Condensation



Condensation is the change of water from its gaseous form (water vapor) into liquid water. Condensation generally occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools and looses its capacity to hold water vapor.

As a result, excess water vapor condenses to form cloud droplets.

The upward motions that generate clouds can be produced by convection in unstable air, convergence associated with cyclones, lifting of air by fronts and lifting over elevated topography such as mountains

Convection

atmospheric motions in the vertical direction: In meteorology, convection refers primarily to atmospheric motions in the vertical direction. As the earth is heated by the sun, different surfaces absorb different amounts of energy and convection may occur where the surface heats up very rapidly. As the surface warms, it heats the overlying air, which gradually becomes less dense than the surrounding air and begins to rise.

Convergence Associated With Cyclones

extra-tropical and tropical cyclones In extra-tropical cyclones, surface winds are deflected by friction towards the center of the low pressure system.

Coupled with divergence aloft, (blue arrows), surface convergence (red arrows) can generate rising motion (green arrow) that leads to the condensation of water vapor

Fronts

boundaries between air masses Fronts are boundaries between air masses. Depending on the air masses involved and which way the fronts move, fronts can be either warm, cold, stationary, or occluded.

In the case of a cold front, a colder, denser air mass lifts the warm, moist air ahead of it. As the air rises, it cools and its moisture condenses to produce clouds and precipitation. Due to the steep slope of a cold front, vigorous rising motion is often produced, leading to the development of showers and occasionally severe thunderstorms.

In the case of a warm front, the warm, less dense air rises up and over the colder air ahead of the front. Again, the air cools as it rises and its moisture condenses to produce clouds and precipitation. Warm fronts have a gentler slope and generally move more slowly than cold fronts, so the rising motion along warm fronts is much more gradual. Precipitation that develops in advance of a surface warm front is typically steady and more widespread than precipitation associated with a cold front.