Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 68 views

    Cloud: Home Science Earth Science, Geologic Time & Fossils Earth Sciences

    Uploaded by

    Rengeline Lucas
    The document discusses clouds, including their formation, classification, types, and role in weather forecasting. Clouds form when air rises and cools, causing water vapor to condense. There are four main cloud types based on altitude - high, middle, and low clouds. Clouds can be classified by appearance or by the air motions that produce them. Different cloud types may produce precipitation or provide clues about upcoming weather.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Cloud: Home Science Earth Science, Geologic Time & Fossils Earth Sciences

    Uploaded by

    Rengeline Lucas
    68 views10 pages
    The document discusses clouds, including their formation, classification, types, and role in weather forecasting. Clouds form when air rises and cools, causing water vapor to condense. There are four main cloud types based on altitude - high, middle, and low clouds. Clouds can be classified by appearance or by the air motions that produce them. Different cloud types may produce precipitation or provide clues about upcoming weather.

    Original Title

    9. Cloud

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses clouds, including their formation, classification, types, and role in weather forecasting. Clouds form when air rises and cools, causing water vapor to condense. There are four main cloud types based on altitude - high, middle, and low clouds. Clouds can be classified by appearance or by the air motions that produce them. Different cloud types may produce precipitation or provide clues about upcoming weather.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    68 views10 pages

    Cloud: Home Science Earth Science, Geologic Time & Fossils Earth Sciences

    Uploaded by

    Rengeline Lucas
    The document discusses clouds, including their formation, classification, types, and role in weather forecasting. Clouds form when air rises and cools, causing water vapor to condense. There are four main cloud types based on altitude - high, middle, and low clouds. Clouds can be classified by appearance or by the air motions that produce them. Different cloud types may produce precipitation or provide clues about upcoming weather.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 10

    Browse 

    Search
    QuizzesGamesOn This Day
    Login  Subscribe Now
    ArticleMediaAdditional Info
    HomeScienceEarth Science, Geologic Time & FossilsEarth Sciences
    Cloud
    meteorology
    Print  Cite Share More

    WRITTEN BY
    The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive
    knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via
    study for an advanced degree....
    See Article History
    RELATED TOPICS

    Thomas Hughes | British jurist and author

    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German author)

    Dino Buzzati | Italian author


    Cloud, any visible mass of water droplets, ice crystals, or a mixture of both
    that is suspended in the air, usually at a considerable height (see video). Fog is
    a shallow layer of cloud at or near ground level.
    BRITANNICA QUIZ

    Clouds and Cloud Types


    Think you know every cloud type? Test your knowledge with this quiz.

    Clouds are formed when relatively moist air rises. As a mass of air ascends, the
    lower pressures prevailing at higher levels allow it to expand. In expanding,
    the air cools adiabatically (i.e., without heat exchange with the surrounding
    air) until its temperature falls below the dew point, upon which the air
    becomes supersaturated such that water vapour condenses onto
    cloud condensation nuclei or tiny water droplets (or deposits onto ice nuclei or
    tiny ice crystals). Condensation nuclei are composed of microscopic particles
    in the air. This process rapidly gives rise to droplets on the order of 0.01 mm
    (0.0004 inch) in diameter. These droplets, usually present in concentrations
    of a few hundred per cubic centimetre, constitute a nonprecipitating water
    cloud. Clouds consist entirely of water droplets, entirely of ice crystals, or of a
    mixture of water droplets and ice crystals, with crystals predominating in the
    colder, upper regions of the troposphere. Mixed clouds occur only when the
    cloud temperature is below 0 °C (32 °F). In such clouds the ice crystals will
    grow preferentially with respect to the water droplets as water vapour
    evaporates from the droplets and deposits onto the ice crystals. Thus, mixed
    clouds last for only short times before becoming all ice crystals.

    Learn about the four main types of clouds formed at different altitudes
    Different types of clouds form at different altitudes.
    Created and produced by QA International. © QA International, 2010. All rights reserved.
    www.qa-international.comSee all videos for this article
    Because clouds are created and sustained by upward-moving air currents,
    water droplets must reach a size sufficient to overcome the lifting effect of the
    currents before they can fall to the Earth as drizzle or rain. Condensation
    alone can only generate droplets of sufficient size to produce drizzle.
    Raindrops are formed either by the coalescence of cloud droplets or by the
    production of snowflakes, graupel (amalgamations of frozen water droplets),
    or hail and their subsequent melting as they descend through the warmer
    regions of the cloud.

    Meteorologists classify clouds primarily by their appearance. The eight main


    cloud families are divided into three groups on the basis of altitude. High
    clouds, which are found at mean heights above the ground of 13 to 5 km
    (42,500 to 16,500 feet), are cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus. Middle
    clouds, 7 to 2 km (23,000 to 6,500 feet), are altocumulus and altostratus. Low
    clouds, 2 to 0 km (6,500 to 0 feet), are stratocumulus, stratus,
    and nimbostratus. A cloud that extends through all three heights is called
    a cumulonimbus. A cloud at the surface is called a fog.

    Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.Subscribe Now
    Clouds may also be classified according to the air motions that produce them.
    In this method of classification there are four major types: layer clouds formed
    by the widespread regular ascent of air; layer clouds produced by widespread
    irregular stirring or turbulence; cumuliform clouds resulting from penetrative
    convection; and orographic clouds generated by the ascent of air over hills or
    mountains.

    Precipitation in significant amounts generally falls only from nimbostratus


    and cumulonimbus clouds. Steady rain that lasts for an entire day or longer is
    usually produced by the nimbostratus variety. In most cases, cumulonimbus
    clouds are accompanied by showers of rain, snow, or hail. A cumulonimbus is
    a common sign of a thunderstorm and on rare occasions is associated with
    tornadoes. Cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus clouds are composed
    exclusively of ice crystals, but the crystals generally evaporate before reaching
    the ground if there are no lower clouds present. When thick clouds of water
    drops are present at lower levels, however, the ice crystals from above may
    seed the lower clouds, permitting precipitation to occur and to reach the
    ground as snow or rain, depending on the temperature. Stratus clouds may
    produce drizzle, whereas the cumulus type sometimes yields showers.
    lightning: cloud-to-ground
    Cloud-to-ground lightning discharge from a cumulonimbus cloud to a field.
    © Hemera/Thinkstock
    Clouds are valuable aids in weather forecasting. If the sky, for example, is
    becoming overcast with cirrus and cirrostratus clouds thickening and lowering
    to altostratus clouds, precipitation is imminent, probably from an approaching
    warm front in temperate latitudes or perhaps a hurricane in the tropics. New
    active thunderstorms are indicated by cumulus growing rapidly into
    cumulonimbus on a humid day, even though the Sun may be shining brightly
    between the clouds. The presence of overcast results in smaller diurnal
    temperature variations. In the evening a low overcast acts like a blanket,
    preventing the temperature from dropping much at night. A clear evening sky,
    on the other hand, indicates rapid cooling (particularly if the air mass is dry),
    which can lead to dew, frost, or even fog the following morning.
    cloud: cumulonimbus
    Cumulonimbus clouds above a farm in Montana.
    © Hemera/Thinkstock
    This article was most recently revised and updated by Richard Pallardy, Research Editor.
    LEARN MORE in these related Britannica articles:

    climate: Origin of precipitation in clouds


    Clouds are formed by the lifting of damp air, which cools by expansion as it encounters the
    lower pressures existing at higher levels in the atmosphere. The relative humidity increases
    until the air has become saturated with water vapour, and then condensation…

    global warming: Cloud feedbacks

    It is generally believed that as Earth’s surface warms and the atmosphere’s water vapour
    content increases, global cloud cover increases. However, the effects on near-surface air
    temperatures are complicated. In the case of low clouds, such as marine stratus clouds, the
    dominant radiative…

    weather modification: Electricity in clouds

    Various schemes have been employed to modify the electrical nature of clouds and the
    occurrence of cloud-to-ground lightning. Research has shown that by releasing large
    quantities of ions near the ground, it is possible to influence the electric properties of small
    cumulus clouds. This…

    HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS


    Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox!
    Email address
    Sign Up

    By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice.

    Cloud
    QUICK FACTS

    KEY PEOPLE
     C.T.R. Wilson
     Tor Harold Percival Bergeron
    RELATED TOPICS
     Fog
     Weather
     Water cycle
     Ceilometer
     Contrail
     Cloud seeding
     Noctilucent cloud
     Cloud whitening
     Orographic precipitation
     Rain shadow
    Inspire your inbox – Sign up for daily fun facts about this day in history, updates,
    and special offers.
    Enter your email
    Subscribe
    By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from
    Encyclopaedia Britannica.
    Click here to view our Privacy Notice. Easy unsubscribe links are provided in every email.
    STAY CONNECTED

     About Us & Legal Info


     Partner Program
     Contact Us
     Privacy Notice
     Terms of Use

    ©2021 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.


    close
    Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership

    You might also like