What different clouds are there

Most of these regularly arranged small elements have an apparent width of one to five degrees larger than the little finger and smaller than three fingers - at arm's length. When the edge or a thin semitransparent patch of altocumulus passes in front of the sun or moon, a corona appears. This colored ring has red on the outside and blue inside and occurs within a few degrees of the sun or moon.

The most common mid cloud, more than one layer of Altocumulus often appears at different levels at the same time. Many times Altocumulus will appear with other cloud types. Gray or bluish cloud sheets or layers of striated or fibrous clouds that totally or partially covers the sky.

They are thin enough to regularly reveal the sun as if seen through ground glass. Altostratus clouds do not produce a halo phenomenon nor are the shadows of objects on the ground visible. Sometime virga is seen hanging from Altostratus, and at times may even reach the ground causing very light precipitation.

Resulting from thickening Altostratus, This is a dark gray cloud layer diffused by falling rain or snow. It is thick enough throughout to blot out the sun.

Also, low, ragged clouds frequently occur beneath this cloud which sometimes merges with its base. The cloud base lowers as precipitation continues. Because of the lowering base it is often erroneously called a low-level cloud. Both Altostratus and Nimbostratus can extend into the high level of clouds. Cumulonimbus , with its strong vertical updraft, extends well into the the high level of clouds.

Detached, generally dense clouds and with sharp outlines that develop vertically in the form of rising mounds, domes or towers with bulging upper parts often resembling a cauliflower. The sunlit parts of these clouds are mostly brilliant white while their bases are relatively dark and horizontal. Over land cumulus develops on days of clear skies, and is due diurnal convection; it appears in the morning, grows, and then more or less dissolves again toward evening.

The thunderstorm cloud, this is a heavy and dense cloud in the form of a mountain or huge tower. The upper portion is usually smoothed, fibrous or striated and nearly always flattened in the shape of an anvil or vast plume. Under the base of this cloud which is often very dark, there are often low ragged clouds that may or may not merge with the base.

They can be very large, appearing like a mountain sometimes with a flat top. The stereotypical puffy cloud you probably drew a lot of when you were a kid, cumulus clouds are dense individual clouds that are bright white on top and gray underneath. Nimbostratus clouds form a thick, dark layer across the sky. They are often thick enough to blot out the sun.

Stratocumulus clouds are somewhat similar to cumulus clouds but are flatter, thicker, and darker. There is less blue sky between the clouds, and the weather will appear more cloudy than sunny. Image source: Wikimedia commons. Similar to fog but on the horizon instead of on the ground , stratus clouds are a gray featureless layer of clouds that cover all or most of the sky. Even meteorologists can sometimes struggle with identifying certain clouds, so it helps to have a few tricks to fall back on.

Use the following four tips to help you differentiate the various cloud types and figure out which type is currently in the sky. Below are the three main cloud shapes along with the cloud names and the types of clouds that fall under them. This is a bit trickier than just deciding on shape and can take some practice to get good at it, but once you can reliably tell where a cloud is in the sky along with its shape, you often have enough info to correctly identify it. The current or expected weather can help you with cloud identification, since many clouds are associated with a particular type of weather.

Both these cloud types have similar wispy shapes, but cirrostratus clouds cover much more of the sky compared to cirrus clouds. Both of these clouds have a puffy shape, but stratocumulus clouds have a more flattened, thicker, and darker appearance compared to cumulus clouds, which look more like puffs of cotton.

These two kinds of clouds look similar, but they are different sizes. If you hold your hand up to the sky, a stratocumulus cloud will be about the size of your first, while an altocumulus cloud will be closer in size to your thumb. These three cloud types can be difficult to tell apart since they all have a similar shape.

Below is a unique identifier for each one. Fortunately, a bit of studying is all that is required to easily identify most clouds. There are ten main types of clouds:. There are also various tips you can use to differentiate between two types of clouds that look similar.

Want to know the fastest and easiest ways to convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius? We've got you covered! Check out our guide to the best ways to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit or vice versa. Are you also learning about dynamic equilibrium in your science class? We break this sometimes tricky concept down so it's easy to understand in our complete guide to dynamic equilibrium. Weather prediction: Fair. Altostratus clouds are gray or blue-gray mid-level clouds composed of ice crystals and water droplets.

The clouds usually cover the entire sky. Weather prediction: Be prepared for continuous rain or snow! Nimbostratus clouds are dark, gray clouds that seem to fade into falling rain or snow. They are so thick that they often blot out the sunlight. Weather prediction: Gloomy with continuous rain or snow. Cumulus clouds look like fluffy, white cotton balls in the sky.

They are beautiful in sunsets, and their varying sizes and shapes can make them fun to observe! 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.

Weather prediction: Fair, but gloomy. Cumulonimbus clouds grow on hot days when warm, wet air rises very high into the sky. From far away, they look like huge mountains or towers. Weather prediction: Look out for rain, hail, and tornadoes! Stratocumulus clouds are patchy gray or white clouds that often have a dark honeycomb-like appearance. Weather prediction: Fair weather for now, but a storm might be on its way. Contrails are made by high-flying jet airplanes.