ABSTRACT
On a hot day when clouds build up, signifying that a storm is imminent, we do not always appreciate what is happening.
What is happening? This cloud buildup actually signals that one of the most vital processes in the
atmosphere is occurring: the condensation of water as it is raised to higher levels and cooled within strong updrafts of air created by either convection currents, turbulence, or physical obstacles like mountains. The water originated from the surface-evaporated from the seas, from the soil, or transpired by vegetation. Once within the atmosphere, however, a variety of events combine to convert the water vapor (produced by evaporation) to water droplets. The air must rise and cool to its dew point, of course. At dew point, water condenses around minute airborne particulate matter to make tiny cloud droplets, forming clouds-clouds from which precipitation occurs.
