CLOUDSName

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Cloud – A collection of millions of tiny water droplets or ice crystals

Humidity – The amount of water vapor or moisture in the air.Relative Humidity – The amount of humidity the air contains versus the amount it can actually hold. Condensation – Process when water vapor goes from a gas to liquid.Dew Point – The temperature the air must cool to in order to be saturated and condensation to occur.

Absolute Humidity: Maximum water vapor that air holds

Relative Humidity: Actual humidity at a certain

temperature

http://www.brainpop.com/science/weather/humidity/

How do clouds form?

CLOUD TYPES

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How do clouds form?

1. Warm air rises and cools

2. The rising air cools and becomes saturated

3. At saturation the water vapor changes to a liquid or a solid depending on the air temperature

4. Higher temperatures = Condensation of water vapor on particles, such as dust, smoke and salt, that is suspended in the air as tiny water droplets

5. Lower temperatures = Below freezing, water vapor turn into a solid, forming ice crystals

3. Precipitation

Cloud Types

Classifications based on:

2. Altitude

1. Shape or Form

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CLASSIFICATIONS

Shape or Form

In 1803 Luke Howard used Latin words to CLASSIFY the

4 types of clouds:1. Cumulus = heaped

3. Cirrus = curl of hair2. Stratus = layered

4. Nimbo = rain

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SHAP E

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FORM

DESCRI PTION

SKETCH

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PHOTO

ALTITUDE

1. Cumulus - heaped

2. Stratus - layered

3. Cirrus – curl

of hair

4. Nimbo - rain

•Puffy, white clouds that tend to have flat bottoms

DESCRIPTIONS

Cumulus

•Formed when warm air rises

•Indicates fair weather

•Other adjectives: Piled, lumpy, billowy

Stratus

•Other adjectives: sheets, blanket

•Form in layers

•Covers large areas of the sky

•Often blocks the sun or moon

•Formed by gentle lifting of a large mass of air

•FOG - stratus cloud that comes in contact with the ground

Cirrus•Thin, feathery, white clouds

•High altitudes

•Formed when the wind is strong

•Indicated approaching bad weather

•Other adjectives: wispy looking, horse tails

Nimbo

•Nimbostratus clouds are dark stratus cloud that produce light to heavy

continuous rain

•Cumulonimbus clouds are cumulous clouds that form thunderstorms and produce heavy

rain

•When nimbo or nimbus is part of the cloud’s name it means precipitation might fall

Altitude

Names

HIGH – 6,000 meters +

MEDIUM – 6,000 meters to 2,000 meters

LOW – Below 2,000 meters

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Primarily composed of ice crystals and include the following:

HIGH altitude clouds – 6000 meters +

1.Cirrus clouds

2. Cirrocumulus

clouds

3. Cirrostratus clouds

They “blanket” the sky

and are usually translucent

They can contain ice crystals and/or water droplets and may occasionally be associated with some light precipitation. Alto means MID

MEDIUM altitude clouds – 2000 meters to below 6000 meters

4. Altocumulus

They appear “puffier” than the

HIGH level cirrocumulus

because we’re closer

to them!

5. Altostratus

6. Cumulus

Low clouds are most often composed of water droplets, but can have ice crystals in colder climates.

LOW altitude clouds – Below 2000 meters

Cumulus clouds tend to be “opaque” due to

their “thickness”

7. Stratocumulus

8. Stratus

People often refer to a Stratus cloud filled sky as “overcast”

FOG is considered a

low Stratus cloud that is in

contact with the ground

So . . . Fog = Stratus Cloud NOT a

separate cloud type!

9. Nimbostratus

These clouds are very dark, usually overcast, and are associated with large areas of

continuous precipitation

A gray and rainy day is usually filled

with Nimbostratu

s clouds!

Multi-layer clouds:

10. CUMULONIMBUS

These are the clouds that can produce lightning, thunder, heavy rains, hail, strong winds, and

tornadoes.

They usually have large anvil-shaped tops

Can extend above 60,000 feet

All together

Special Clouds:

Mammatus Clouds

Here are some other, rarer, types of clouds:

Produced by the flow of air interacting with

mountainous terrain.

Orographic clouds

CAP cloud

Lenticular cloud

Lens-shaped clouds that can result from

strong wind flow over rugged terrain

SUNDOG

These clouds are called Undulatus Asperatus. They are very rare

The clouds actually dissipate before storms form, despite their dark and threatening appearance.

This could be the first new cloud formation to be added in over 50 years.

Taken in Gilberts, Il. by Caitlin Gurgone March 16, 2012

Garrett Schneider’s Fire Rainbow pictures

2013

Determining Cloud Level

•Low-level cumulus clouds are about the same size, or larger than, your fist.

•Mid-level cumulus clouds are farther away and the individual cloud pieces are about the size of your thumb. •High-level cumulus clouds are smaller still, with individual cloud pieces about the size of the nail on your little finger.

To determine cumulus cloud level hold your hand out at arm’s length and compare the size of the cloud “part” to the following:

Stratus clouds have no distinct cloud pieces to measure and a general rule is that cloud opacity tends to decrease with height. Thus, by observing how much the cloud obscures the Sun, you can estimate the level of a stratus cloud.

Low-level clouds are generally thicker than mid-level clouds, and a high-level cirrostratus is very thin.

If there is precipitation, the chances are very good that you are dealing with a low-level cloud. Mid-level clouds occasionally precipitate, but this is a rare occurrence.

The END!

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