Table of Contents
Names for clouds Stratus/strato: flat/layered and smooth. Cumulus/cumulo: heaped up/puffy, like cauliflower. Cirrus/cirro: high up/wispy. Alto: medium level. Nimbus/Nimbo: rain-bearing cloud.
What are all 10 cloud types?
The foundation consists of 10 major cloud types. In addition to cirrus, stratus, cumulus, and nimbus clouds, there are cirrostratus, cirrocumulus, altostratus, altocumulus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus, and cumulonimbus clouds. The following table places these cloud types into the four major cloud groups.
What are all 4 clouds?
The different types of clouds are cumulus, cirrus, stratus and nimbus.
What are the 11 clouds?
The 11 basic cloud types are: Cirrus. Cirrostratus. Cirrocumulus. Altocumulus. Altostratus. Nimbostratus. Stratocumulus. Cumulus.
What are the 10 most common clouds?
10 Most Common Types of Clouds Found in the Sky Stratus. Cumulonimbus. Altostratus. Altocumulus. Altocumulus clouds. Nimbostratus. Nimbostratus clouds are dark at the bottom and light near the top. Cirrus. Cirrus clouds often appear as a swirl. Cirrostratus. Cirrostratus are thin and wispy. Cirrocumulus. Cirrocumulus clouds.
What are nimbus clouds?
Nimbostratus clouds are dark, grey, featureless layers of cloud, thick enough to block out the Sun. Producing persistent rain, these clouds are often associated with frontal systems provided by mid-latitude cyclones.
What are gray clouds called?
Stratus clouds are uniform and flat, producing a gray layer of cloud cover which may be precipitation-free or may cause periods of light precipitation or drizzle.
Where are nimbus clouds found?
Nimbostratus has a diffuse cloud base generally found anywhere from near surface in the low levels to about 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in the middle level of the troposphere. Although usually dark at its base, it often appears illuminated from within to a surface observer.
What are 3 major types of clouds?
From his Essay of the Modifications of Clouds (1803) Luke Howard divided clouds into three categories; cirrus, cumulus and stratus. The Latin word ‘cirro’ means curl of hair. Composed of ice crystals, cirro-form clouds are whitish and hair-like.
How are clouds named?
Clouds are given different names based on their shape and their height in the sky. Some clouds are puffy like cotton while others are grey and uniform. Some clouds are near the ground, while others are near the top of the troposphere.
What are puffy clouds called?
Cumulus: Cumulus clouds are the clouds you learned to draw at an early age and that serve as the symbol of all clouds (much like the snowflake symbolizes winter). Their tops are rounded, puffy, and a brilliant white when sunlit, while their bottoms are flat and relatively dark.
What are striped clouds called?
The altostratus undulatus is a type of altostratus cloud with signature undulations within it. Altostratus undulatus cloud Species undulatus (waves) Altitude 2400-6100 m (8,000-20,000 ft) Classification Family B (Medium-level) Appearance Wavy, like ripples in a pond.
How many types of cloud are there?
There are three main cloud types.
What are small clouds called?
Cirrocumulus. Cirrocumulus clouds are small, white patches of clouds often arranged in rows that live at high altitudes and are made of ice crystals. Called “cloudlets,” the individual cloud mounds of cirrocumulus are much smaller than that of altocumulus and stratocumulus and often look like grains.
What clouds bring rain?
The prefix “nimbo-” or the suffix “-nimbus” are low-level clouds that have their bases below 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) above the Earth. Clouds that produce rain and snow fall into this category. (“Nimbus” comes from the Latin word for “rain.”) Two examples are the nimbostratus or cumulonimbus clouds.
What are the most common cloud?
Stratocumulus stratiformis – This is the most common type of cloud out of all across the globe. Essentially, these are flat-based clouds with cracks in between. Stratocumulus cumulogenitus – These interestingly form when a cumulus encounters a temperature inversion.
What does a nimbostratus look like?
Nimbostratus clouds are dark gray and thick enough to hide the sun completely. Unlike some other clouds, they don’t come in different shapes. You can’t look up at a nimbostratus cloud and guess what the shape of the cloud looks like – it just looks flat and gray, like a big cloud blanket over the whole sky.
What does Alto mean in clouds?
– The prefix alto- means mid-level clouds, – The prefix nimbo- or the suffix -nimbus means precipitating, such as nimbostratus or cumulonimbus. – Stratocumulus are layered cumulus clouds. – Virga is rain that evaporates before hitting the ground.
What type of cloud is a thunderhead?
Technically called cumulonimbus – cumulo because they are puffy, or accumulated, and nimbus as they are dark clouds that cause rainstorms – thunderheads create some of the most violent weather on earth.
What are middle clouds?
Middle Clouds (or Mid-Level Clouds) – A term used to signify clouds with bases between 6,500 and 23,000 feet. At the higher altitudes, they may also have some ice crystals, but they are composed mainly of water droplets. Altocumulus, altostratus, and nimbostratus are the main types of middle clouds.
What does a nimbus cloud look like?
A nimbus cloud is dark and already has rain or snow falling from it. These clouds can be puffy or look like a blanket, but they are always dark and usually seen during a thunderstorm along with thunder and lightning.
What cloud is big and tall?
Genus cumulus: Towering vertical These large cumulus clouds have flat dark grey bases and very tall tower-like formations with tops mostly in the high level of the troposphere.
How high is a cirrostratus cloud?
Cirrostratus cloud Variety Duplicatus Undulatus Altitude 6,000 – 13,000 m (20,000 – 43,000 ft) Classification Family A (High-level) Appearance Thin, transparent, high-altitude layer capable of producing a halo.
What does a cumulus cloud look like?
Cumulus clouds are detached, individual, cauliflower-shaped clouds usually spotted in fair weather conditions. The tops of these clouds are mostly brilliant white tufts when lit by the Sun, although their base is usually relatively dark.
