Weather 101: From Doppler Radar and Long-Range Forecasts to the Polar Vortex and Climate Change, Everything You Need to Know about the Study of Weather (Adams 101 Series)

by Kathleen Sears

But if more warm air arrives from underneath, it will keep growing until it reaches the saturation point and condenses, making a fluffy little cumulus cloud. When the cloud gets big enough to cast a sizable shadow, it starts to cut off its own heat engine as the ground below it cools. This throws a monkey wrench into the whole convection process, and the cloud begins to show ragged edges as the wind moves it along, causing it to eventually dissipate. But now the ground is free to heat up again, and soon another bubble floats skyward, ready to make yet another cumulus cloud. That’s why you’ll often see one cloud after another form around the same spot on a sunny afternoon.