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How would you describe a stratus cloud?
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.
What are three facts about stratus clouds?
Here are some interesting facts about stratus clouds: Stratus clouds have flat layers and uniform bases, with no visible clumps or lumps. They produce light precipitation in terms of drizzle and snow. They accompany foggy weather conditions. Stratus clouds can last for about 6 to 12 hours in the atmosphere.
What is an example of stratus clouds?
Fog is a stratus cloud in contact with the ground. Fog is common in valleys on winter mornings, due to nocturnal raditional cooling and drainage flow.
What is a stratus cloud Kid definition?
Stratus clouds are flat clouds that form in low altitudes. Fog is a form of stratus cloud that is close to the Earth’s surface. Stratus clouds form when warm air with moisture lifts up into the Earth’s atmosphere. Often, these types of clouds signal gray, drizzly days with not much sunshine.
How does a stratus clouds form?
How do stratus clouds form? Stratus clouds form in calm, stable conditions when gentle breezes raise cool, moist air over colder land or ocean surfaces. These clouds can exist in a variety of thicknesses and are sometimes opaque enough to darken days, allowing for little light to pass through.
Is fog a stratus cloud?
Stratus is used to describe flat, featureless clouds of low altitude, typically less than 300 metres. On the other hand, fog is a stratus cloud in contact with the ground. Horizontal visibility in fog is less than 1 km.
Whats the definition of stratus?
Definition of stratus : a low cloud form extending over a large area at altitudes of usually 2000 to 7000 feet (600 to 2100 meters) — see cloud illustration.
Where are stratus clouds located?
Found at very low levels (less than 2000 meters, or 6500 feet), stratus clouds are thick, large, heavy-looking gray clouds that dominate the sky.
Is there a nimbus cloud?
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 the 3 types of stratus clouds?
Stratus Cloud Varieties Stratus clouds have three associated cloud varieties: opacus, translucidus, and undulatus.
What type of cloud is Nimbus?
Nimbo-form Howard also designated a special rainy cloud category which combined the three forms Cumulo + Cirro + Stratus. He called this cloud, ‘Nimbus’, the Latin word for rain. The vast majority of precipitation occurs from nimbo-form clouds and therefore these clouds have the greatest vertical height.
Are nimbus clouds high or low?
Nimbostratus are dark, low-level clouds accompanied by light to moderately falling precipitation. Low clouds are primarily composed of water droplets since their bases generally lie below 6,500 feet (2,000 meters). However, when temperatures are cold enough, these clouds may also contain ice particles and snow.
What are 3 differences between cumulus and stratus clouds?
Cumulus clouds result from air rising due to positive buoyancy (i.e. metaphor: bubbles rising in a pot of water). Stratus clouds results from a forced lifting of air (low level convergence, upper level divergence). Cumulus clouds are associated with convection. Stratus on the ground is fog.
What is the difference between cirrus and stratus clouds?
Stratus clouds look like flat sheets of clouds. These clouds can mean an overcast day or steady rain. They may stay in one place for several days. Cirrus clouds are high feathery 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.
Do stratus clouds produce snow?
Stratus cloud often look like thin, white sheets covering the whole sky. Since they are so thin, they seldom produce much rain or snow. Sometimes, in the mountains or hills, these clouds appear to be fog. Cumulonimbus clouds grow on hot days when warm, wet air rises very high into the sky.
Are stratus clouds transparent?
Alto-stratus clouds are also translucent for sunlight. They are formed from great patches of air that are elevated and condensed, due to the cold temperature at higher altitudes. Altostratus clouds are composed of ice crystals and, therefore, threaten to deposit layers of ice on airplanes passing through.
What do you call the stratus clouds near the ground?
If stratus clouds are near the ground, they form fog.
Do stratus clouds produce thunderstorms?
Many different cloud types can be created in this way: altocumulus, altostratus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, cirrus, cumulonimbus (and associated mammatus clouds), nimbostratus, stratus, and stratocumulus. They often grow into cumulonimbus clouds, which produce thunderstorms.
Can cumulus clouds produce rain?
Normally, cumulus clouds produce little or no precipitation, but they can grow into the precipitation-bearing congests or cumulonimbus clouds. Cumulus clouds can be formed from water vapour, supercooled water droplets, or ice crystals, depending upon the ambient temperature.
What are mid and high level stratus clouds called?
Altostratus Altocumulus Form Level Stratiform non-convective Stratocumuliform limited-convective Mid-level Altostratus Altocumulus Towering vertical Multi-level or moderate vertical Nimbostratus Low-level Stratus Stratocumulus.
What are stratus clouds made of?
Description. Stratus clouds look like featureless gray to white sheets of cloud. They can be composed of water droplets, supercooled water droplets, or ice crystals depending upon the ambient temperature.
How do you pronounce stratus clouds?
noun, plural stra·ti [strey-tahy, strat-ahy].
What’s another word for Stratus?
Stratus Synonyms – WordHippo Thesaurus.What is another word for stratus? stratiform altostratus cirrostratus nimbostratus stratocumulus.
What do stratus clouds predict?
These clouds can forecast some of the most extreme weather, including heavy rain, hail, snow, thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes. Stratus – dull greyish clouds that stretch across and block the sky. They look like fog in the sky. Stratus cover is also called overcast.
Are stratus clouds in the stratosphere?
Stratus clouds are the lowest type found in the troposphere; they are often found at ground level as fog or mist.
Is fog a nimbus cloud?
Nimbus is another word associated with clouds. Adding “nimbus” means precipitation is falling from the cloud.
