Protuberances and sproutings tend to form transformations, thus changing from one genus into another. These clouds are most commonly seen in the winter, and can cause the appearance of a halo around the sun or the moon. These charts show the amount of cloud cover forecast. clouds: a suspended mass of water vapor in the atmosphere. This marks the updraft of a thunderstorm. Cirrus altocumulogenitus, Stratocumulus cumulogenitus) lifting. Lacunosus (la) (having holes): Cloud patches, sheets or layers, usually rather are taller than they are wide, are connected by a common base and seem to be of the sky resulting from the relative movement of clouds and observer. etc. Altocumulus, altostratus, and nimbostratus are the main types of middle clouds. a shower or by a thunderstorm, often with squalls and sometimes with hail; it from a cloud and reaching the earth's surface. mist): A cloud like a nebulous veil or layer, showing no Sun. Tongan. (clouds due to orographic phenomena, etc.). Cirrocumulus (Cc): Thin, white patch, sheet or layer of cloud without shading, the form of a mountain or huge towers. Fine, Clear or Sunny ‘Alomalie, Tafitonga. Middle Clouds (or Mid-Level Clouds) - A term used to signify clouds with bases between 6,500 and 23,000 feet. His book, The Modifications of Clouds, named the various cloud structures he had studied. the bulging upper parts often resembles a cauliflower. cloud does not show halo phenomena. Weather prediction: Rain or snow will arrive within 24 hours! (e.g. manner suggestive of vertebrae, ribs, or a fish skeleton. them altogether); The arrangement of their macroscopic elements (clouds whose constituent Who we are, what we do and organisational news. or inclined trails of precipitation attached to the under surface of a cloud, Meteorology: The study of the phenomena of the atmosphere. Used to describe an amount of cloud covering the sky of between five and seven oktas (eighths). undulations. Pileus (pil) (cap) also called cap cloud, scarf cloud: An accessory cloud of small clearly ragged appearance. ); Their dimensions (areas of their constituent elements, vertical extension, most cases reaches the ground. Variations Precipitation shaft - a visible column of rain or hail falling from the base of the cloud. Find out what clouds are made of, how they form and all the names for the many and magnificent types in these pages. Tuba (tub) (trumpet) commonly called funnel cloud; also called pendant cloud, tornado Their form (cloud in banks, veils, sheets, layers, etc. Mediocris (med) (medium size): Cumulus clouds of moderate vertical extent, the tops Base usually below 6,500 ft over the British Isles. unstable layers of air. Alto: means height or upper air, in meteorological context = medium level. Incus (inc) (anvil): The upper portion of a Cumulonimbus spread out in of which show fairly small protuberances. Lahi ‘alomalie. Generally lots of low or medium clouds. (hair-like) appearance, or a silky sheen, or both. features, the last three accessory clouds. Stratiformis (str) (to spread out): Clouds spread out in an extensive horizontal menacing arc. Low clouds, 2 to 0 km (6,500 to 0 feet), are stratocumulus, stratus, and nimbostratus. The latest breakthroughs, research and news from the Met Office. Stratus (St): Generally grey cloud layer with a fairly uniform base, which may At the higher altitudes, they may also have some ice crystals, but they are composed mainly of water droplets. generally appear flattened. Their bulging upper part frequently resembles a Low-level clouds (cumulus, stratus, stratocumulus) that lie below 6,500 feet (1,981 m) Middle clouds (altocumulus, nimbostratus, altostratus) that form between 6,500 and 20,000 feet (1981–6,096 m) High-level clouds (cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus) that form above 20,000 feet (6,096 m) The terms he used were readily accepted by the meteorological community and are still used across the world today. Arcus (arc) (bow) often called roll or shelf cloud: A dense, Cirrostratus clouds may be such a thin layer that they're only detectable by the halo they cast around the sun or moon. halo phenomena. Species of clouds. Otherwise known as The King of Clouds, cumulonimbus clouds exist through the entire height of the troposphere, usually characterised by their icy, anvil-shaped top. Today it is known in numerous methods to be able to predict the weather that is going to be and cloudiness plays an important role. cloud, its outline is clearly discernible. They are given Middle Clouds: Clouds of the altocumulus or altostratus family, anywhere from 7,000 to 25,000 feet in elevation. Thus,nimbostratus and cumulonimbus are clouds from which precipitation occurs. generally give the clouds a crenelated appearance. Volume I & II of 1956, and Volume I of 1975 & Volume II of 1987. "layered". Clouds are continually changing and appear in an infinite variety of forms. REFERENCE MATERIAL. Altostratus (As): Greyish or bluish cloud sheet or layer of striated, fibrous or The latter may cover the sky with a milky blanket, still allowing some weak sunlight and moonlight to filter through. with fringed edges. six describes the arrangement, the last three the degree of transparency. These extensions, whether attached to the mother-cloud or not, may Cloud Types common cloud classifications Clouds are classified into a system that uses Latin words to describe the appearance of clouds as seen by an observer on the ground. The turrets, some of which They part of which is sufficiently opaque to mask completely the sun or moon. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has extended Luke Howard's classifications to make 10 main groups of clouds, called genera. features and are 9 in number. Fogs which are mainly composed of water droplets are generally classified according to the physical process which produces saturation or near-saturation of the air. apparent width of less than one degree. the name of the appropriate genus, followed by the name of the genus of the Clouds may form in clear air. Cumulo, from which cumulus is obtained means "heap". 2) The whole or large part of a cloud may undergo complete internal often accompanied by virga. hail, etc.) English. Most of our names for clouds come from Latin and are usually a combination of the following prefixes and suffixes: Cumulus/cumulo = heaped up/puffy, like cauliflower. They can tell if a particular cloud will bring rain. Many times when you look at a satellite picture especially one with animation and during the night time for that area, you will be looking at a picture that is taken using the infrared wavelength. become clouds of a genus different from that of the mother-cloud. Fibratus (fib) (fibrous): Detached clouds or a thin cloud veil, consisting of Where these names are combined, we can often build up an idea of that cloud's character. The clouds are characterized by vertical air movements called updrafts. elements usually have an apparent width of between one and five degrees. Can be sun or moon. trails: Vertical When the sun is visible through the Brief: Short duration (usually 1 hour or less). often very elongated and usually with well-defined outlines; they occasionally No clouds or with a few light clouds (<0 to 2 okta or less than 1/8 to 2/8 of sky covered with cloud) and no rain. Fractus (fra) (to fracture) : Clouds in the form of irregular shreds, which have a undulations is in evidence. A cloud species that displays at least in its upper part cumuliform protuberances resembling the turrets of a castle, giving a crenellated aspect. Radiatus (ra) (having rays): Clouds showing broad parallel bands or arranged in parallel bands, which, owing to the effect of perspective, seem to converge At any time there are many weather systems weaving around the globe, however when averaged over many years a global pattern of air movement emerges. latter. Base usually 20,000 ft or above, over the British Isles. Duplicatus (du) (doubled): Superposed cloud patches, sheets or layers, at The sunlit parts of these Anomaly : The deviation of (usually) temperature or precipitation in a given region over a specified period from the normal value for the same region. Subdivision of cloud genera and their species, determined by taking into Cloud Names Cirrostratus clouds are thin, white clouds that cover the whole sky like a veil. horizontal. In the list below the first diffuse and which may or may not be merged; most of the regularly arranged small the shape of an anvil with smooth, fibrous or striated appearance. enough to reveal the Sun at least vaguely, as through ground glass. merged with it or not, and precipitation sometimes in the form of virga. The classification of clouds is based on a book written by Luke Howard, a London pharmacist and amateur meteorologist, in 1803. Stratocumulus (Sc): Grey or whitish, or both grey and whitish, patch, sheet or top in a hook, or in a tuft the upper part of which is not in the form of a The higher the base of a cloud is, the drier the atmosphere and the fairer the weather will be. Cirrus (Ci): Detached clouds in the form of white, dedicate filaments or Condensation nuclei, such as in smoke or dust particles, form a surface upon which water vapor can condense. 407. The castellanus character is especially evident when the Roll cloud - on rare occasions, a shelf cloud may turn into a roll cloud. uniform appearance, totally or partly covering the sky, and having parts thin The present international system of Latin-based cloud classification dates back to 1803, when amateur meteorologist Luc Howard wrote The Essay on the Modification of Clouds. 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