At approximately what altitude above the surface would the pilot expect the base of cumuliform clouds if the surface air temperature is 82°F and the dewpoint is 38°F?

To determine the altitude at which cumuliform clouds are expected to form, one typically uses the relationship between temperature and dew point. Cumuliform clouds form when moist air rises and cools to its dew point. The altitude at which this occurs can be estimated with the formula:

Cloud Base (in feet) = (Temperature - Dew Point) x 400 + 1,200.

In this case, the surface air temperature is 82°F, and the dew point is 38°F. First, we need to calculate the difference:

82°F (temperature) - 38°F (dew point) = 44°F.

Now we can plug the difference into the formula:

Cloud Base = (44 x 400) + 1,200.

This calculates to:

Cloud Base = 17,600 + 1,200 = 18,800 feet.

However, when estimating the altitude of the cloud base, a more straightforward approach is to approximate that for every 1°F difference between the temperature and dew point, the cloud base occurs roughly every 400 feet. Accordingly, since we have a 44°F spread, it indicates a potential cloud base around:

44 x 400 = 17,600 feet.

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