Are there convective movements similar to those in clouds everywhere in the atmosphere?

Question

I heard there were powerful convective movements in clouds which were responsible for increasing the size of water droplets or ice crystals. My question is: do the same movements appear outside of clouds? Or in other words: what's so special about a cloud that makes it host these convective movements? Couldn't warm, dry air also create those movements?

If my question is not clear, don't hesitate in asking me for details.

Update: Another way to phrase the question would be: Are convective movements in clouds different than those not in clouds?

Answer 1

Lets put it another way though @user1631 is correct :

There are convective movements in the atmosphere due to non uniform absorption of heat and release of energy through radiation due to ground formations ( ocean, land, mountain, desert), altitude, latitude, Coriolis forces, atmospheric tides etc. Generally air will move from hot to cold generating high pressure and low pressure areas which move slowly from west to east ( Coriolis).

If humidity and dew point are right, clouds form at high altitudes. Clouds change the density of air and general properties of emission and absorption of radiation and can create stronger convective currents up to cyclones in a feedback system.

So the answer is: there exist convective atmospheric motions, even strong ones ( sandstorms for example) without clouds, but clouds amplify by their properties convection effects also.

Answer 2

In general, yes the updrafts also occur in warm dry air, as a result of heating on the ground which produces hyrdostatic instability in the atmosphere. As the updrafts go higher, they cool adiabatically and may, if they go high enough and if there is enough moisture in the air, cool enough to condense water vapor and form clouds. However there can also be very strong thermal updrafts on perfectly clear days. It is possible to predict if and at what altitude clouds will form fairly accurately based on temperature vs. altitude profiles obtained by weather balloon, together with dewpoint measurements and predicted high temperatures near the ground.

The condensation of water vapor, if it occurs, will release latent heat which can strengthen the updraft. In extreme cases this results in thunderstorms.

Answer 3

Water vapor inside clouds condenses into droplets that fall trough the cloud. If the cloud has sufficient up drafts then the droplet or crystal, if it's cold enough, will rise through the cloud gaining more mass before finally it becomes too heavy and the up draft is no longer neough to prevent it from falling out of the cloud. In extreme cases this can lead to hailstones the size of tennis balls. This sort of phenonmenom if usually associated with extreme weather.

In general you see up drafts that are more moderate. For example glider pilots use up drafts in the atmosphere to gain lift for their aircraft. Typically these are associated with geographical features, like cliffs and ridges, or differing land use patterns that cause the air near the ground to heat up due to differing colors etc.