Cumulus clouds are clouds which have flat bases and are often described as “puffy”, “cotton-like” or “fluffy” in appearance. Normally, cumulus clouds produce little or no precipitation, but they can grow into the precipitation-bearing congestus or cumulonimbus clouds.

Mature Cumulus Stage

All thunderstorms, whether or not they become severe, progress through a life cycle which may be divided into three main stages. The developing stage, called the cumulus or towering cumulus stage, is characterized by updraft.

Cumulonimbus clouds are thunderstorm clouds that form if cumulus congestus clouds continue to grow vertically. Tremendous amounts of energy are released by the condensation of water vapor within a cumulonimbus. Lightning, thunder, and even violent tornadoes are associated with the cumulonimbus.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the foggiest place in the world, no less North America, is this spot off the island of Newfoundland, Canada, where the chilly Labrador current from the north meets up with the much warmer Gulf Stream from the south, creating 206 foggy days per year.

San Francisco – California San Francisco is well known for its fog, and for good reason. The many landmarks of this northern Californian metropolis is regularly covered by low-lying fog, brought on by a combination of factors like temperature and atmospheric moisture.

Long, cool autumn nights cause the air near the ground to chill, causing the formation of fog to be prevalent in fall. Fog is most likely to occur at night or near dawn when the temperature of the day is normally at it’s lowest.

Advection fog forms when warm, moist air passes over a cool surface. This process is called advection, a scientific name describing the movement of fluid. In the atmosphere, the fluid is wind. When the moist, warm air makes contact with the cooler surface air, water vapor condenses to create fog.

What Is It? “Brain fog” isn’t a medical condition. It’s a term used for certain symptoms that can affect your ability to think. You may feel confused or disorganized or find it hard to focus or put your thoughts into words.

Fog, particularly when dense, can be hazardous to drivers, mariners and aviators. Fog contributes to numerous travel accidents every year. Restrictions in visibility resulting from fog can also impact takeoff and landing procedures and requirements for pilots, and can be the cause of weather-related aviation delays.

When this happens, water vapor in the air — a gas — is cooled enough for the gas to turn to a liquid in the form of tiny water droplets. This process is called “condensation.” As the air heats up again, fog will slowly disappear as the tiny water droplets once again return to a gas in the form of water vapor.

Radiation fog occurs at night, and usually does not last long after sunrise, but it can persist all day in the winter months, especially in areas bounded by high ground.

Fog adversely impacts breathing for two reasons. Firstly, breathing in a fog means your delicate lungs are exposed to cold, watery air. This can cause chills, and irritation causing coughs and sniffles. In people with low immunity and vitality levels, it could lead to bronchitis if the coughs are ignored.

If skies then clear and wind is light, fog is very likely. Fog requires a mixing action by wind; without wind, dew will appear instead of fog. If the surface is near saturation, a light wind will allow for the layer of air near the surface to remain near saturation.

Fog usually accompanies rain in the central and eastern portion of the U.S., and similarly in the coastal Pacific Northwest. However, if the surface air is very dry, as it often is in desert areas and in much of the West, rain, especially thunderstorm rain, will frequently not be accompanied by fog.

Fog often dissipates with daylight. This is sometimes referred to as the fog “burning off” but that analogy is not correct. When the sun rises, the air and ground warm up. This leads to the air temperature being warmer than the dew point temperature, which causes the fog droplets to evaporate.

Global Climate Change. comes from precipitation. Too little precipitation can result in dry soil, shallow streams, and shortages of municipal water supplies. For example, too much rain or snowmelt (water from melted snow) at one time can lead to flooding.

The most common types of precipitation are rain, hail, and snow. Rain is precipitation that falls to the surface of the Earth as water droplets.

Higher temperatures mean that heat waves are likely to happen more often and last longer, too. Warmer temperatures can also lead to a chain reaction of other changes around the world. That’s because increasing air temperature also affects the oceans, weather patterns, snow and ice, and plants and animals.