Cloud Formation and Types

• Clouds are visible masses of ice or condensed liquid water droplets suspended in the atmosphere.

Cloud Formation

• Cloud formation starts with water vapor condensing into liquid droplets.
• Clouds form when air becomes saturated and water vapor condenses on tiny particles called condensation nuclei (dust, soot).
• Cloud droplets form as vapor molecules accumulate around condensation nuclei, becoming visible as clouds.
• Cloud droplets will fall to earth as precipitation if they become heavy enough; however, not all clouds produce precipitation.

Factors Affecting Cloud Type

• Temperature and altitude in the troposphere, along with moisture levels, determine cloud type.
• Warm air holds more moisture than cold air.
• Air temperature decreases with altitude in the troposphere, causing rising humid air to cool and condense into clouds.
• All clouds form in the troposphere, where all weather occurs.
• Uneven heating of the Earth by the sun causes air masses with varying temperatures and moisture to move, leading to continuous weather and cloud formation changes.
• Clouds form when cold air masses move into warmer air, causing condensation.

Cloud Classification by Altitude

• Low altitude clouds: form up to 7,000 feet
• Mid altitude clouds: form between 7,000 and 17,000 feet
• High altitude clouds: form from 17,000 to 35,000 feet

Cloud Classification by Characteristics

• Meteorologists classify clouds by shape, altitude, and characteristics.
• Cumulus clouds: puffy
• Stratus clouds: flat and layered
• Cirrus clouds: wispy
• Nimbus clouds: bring rain
• Alto- prefix: mid altitude clouds
• Cirro- prefix: high altitude clouds

10 Basic Types of Clouds

• Cumulus (Cu)
• Stratus (St)
• Stratocumulus (Sc)
• Cumulonimbus (Cb)
• Altocumulus (Ac)
• Altostratus (As)
• Nimbostratus (Ns)
• Cirrus (Ci)
• Cirrocumulus (Cc)
• Cirrostratus (Cs)

Cumulonimbus Clouds

• Cumulonimbus clouds, or thunderheads, form vertically from low to high altitudes.
• Warm air rises, cools, and condenses to form cumulonimbus clouds.

Cirrus Clouds

• Cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus clouds are high altitude clouds forming between 17,000 to 35,000 feet.
• Cirrus clouds are thin and made of ice crystals
• Types:
• Cirrus: thin and wispy
• Cirrocumulus: occur in patterns resembling fish scales
• Cirrostratus: thin, veil-like, covering all or part of the sky
• Cirrus clouds indicate changing weather.

Stratus Clouds

• Stratus clouds are flat, sheet-like clouds covering all or part of the sky.
• They're gray, low altitude clouds and can persist for days.
• Altostratus clouds are flat and sheet-like mid-level clouds; the sun and moon are visible through them.
• Nimbostratus clouds are rain-bringing stratus or altostratus clouds.

Cumulus Clouds

• Cumulus clouds are rounded and puffy, meaning piles or heaps.
• They're low altitude clouds, white with uneven rounds at their tops and darker colored and flattened at the bottom
• The flat bottom indicates vapor condensation level.
• Strato- and altocumulus clouds exist:
• Stratocumulus: low altitude cumulus clouds in larger patches or sheets/layers
• Altocumulus: cumulus clouds in the mid-altitude range that appear smaller

Cumulonimbus Clouds

• A kind of cumulus cloud which is also known as thunderheads, often bring rain and severe weather
• Form when cold air moves into an area of warm, humid air.
• Warm updrafts carry air high into the sky as water vapor condenses.

Nimbus Clouds

• Nimbus clouds bring rain.
• Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with thunderstorms, rain, and severe weather.
• Nimbostratus clouds: thick, gray layered stratus clouds that obscure the sun and bring rain, forming at mid to lower altitudes

Understand how clouds form through condensation and the factors influencing their types. Learn about the role of temperature, altitude, and moisture levels in the troposphere in determining cloud characteristics. Discover how air saturation and condensation nuclei contribute to cloud development.