Kind: captions
Language: en
all clouds share the same basic
composition but just by looking outside
on two different days or even at
different parts of the sky on the same
day you know that the atmosphere
produces a huge variety of cloud shapes
and sizes why do some clouds form
entertaining shapes While others look
gloomy or even ominous what's going on
inside a cloud that gives it its
distinct appearance and could
identifying the different types of
clouds help us predict the weather or
even the course of climate change we
can't really begin to analyze clouds
without first categorizing their many
variations most experts classify clouds
into 10 or so separate types according
to two main characteristics their height
in the atmosphere and their shape
there are three height categories low
middle and high and four shape
categories there's nimus meaning well
rain cloud these are lwh hanging flat
gray clouds that can drop rain for many
hours or more than a day if you're
unlucky Stratus meaning layer which
refers to their characteristic stacked
appearance cumulus meaning Heap or pile
but puffy might be a better way to
remember them and Cirrus meaning hair
because they kind of look like fine
wispy hairs combinations of these height
and shape characteristics give each
Cloud type its name and they also tell
us something about how they form and
behave the height at which a cloud forms
has a huge influence on its composition
in general the portion of the atmosphere
where clouds form gets colder the higher
you go that means low clouds are almost
always made of water droplets
while high clouds are made up of ice
crystals and middle clouds are often a
mix of liquid and Ice these differences
can often be seen in a Cloud's overall
appearance with clouds made up mostly of
water having more clearly defined edges
than icy clouds
do a cloud shape can also tell us about
winds in the atmosphere for example
wispy cirrus clouds take on their
characteristic shape because of strong
winds high in the atmosphere which pull
at the clouds frayed edges
in some cases cloud types and their
characteristics can be used to forecast
the weather for example cirrus clouds
are often the first signs of an
approaching warm front and can foretell
long periods of steady rain or snow in
the days to come mid-level cumulus
clouds called aldoc cumulus forming on a
summer morning suggest that there is
significant moisture and heat in the
atmosphere and that powerful afternoon
thunderstorms might be in store and and
if you see layered rain clouds called
Nimbo Stratus outside your window you
might as well settle in with a good book
it could be raining for a
while scientists are also studying
clouds for clues about their possible
role in climate change for example
they've discovered that certain types of
clouds can cause the planet to warm
While others have a cooling effect what
we don't know yet however is which of
these cloud types will become more
common as the planet warms time will
tell and as it does researchers will be
watching