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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 instability encourages vertical motion, which is directly correlated to different types of weather systems and their severity.
Unstable areas are in yellow (slightly) and red (highly) while the stable zone is in blue. The lifted index (LI) is the temperature difference between the environment Te(p) and an air parcel lifted adiabatically Tp(p) at a given pressure height in the troposphere (lowest layer where most weather occurs) of the atmosphere, usually 500 hPa . The ...
By contrast, other conditions, such as a less warm air parcel or a parcel in an atmosphere with a temperature inversion (in which the temperature increases above a certain height) have much less capacity to support vigorous upward air movement, thus the potential energy level (CAPE) would be much lower, as would the probability of thunderstorms.
Instability results from difference between the adiabatic lapse rate of an air mass and the ambient lapse rate in the atmosphere. [2] If the adiabatic lapse rate is lower than the ambient lapse rate, an air mass displaced upward cools less rapidly than the air in which it is moving. Hence, such an air mass becomes warmer relative to the ...
CIN is the amount of energy required to overcome the negatively buoyant energy the environment exerts on an air parcel. In most cases, when CIN exists, it covers a layer from the ground to the level of free convection (LFC). The negatively buoyant energy exerted on an air parcel is a result of the air parcel being cooler (denser) than the air ...
The Turner stability class or Turner stability index is a classification of atmospheric stability over an interval of time based on measurements of surface-level wind speed and net solar radiation. Classes range from 1 (most unstable) to 7 (most stable).
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Diagram showing an air parcel path when raised along B-C-E compared to the surrounding air mass Temperature (T) and humidity (Tw); see CAPE. The level of free convection (LFC) is the altitude in the atmosphere where an air parcel lifted adiabatically until saturation becomes warmer than the environment at the same level, so that positive buoyancy can initiate self-sustained convection.