Stability is a term used to describe the tendency for turbulence caused by vertical motion in an airmass.

A stable atmosphere tends to discourage vertical air motion, while an unstable atmosphere promotes the formation of plumes of rising and sinking air.

Strong surface heating and cold air aloft produce the greatest levels of instability, while cooling at the surface with warming aloft (thermal inversion) usually produces a highly stable atmosphere that is largely free of this type of turbulence.

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