Condition where the Earth's atmosphere is generally considered to be unstable
A dust devil in Ramadi, Iraq.
Atmospheric instability is a condition where the Earth's atmosphere is considered to be unstable and as a result local weather is highly variable through distance and time.[clarification needed][1] Atmospheric stability is a measure of the atmosphere's tendency to discourage vertical motion, and vertical motion is directly correlated to different types of weather systems and their severity. In unstable conditions, a lifted thing, such as a parcel of air will be warmer than the surrounding air. Because it is warmer, it is less dense and is prone to further ascent.
In meteorology, instability can be described by various indices such as the Bulk Richardson Number, lifted index, K-index, convective available potential energy (CAPE), the Showalter, and the Vertical totals. These indices, as well as atmospheric instability itself, involve temperature changes through the troposphere with height, or lapse rate. Effects of atmospheric instability in moist atmospheres include thunderstorm development, which over warm oceans can lead to tropical cyclogenesis, and turbulence. In dry atmospheres, inferior mirages, dust devils, steam devils, and fire whirls can form. Stable atmospheres can be associated with drizzle, fog, increased air pollution, a lack of turbulence, and undular bore formation.
^Stability of Air Archived February 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
and 24 Related for: Atmospheric instability information
Atmosphericinstability is a condition where the Earth's atmosphere is considered to be unstable and as a result local weather is highly variable through...
crippling. The general field of study is called structural stability. Atmosphericinstability is a major component of all weather systems on Earth. In the theory...
air parcel to sink. Nonzero CAPE is an indicator of atmosphericinstability in any given atmospheric sounding, a necessary condition for the development...
development. It must be in sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures, atmosphericinstability, high humidity in the lower-to-middle levels of the troposphere...
Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability (temperature difference layer) in the atmosphere.[jargon] Different lapse rates...
Convergence Zone. In contrast, the African easterly jet and areas of atmosphericinstability give rise to cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea....
mid-tropospheric southwesterly winds, in an environment of low to moderate atmosphericinstability (caused by relative warmth and moisture near ground level, with...
sufficiently warm sea surface temperatures (at least 26.5 °C (79.7 °F)), atmosphericinstability, high humidity in the lower to middle levels of the troposphere...
kloʊn/) is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in...
tend to indicate comparatively weak instability. Larger cumuliform types are a sign of greater atmosphericinstability and convective activity. Depending...
heaps joined at the base. Castellanus clouds are evidence of mid-atmosphericinstability and a high mid-altitude lapse rate. They may be a harbinger of...
development. Such storms are rarely severe and are a result of local atmosphericinstability; hence the term "air mass thunderstorm". When such storms have...
; Aurnou, J. M. (2008). "A Tabletop Demonstration of Atmospheric Dynamics: Baroclinic Instability". Oceanography. 21 (4): 196–201. doi:10.5670/oceanog...
moved over the Great Lakes, further moisture and warmth increased atmosphericinstability in the area, raising the threat of a squall line or supercell thunderstorms...
from lake effects or atmosphericinstability near mountains. Falling snow takes many different forms, depending on atmospheric conditions, especially...
Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model...
formation of clouds, atmospheric convection, boundary layer meteorology, and vertical instabilities in the atmosphere. Atmospheric thermodynamic diagrams...
relatively meager vertical wind shear. The funnels develop where atmosphericinstability and moisture are sufficient to support towering cumulus clouds...
tornadoes of as strong as EF3 to EF5 intensity (if wind shear and atmosphericinstability are able to support the development of stronger tornadoes), flooding...
around 68–70 °F (20–21 °C) and cold air aloft resulted in high atmosphericinstability. Contrary to expectations, a subtropical storm formed on January 16...
Atmospheric entry (sometimes listed as Vimpact or Ventry) is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of...
Global Information