What Is Stable Air?
Air that resists rising. If pushed up, it sinks back down, so storms have trouble forming. In technical terms: A condition in which the environmental lapse rate is less than the relevant (dry or moist) adiabatic lapse rate, so a vertically displaced parcel experiences a restoring buoyancy force; characterized by increasing potential temperature with height.
Also called: Stability, Stable Atmosphere
Stable Air In Plain English
Air that resists rising. If pushed up, it sinks back down, so storms have trouble forming.
The Technical Definition
A condition in which the environmental lapse rate is less than the relevant (dry or moist) adiabatic lapse rate, so a vertically displaced parcel experiences a restoring buoyancy force; characterized by increasing potential temperature with height.
