What are the 3 principal cloud groups?
Cumulus, Stratus, and Cirrus. There are three main cloud types.
What are altocumulus characteristics?
Altocumulus clouds are small mid-level layers or patches of clouds, called cloudlets, which most commonly exist in the shape of rounded clumps. Altocumulus are made up of a mix of ice and water, giving them a slightly more ethereal appearance than the big and fluffy lower level cumulus.
What is the difference between altocumulus and stratocumulus?
Altocumulus clouds are more closely related to stratocumulus clouds than they are to cumulus clouds. They share almost all of the same cloud species, cloud varieties, and other cloud features. Hence, stratocumulus cloud formations are seemingly bigger, and are generally a bit darker than altocumulus clouds.
What type of weather is associated with altocumulus clouds?
Altocumulus clouds are associated with unstable weather conditions. If you see one of these during the morning, you should expect a thunderstorm in the afternoon. Yet, precipitation is not that common from these clouds, so you may be free of rain if you see an altocumulus cloud.
What causes altocumulus?
Altocumulus clouds usually form by convection in an unstable layer aloft, which may result from the gradual lifting of air in advance of a cold front. The presence of altocumulus clouds on a warm and humid summer morning is commonly followed by thunderstorms later in the day.
What does Strato mean in clouds?
layer
The word stratus comes from the Latin prefix strato-, meaning “layer”. Stratus clouds may produce a light drizzle or a small amount of snow. These clouds are essentially above-ground fog formed either through the lifting of morning fog or through cold air moving at low altitudes over a region.
What are storm clouds called?
Cumulonimbus clouds
Cumulonimbus clouds are menacing looking multi-level clouds, extending high into the sky in towers or plumes. More commonly known as thunderclouds, cumulonimbus is the only cloud type that can produce hail, thunder and lightning.
What does an altocumulus cloud do?
Altocumulus clouds help to indicate convection, or rising heat, in the atmosphere. As warm air rises into the atmosphere, it cools and condenses water droplets in the area, which in turn form the cloud structures that we view from Earth’s surface.
What does it mean when you see altocumulus clouds?
Altocumulus clouds that appear on a clear humid morning can indicate the development of thunderstorms later in the day. That’s because altocumulus clouds often precede cold fronts of low-pressure systems. As such, they also sometimes signal the onset of cooler temperatures.
How do you differentiate clouds?
How to Identify Cloud Types
- Stratus clouds are uniform grayish clouds that often cover the sky. Usually no precipitation falls from stratus clouds, but they may drizzle.
- Cirrus clouds are thin, wispy clouds blown by high winds into long streamers.
- Cumulus clouds are puffy and can look like floating cotton.
How is an altocumulus different from a cirrocumulus?
Distinguishing Ac from other genera Altocumulus differs from Cirrocumulus in that some of the Altocumulus clouds have shading. However, if the clouds are without shading but most of the elements have an apparent width of between one and five degrees, the cloud is to be called Altocumulus.
What does an altocumulus castellanus Cloud look like?
They may be a harbinger of heavy showers and thunderstorms and, if surface-based convection can connect to the mid- tropospheric unstable layer, continued development of Castellanus clouds can produce cumulonimbus clouds. Altocumulus castellanus clouds are typically accompanied by moderate turbulence as well as potential icing conditions.
Where are Altocumulus clouds most likely to be found?
Mostly found in settled weather, altocumulus clouds are usually composed of droplets, but may also contain ice crystals. Precipitation from these clouds is rare, but even if rain does fall it doesn’t reach the ground.