WEATHER PHENOMENA

(SATINB3)

Ms S Ngwenya
By the end of this lecture, you should be a
to…
 Explain the composition of the atmosphere.
 Discuss the causes of changes in weather patterns
and weather forecasting
 Discuss the classification, causes and effect of
different types of winds’
 Discuss the water cycle and its importance .
 Explain the causes of lightning and its effects
 Weather phenomena: Layers of the
atmosphere
The atmosphere is separated into four main layers:
Troposphere - Where weather forms (clouds, jets, planes)
Stratosphere - Where the protective ozone layer floats
(supersonic jets, planes)
Mesosphere – Where shooting stars blaze (weather
balloons)
Thermosphere – Where the temperature rises (Meteors,
satellites)

Beyond the atmosphere is the Exosphere – outer space

(rockets).
Layers of the atmosphere

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-
 Weather
• Weather is the state (condition) of the atmosphere in relation
to the day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity.
• Atmospheric condition could be described as hot or cold, wet
or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy.
• Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just
below the stratosphere.
• Weather is driven by air pressure, temperature and
moisture differences between one place and another.
• These differences are to a large extend determined by the
sun's angle relative to a particular spot on earth, which
varies by latitude from the tropics.
 Weather forecasting.
• Weather forecasting is the application of science and
technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future
time and at a given location.
• The weather system is chaotic; small changes in one part of the
system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole.
• This is the reason why weather forecast seems to be
inaccurate at times.
• Atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time are
referred to as Climate.
Jet streams

Jet streams are slim strips of strong winds, more

like rivers of wind high above in the atmosphere.
Strong temperature contrasts between polar and tropical
air give rise to jet streams -
Causes of changes in weather patterns.

1. The incidence of sunlight at different angles at different

times of the year, results in changes in temperature. On
Earth's surface, temperatures is on average usually
±40 °C annually.
2. Changes in Earth's orbit can affect the amount and
distribution of solar energy received by the Earth. These
orbital changes influence long-term climate and global
climate change.
3. Instabilities in the jet stream flow cause extratropical weather
systems in the mid-latitudes (such as extratropical cyclones),
because the Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane.
Causes of changes in weather patterns -
cont.
4. Surface temperature differences cause pressure
differences, which result in changes in the weather. For
instance, higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes
due to differences in compressional heating.
5. Jupiter's Great Red Spot contributes to changes in
weather patterns on earth - A famous landmark in the Solar
System, known as Jupiter's Great Red Spot, is an anti-
cyclonic storm known to have existed for at least 300 years.
6. Human activities such as agriculture and industry
have modified weather patterns on earth - Human
attempts to control the weather have occurred
throughout human history.
 .

http://cdn1.globalissues.org/i/climate/climate-human-fingerprints.jpg
Wind
What is wind? Wind is the large scale flow of gases.
On the surface of the Earth, wind consists of the bulk of
movement of air.

In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or

charged particles from the Sun through space.

Planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements

from a planet's atmosphere into space.

Neptune and Saturn have the strongest observed winds in

the Solar System.
 Classification of Wind
• Important aspects of wind include:
its velocity - speed
the density of the gases involved
the energy of the wind.
• Winds are commonly classified by their spatial scale,
their speed, the types of forces that cause them,
the regions in which they occur, and their effect.
• In meteorology, winds are often classified according to
their strength, and the direction from which the wind is
blowing.
 Classification of Wind – cont.

1. Short bursts of high speed wind are called gusts.

2. Strong winds of intermediate duration (around one
minute) are termed squalls
2. Long-duration winds have various names associated with
their average strength, such as breeze, gale, storm,
Cyclones (Hurricane or Typhoons).
3. Cyclones, Hurricanes and typhoons are different terms
that refer to the same weather phenomenon.
4. Cyclone is a system of winds rotating inward to an area of
low atmospheric pressure, in counter-clockwise or a
clockwise circulation.
.

Cyclones can result in violent winds, incredible waves,

torrential rains, and floods which we normally
associate with this phenomenon.

A
Cyclone
The above figure shows how cyclones form. The green arrows show where
warm air is rising. The red arrows indicate where cool air is sinking.
 Causes of cyclones
• The two essential ingredients in every hurricane are warm water and
moist warm air. That’s why hurricanes begin in the tropics.
• Cyclones start when warm, moist air from the ocean surface
begins to rise rapidly.
• When it encounters cooler air that causes the warm water vapour to
condense, it forms storm clouds and drops of rain.
• The condensation releases latent heat, which warms the cool air above,
causing it to rise and make way for more warm humid air from the ocean
below.
• As this cycle continues, more warm moist air is drawn into the developing
storm and more heat is transferred from the surface of the ocean to the
atmosphere.
• Strong winds blowing steadily at higher altitudes pull the rising warm
air away from the storm’s center and send it swirling into the hurricane’s
classic cyclone pattern.
 Causes of local winds
Local winds are caused by:
1. Within the tropics, thermal low circulations over terrain
and high plateaus drive monsoon circulations.
2. In coastal areas, local winds are caused by sea
breeze/land breeze cycle.
3. In areas that have variable terrain, mountain and valley
breezes can dominate local winds.
 Uses of wind by man
In human civilization, wind has;
1. been used in a range of transport and in warfare,
2. provided a power source for mechanical work,
electricity and recreation.
3. Been used to power the voyages of sailing ships
across Earth's oceans.
4. been used in movement of hot air balloons. powered
aircrafts use wind to increase lift and reduce fuel
consumption.
5. inspired mythology and influenced the events of
history.
Effects of wind on nature

1. When winds become strong, trees and man-made structures

are damaged or destroyed.
2. Winds can shape landforms, via a variety of Aeolian (wind)
processes such as the formation of fertile soils (loess) and by
erosion.
Dust from large deserts can be moved great distances from its source region
by the prevailing winds.
Winds that are accelerated by rough topography and associated with dust
outbreaks have been assigned regional names in various parts of the world
because of their significant effects on those regions.
3. Wind can lead to dangerous situations for aircrafts.
Effects of wind on nature – cont.

4. Wind can lead to the spread of wildfires.

5. Winds can disperse seeds from various plants,
enabling the survival and dispersal of those plant
species.
6. Winds can disperse flying insect populations.
7. When combined with cold temperatures, wind a
can have a negative impact on livestock.
8. Wind affects animals' food stores, as well as their
hunting and defensive strategies.
 Rain
• Rain is liquid water in the form of droplets that have
condensed
from atmospheric water vapour and then become heavy enough
to fall under gravity - precipitation.
• It provides suitable conditions for many types of
ecosystems.
• It is also used for hydroelectric power plants and crop
irrigation.
• Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is
responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth.
.
 Rain – cont.
• There are two major cause of rain:
moisture moving along zones of temperature
moisture contrasts known as weather fronts.
• If enough moisture is present in the atmosphere,
then precipitation falls from convectional clouds.
• Global warming is one of the causes of
changes in global precipitation pattern.
• The globally averaged annual precipitation over
land is 715 mm, but over the whole Earth it is
much higher at 990 mm.
• Antarctica is the driest continent.
• Rain is suspected on other planets, but it could
be in composed of methane, neon, sulphuric
acid or even iron rather than water
• Rainfall is measured using rain gauges.
• Rainfall amounts can be estimated by weather
radar.
Lightning
• Storms may be accompanied by lightning.
• Lightning is an electrical current, caused by a
sudden electrostatic discharge between
electrically charged regions of a cloud (called
intra-cloud lightning or IC).
• During a thunderstorm, little pieces of ice in the
cloud collide together fast and hard and lose or
gain electrons, creating an electrical charge,
which then eventually makes an electrical
current known as lightning.
• The charged regions can occur between:
One cloud and another cloud (CC lightning),
or between a cloud and the ground (CG
lightning).
Lightning – cont.

• The charged regions in the atmosphere temporarily

equalize themselves through a discharge referred to as
a strike, if it hits an object on the ground.
• A lightning strike is an electric discharge between
the atmosphere and an earth-bound object.
• A lightning strike forms a visible plasma.
• Although lightning is always accompanied by the sound
of thunder, distant lightning may be seen but be too far
away for the thunder to be heard.
 Lightning strike

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Air pressure

• Atmospheric pressure (or barometric pressure ), is

the pressure exerted by the weight of air in the
atmosphere of Earth (or another planet).
• Atmospheric pressure is estimated by the weight of air
above the measurement point.
• Low-pressure areas have less atmospheric mass
above their location.
• High-pressure areas have more atmospheric mass
above their location.
 Air pressure – cont.

• As elevation increases, there is less overlying

atmospheric mass, so that atmospheric pressure
decreases with increasing elevation.
• On average, a column of air of one square
centimetre in cross-section, measured from sea
level to the top of the atmosphere, has;
a)a mass of about 1.03 kg
b)and weight of about 10.1 N.
Learning task

1. Describe the different layers of the atmosphere (8

marks).
2. In your own words tabulate the positive and
negative effects of winds tabulate (10 marks)
3. Explain the causes of lightning and its effects (5
marks)