "08奥运天气控制系统大揭秘 控制天气全凭高科技 (08 Olympics weather control system unveiled; controls the weather with advanced technology)". China Radio International. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- 1 2 MacLeod, Calum (2006-06-29). "China rolls out the big guns, aiming for a dry Olympics". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- 1 2 Ruwitch, John (2004-07-27). "China Seeders Train Sights on Soggy Skies". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ "China says it made rain to wash off sand". NBC News. 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- ↑ "Need More Snow? Beijing Weather Wizards Deliver". The Deseret News. 1997-01-16. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
- ↑ "Scientists 'cause' Beijing snow". BBC News . UK: BBC. 2009-11-02.
- ↑ Canaves, Sky (2009-11-02). "Beijing Snow, Man Made in China". The Wall Street Journal . Blogs. USA.
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