Oxford University Press, Oxford 1996 landspout - A violently rotating column of air extending downward from a cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud and having circulation in contact with the ground. Landspouts are distinguished from tornadoes because they form from nonsupercell thunderstorms in a fashion similar to the waterspout. Knowledge of the atmosphere lapse rate is used in determining the stability of the atmosphere. Latent heat is absorbed when ice melts and water evaporates.
Latent heat is released in the freezing and condensation processes.
Laurentide ice sheet - The ice sheet that covered much of eastern North America during the last ice age. Lee waves are seen near the Rocky Mountains, Sierras, Cascades, and Appalachians. The properties of the wave depend on the atmospheric stability, the width of the mountain range, and the wind shear. These waves are most favored when the angle between the winds and mountain ridge is perpendicular and when the winds increase and the stability decreases with height. Lenticular or rotor clouds can form in the crests of the waves.