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Environmental lapse rate
The environmental lapse rate is the rate of decrease of air temperature with height and is expressed in °C per 1000ft. The environmental lapse rate varies with time, and can change over the course of hours or weeks. Knowing the current rate is important to meteorology for use in weather forcasts. Meteorologists use radiosondes to measure the environmental lapse rate and compare it to the predicted adiabatic lapse rate to forecast the stability of the air. A steep environmental lapse rate (i.e. large temperature changes with height) usually indicates less stable air, and can contribute to thunderstorms and poor weather.
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10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details