Facts about different types of clouds

These enormous clouds, the tops of which may reach more than 15,000 meters in altitude, often produce stormy precipitation. Clouds play an important role in the climate system, and can warn us of what lies ahead. Many water droplets formed together scatter reflect sunlight and you see a white could, but with a dark or gray cloud, the sunlight is scattered in all directions instead of reflected. Clouds are white because they reflect light from the sun. High clouds that form above 18,000 feet are called cirrus clouds. What are the names of the different types of clouds. Some clouds you see in the sky might be from airplanes. The water droplets are very minute with a diameter of roughly a hundredth of a millimeter. Clouds come in a variety of forms, and we will explore the different types of clouds in this lesson. Cloud facts for kids science for kids fun facts to learn. If the cloud is very thick and heavy, the sunlight is scattered from above and the clouds look grey or black. Cirrus clouds are thin and wispy, appearing high in the sky. Different kinds of clouds can mean different kinds of weather. Cumulus clouds are the puffy clouds that are usually scattered throughout the sky.

As the suns lightwaves pass through the atmosphere and clouds, they meet the individual water droplets that make up a cloud. The pouches are created when cold air within the cloud sinks down toward the earth. The basic types of clouds which most of us know are cirrus, stratus, and cumulus. Cirrocumulus are usually white, but sometimes appear gray. Cumulus clouds, white and fluffy, are goodweather clouds. Use the following four tips to help you differentiate the various cloud types and figure out which type is currently in the sky. There are many different types of clouds, and clouds are a great collectible for recordkeeping. Storm clouds move at a much slower speedabout 30 miles per hour. Clouds provide shade, store water, and distribute heat from the equator to the poles. A single cloud may hold billions of pounds of waterbut not all clouds bring rain.

To give the nimbus clouds their dark color, we rubbed a black crayon on them. Fun cloud facts for kids interesting information about clouds. Types of lightning lightning facts national weather service. It happens completely inside the cloud, jumping between different charge regions in the cloud. Cirrocumulus clouds ucar center for science education.

Clouds also exist on other planets in the solar system. The cloud facts listed below with help you learn what a cloud is, the different types of clouds, how a cloud forms, the different types of altitudes youll find certain. When these clouds cover a lot of the sky, they can look like the scales of a. While most clouds form from natural processes, some can occur as a result of human activities. The types of clouds can be divided into three levels, each in turn with its own main groups of clouds. It could be composed of liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles. Stratus clouds form at low altitudes and are more closely related to fog than other types of clouds. Their tops are rounded, puffy, and a brilliant white when sunlit, while their bottoms are flat and relatively dark. The classification of clouds is based on a book written by luke howard, a. The classification of clouds into types was first proposed by luke howard in 1802 and we largely use the same system today. Some rare types are known to form higher in the stratosphere or mesosphere.

The diagram on the right shows where different types of clouds are located in the sky. Learn about different types of clouds, how clouds form, what they are made of, clouds on other planets and more. Stratus flat clouds that extend over large sections of sky. Cirrus clouds are known to look curly or fibrous, stratus appear to be sheets or layers of clouds, and cumulus clouds are heaped or. There are different sorts of clouds because the air where they form can be still or moving forward or up and down at different speeds.

Cirrus clouds are the thin, wispy clouds seen high in the sky. Cumulus clouds are puffy, like cotton floating in the sky. The latin names are used to call the types of clouds that you find in. Fantastic weather facts science for kids fun facts to. Of course, black clouds represents rain, storm, or similar sort of weather. What are clouds, how do clouds form and different types of. Fun cloud facts for kids interesting information about. The location of clouds is above the surface of earth. The cirrus clouds we pulled apart the cotton balls to make them wispy.

Overall, there are three different types of clouds. Do you know that those clouds can tell you about the upcoming or exiting weather. There are a range of different types of clouds, the main types include stratus, cumulus and cirrus. Cumulus clouds are the clouds you learned to draw at an early age and that serve as the symbol of all clouds much like the snowflake symbolizes winter. The 10 basic types of clouds and how to recognize them. When we use phrases like puffy balls of cotton, or cotton.

Stratus clouds look like a huge thick blanket covering the sky. This means that each cubic meter of air is made up of about 100 million droplets. These are the types of clouds that look like puffy balls of cotton. Clouds are classified according to how they look and how high the base of the cloud is in the sky. All in all, there are ten fundamental types of clouds. Even though clouds float in the air, a single cumulus cloud can weigh.

The different types of clouds are cumulus, cirrus, stratus and nimbus. Cirrocumulus clouds are small rounded puffs that usually appear in long rows high in the sky. We hope these facts about clouds are helpful and help you learn more about this fascinating metrological event. Cirrus clouds are known to look curly or fibrous, stratus appear to be sheets or layers of clouds, and cumulus clouds are heaped or piled. What are some interesting facts about stratus clouds.

There are several different types of clouds, but the four main types of clouds are stratus, cirrus, alto, and cumulus. Jul 11, 2017 if you look up to the sky as you drive, you will see different types of clouds in various places. Gray clouds become so filled with water that they dont reflect light. When billions of these particles come together, they form a cloud. Precipitating clouds that can produce rain, hail or snow. Intracloud lightning is sometimes called sheet lightning because it lights up the sky with a sheet of light. When warm air rises, swells and cools, it forms clouds. Mammatus clouds are actually altocumulus, cirrus, cumulonimbus, or other types of clouds that have these pouchlike shapes hanging out of the bottom. Clouds are categorised according to height and shape. Vertical development clouds straddle several levels.

You can take a look at these cloud types here and see what. According to the world meteorological organizations international cloud atlas, more than 100 types of clouds exist. Types of rocks rocks are naturally occurring solid masses or aggregates of minerals, which make up the outer layer of earth, known as the earths crust. A fun filled lesson on everything about clouds including how they form, what clouds are made of, the different types of clouds, and more. For the stratus clouds, we unrolled the cotton balls and made them into sections. Cloud types climate, weather and cloud types bbc bitesize. Explore basic facts about clouds, including how they form, what clouds are made of, what color clouds are, and more. The best example of this is a condensation trail, commonly known as a contrail for short. The many variations, however, can be grouped into one of 10 basic types depending on their general shape and height in the sky. The clouds look white because of the sunlight from above reflecting from them. Because the water droplets have a similar size as the wavelength of sunlight, the droplets scatter the suns light in a type of scattering known as mie scattering in which all wavelengths of light are scattered.

In this article, we will elaborate on the common types of clouds that are found in the sky. This splits clouds into three main types stratus, cumulus and cirrus. Clouds generally form within the troposphere, or the layer. Youve learned about nimbostratus and cumulonimbus clouds, so lets go over some of the other kinds. Within each of these three tiers, scientists further organize clouds into ten broad. Stratus clouds are flat and look like big white sheets of paper floating through the sky. There are many different types of clouds, each with an unique shape and location in the sky. They are the same size or smaller than the width of your littlest finger when you hold up your hand at arms length. Maybe, when youre done, you can create a cloud journal about different types of clouds with your findings. Cloud formation facts pictures of clouds clouds types.

Some clouds are near the ground, while others are near the top of the troposphere. Jun 02, 2017 clouds are pockets of water vapour in the sky. The variety of clouds is caused by different conditions in the atmosphere, and they can indicate upcoming weather. The clouds on a sunny day look a little different than those on rainy days or those during thunderstorms. A stratus cloud formation is a uniform layer of clouds that have a. Their mechanisms are still not completely known, but their relevance to the earths. Fun facts about clouds for kids tiny droplets of water in the air rise with warm air. A cumulus cloud formation is marked by vertical development of the cloud as well as clearly defined edges. They occur when air currents push cold air above a blanket of warm air and moisture quickly. While there are many factors that will determine the exact amount of water vapour a cloud holds e. They are big, white, and cottony anddepending on your. Stratus clouds are white or grey clouds that usually blanket the entire sky.

You may have noticed from the last section on the different kinds of nimbus clouds, that different clouds types exist beyond just cirrus, cumulus, stratus, and nimbus. Most clouds can be divided into groups highmiddlelow based on the height of the cloud s base above the earths surface. Stratus clouds are flat and featureless, appearing as layered sheets. The characteristics of clouds are dictated by the elements available, including the amount of water vapor, the temperatures at that height, the wind, and the interplay of.

Enter your information below to snag these free cloud worksheets. They are characterized and classified by their chemical composition, way of formation, grain size, texture, and the minerals they contain. The characteristics of clouds are dictated by the elements available, including the amount of water vapor, the temperatures at that height, the wind, and the interplay of other air masses. They arent the same as fog, however, because fog usually forms from ground moisture, whereas stratus clouds form from moisture already in the air. Cumulus clouds look like fluffy tufts of cotton floating in the sky. The word cloud comes from an old english word clod which means a mass of rock. The cloud facts listed below with help you learn what a cloud is, the different types of clouds, how a cloud forms, the different types of altitudes youll find certain types of clouds and other cloud facts. But all clouds look a little bit different from one another, and sometimes these differences can help us predict a change in the weather. The different categories of clouds are then given names based on latin words, eg nimbus clouds bring rain, stratus clouds appear. The composition of ice crystals or water droplets depends on the atmospheric temperature and the height of. A hurricane is a dangerous tropical storm with strong winds and lots of rain or high waves that are pushed ashore by the storms winds. Most clouds form in the lowest layer of the atmosphere called troposphere. Clouds that form between 6,500 feet to 18,000 feet are called alto clouds. Clouds are continually changing and appear in an infinite variety of forms.

For instance, the diagram below provides a quick overview of the most common types of. The building blocks of clouds are water and particles of dust, dirt. The variety of clouds is caused by different conditions in the atmosphere, and they can. High level cirrus clouds may travel at speeds up to 100 mph. May 15, 2016 while most clouds form from natural processes, some can occur as a result of human activities. High ice clouds that look like wispy curls of hair. Tiny droplets of water in the air rise with warm air. Tips for identifying different types of clouds even meteorologists can sometimes struggle with identifying certain clouds, so it helps to have a few tricks to fall back on. It happens when the negative and positive charges of electricity in clouds get together.

They combine with other droplets of water to form clouds. Colorful clouds and calm water create a striking sunset scene for canoeists on winisk. Kids learn about clouds including how they form, levels, fun facts, and types of clouds such as. Clouds are given different names based on their shape and their height in the sky. Why do clouds form at different heights in the atmosphere. Cumulus, the clouds like soft white cushions that we know best of all. For more such interesting general knowledge articles and videos, visit. Most clouds can be described by mixing and matching the terms cirrus, cumulus. These facts about the cumulus clouds are freaking awesome. Clouds are divided into three or four main types scientists do not always agree. If you look up to the sky as you drive, you will see different types of clouds in various places. Heres a list of some of the most common cloud types you might spot in the sky. Jan 20, 2020 the different types of clouds are named based on their shape and how high up they hover in the troposphere.