Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses the thermodynamic transports of heat, liquid water and (briefly) water vapour by non‐precipitating cumulus convection. It is shown that because of the irreversible mixing between cloud and environment, there is a downward transport of enthalphy in the cumulus layer. A lapse‐rate adjustment model relates stratification to the life‐cycle of a model cloud parcel. A sub‐cloud layer model specifies the lower boundary of the lapse‐rate model, and the convective transports through cloud‐base. Budget equations together with the lapse‐rate model, and its time dependent boundary conditions, predict the time development of the cumulus layer, and show the dependence on large‐scale mean vertical motion, cloud‐base variations, and the surface sensible heat flux.