We see clouds floating above our heads nearly every day. These clouds are the only ones that hide sun rays. There are different types of clouds as sometimes they are dark in color and occasionally white. Different types of clouds indicate various types of weather. Those who study the formation of clouds and how they are makeup are known as meteorologists.
Tiny droplets or frozen crystals of water forms clouds in the sky. As the warm air rises to the atmosphere and cools down, water vapors in them also cool down and form different types of clouds. The level of formation describes the clouds. Generally, there is a high, mid, and low level of clouds.
High-level clouds
High-level clouds occur 20,000 feet above in the sky. There are also three main types of clouds: cirrocumulus, cirrus, and cirrostratus.
Cirrocumulus
Present 5km above the sky, white fluff patterns appear and seen after cirrus. All of them are almost the same in size. However, these clouds cover a lot of the sky.
Cirrus
Made up of ice-crystals and seen throughout the year. They are thin in appearance. The clouds can form between 16,500 ft. to 45,000 ft, above sea level.
Cirrostratus
They are sheet-like and curly in appearance. The clouds are so thin that sometimes Sun and the moon can reflect through. So they appear as the holo screen.
Mid-level clouds
There are three types of mid-level clouds: altocumulus, altostratus, and nimbostratus.
Altocumulus
They are made up of water-droplets, present at a lower altitude. They are also referred to as cloudlets since they have patches of clouds. They look like rounded clumps.
Altostratus
They are packed with moisture, linked to light rain and snow. Look like grey-blue. When the Sun and moon shine through these clouds, they appear watery and fuzzy.
Nimbostratus
They are multilevel dark grey clouds. These clouds produce continuous rain, snow, or sleet.
Low-level clouds
There are four low-level clouds: stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, and stratocumulus.
Stratus
Thin clouds cover a large area of the atmosphere. They have a horizontal layering with a uniform base.
Cumulus
A heap of cotton indicates fair weather. They are puffy or cotton-like in appearance. These are 2000 to 7000 ft above the sea level.
Cumulonimbus
Huge clouds indicate a thunderstorm. They are dense, towering vertical clouds and are formed alone or in clusters.
Stratocumulus
They look like a thick white blanket, thick with gray hues. These clouds belong to the genius type of clouds, formed below 2000 meters.
