From the Weather Center by John Simon
February 2022
UPLIFTS
Those of us who make a study of the weather soon learn there are four different kinds of what are referred to as uplifts: convective, convergent, orographic, and frontal.
Convective Uplift occurs when air near the ground is warmed by the sun and begins to rise. The air cools as it rises, and forms clouds and precipitation.
Convergent Uplift occurs when air enters a center of low pressure. As the air converges into the center of a cyclone, it is forced to rise off the surface. As the air rises, it expands, cools, and water vapor condenses.
Orographic Uplift is the forced ascent of air when it collides with a mountain. As air strikes the windward side, it is uplifted and cooled. Windward slopes of mountains tend to be the rainy sides while the leeward side is dry.
Frontal Uplift occurs when two different air masses interact. The cold air forces the warm air up, where it cools, forming clouds and precipitation.
Uplifts can cause extensive cloudiness and increased amounts of precipitation in higher terrain. On a clear day, uplift can produce stratus clouds over their tops of mountains, but the clouds dissipate on the other side of the mountain.
On December 10 and 11, 2021, in Kentucky, a tornado uplifted five of the seven chicken houses on a farm. The foundations of the chicken houses were swept clean.