What Is Conditional Instability?
Air that is stable if it stays dry but becomes unstable once it is lifted enough to form a cloud. Most thunderstorm environments are like this. In technical terms: The state where the environmental lapse rate lies between the moist and dry adiabatic lapse rates (about 6-9.8 degrees C per km), so saturated parcels are unstable and unsaturated ones are stable; realized when parcels are lifted to their level of free convection.
Conditional Instability In Plain English
Air that is stable if it stays dry but becomes unstable once it is lifted enough to form a cloud. Most thunderstorm environments are like this.
The Technical Definition
The state where the environmental lapse rate lies between the moist and dry adiabatic lapse rates (about 6-9.8 degrees C per km), so saturated parcels are unstable and unsaturated ones are stable; realized when parcels are lifted to their level of free convection.
Lessons That Use Conditional Instability
- Lapse Rates And Rising Air Unit 6: Stability And Soundings
