The Science and
Classification of
Clouds
By Sequoia Calderwood
How Clouds are formed: Step One
Light from the sun hits the surface of the earth.
How Clouds are formed: Step One
A large part of the solar radiation is absorbed by the ground and
gradually heats it up.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Two
Constant heat reaching the surface of the ground
causes air to heat up.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Two
The heated air becomes lighter, which causes it to rise
above the cooler air which lies above it.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Two
This process is called convection.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Three
Rising hot air is pushed further upward by wind blowing over
terrain such as mountains, or over cliffs onto land from the sea.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Three
This process is called Orographic uplift.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Three
Wetter areas are generally found near high terrain features, as the
air cools at a quicker rate around these areas.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Four
Air is also forced to rise at a weather front.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Four
This is due to the differing air masses of the two weather fronts.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Four
At cold fronts, cold air is pushed under warm air, forcing it upward
and at a warm front, warm moist air is forced up and over the cold
air.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Four
This process is called convergence or frontal lifting.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Five
Clouds begin to develop in any air mass that becomes saturated.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Five
Saturation point is reached when the air reaches its frost point.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Five
At this point, air gradually cools, preventing it from rising any
further.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Five
Water vapor molecules within air begin to clump together.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Six
Water vapor condenses to form cloud droplets or ice crystals.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Six
This can be at various heights, which creates a variety of different
cloud systems.
How Clouds are Formed: Step Six
Clouds contain millions of droplets of water or ice, depending on
the temperature, which are suspended in the air.
The Man Who Named the Clouds
was an Englishman named Luke Howard (1773-1864).
Luke Howard
● Before 1800,
observers spoke of
clouds only as
"essences" floating in
the sky.
Luke Howard
● Clouds had no names
and were not well
understood.
Luke Howard
● The nature and behavior of
atmospheric gases, such as
oxygen and nitrogen, were
just being investigated in
the laboratories of Great
Britain and Europe.
Luke Howard
● In Luke Howard's
school years,
high-level dust from
volcanic eruptions in
Iceland and Japan
caused brilliant
sunrises and sunsets.
Luke Howard
● To Howard's logical
mind, clouds and
complicated halos
must be the result of
cause and effect in the
natural order.
Luke Howard
● Luke wanted to know
more.
Luke Howard
● At the age of 20, Luke
returned to London to
work as a pharmacist.
Luke Howard
● As a hobby, he joined a
group of scientists, known
then as "natural
philosophers," who called
themselves the Askesians
(searchers after knowledge).
Luke Howard
● Each member, in
turn, read a
scientific paper to
the others.
Luke Howard
● Luke Howard’s turn came
one night during the winter
of 1802-03. His paper was
titled, "On the modification
of clouds."
● (In our current language,
modification means
classification.)
Luke Howard
● This paper was so
well received that it
was published and it
has become a classic in
the history of science.
Luke Howard
● Today we still use the
basic scheme that
Howard presented
that night and the
Latin names he
assigned to the clouds.
Luke Howard
Howard noted that there are three basic shapes to clouds:
Luke Howard-Cumulus
● Heaps of separated
cloud masses with flat
bottoms and
cauliflower tops, he
named cumulus
● (Latin for heap)
Luke Howard-Stratus
● Layers of cloud much
wider than they are
thick, like a blanket or
a mattress he named
stratus
● (Latin for layer)
Luke Howard-Cirrus
● Clouds that formed
wispy curls, like a
child’s hair, he called
cirrus
● (Latin for curl)
Luke Howard-Nimbus
● To clouds generating
precipitation, he gave
the name nimbus
● (Latin for rain).
Types of Clouds
● Clouds are found in
three layers in the
lower atmosphere.
Types of Clouds
Thus, with four types of clouds
and three layers, we come up
with 12 major cloud types that
have evolved from Howard's
pioneering work
Heaps: Cummulus Family
● Form when cumulus
congestus clouds develop a
Fair Weather strong updraft that propels
Cummulus their tops higher and higher
into the atmosphere until
they reach the tropopause at
60,000 ft in altitude.
Heaps: Cummulus Family
● Cumulonimbus clouds,
Fair Weather commonly called
Cummulus thunderheads, can produce
high winds, torrential rain,
lightning, gust fronts,
waterspouts, funnel clouds,
and tornadoes.
Heaps: Cummulus Family
Form at:
Swelling Cummulus ● 15 - 25,000 ft (top)
● 4 - 5,000 ft (base)
Heaps: Cummulus Family
Swelling Cummulus ● Active separated
heaps with flat
bottoms and bumpy
cauliflower tops
Heaps: Cummulus Family
● >25,000 ft (top)
Cumulus Congestus ● 3 - 6,000 ft (base)
● Very active separated heaps
with flat bottoms and
growing towers
Layers: Stratus Family
Altostratus ● Form from
15 - 20,000 ft
Layers: Stratus Family
Altostratus
● They are a thickly
layered water droplet
cloud
Layers:Stratus Family
Cirrrostratus ● Form below 25,000 ft
Layers:Stratus Family
Cirrrostratus
● High level veil of ice
crystal cloud,
frequently producing
a halo around Sun or
Moon
Layered Heaps
Stratocumulus
● Form at low levels
and via convection
Layered Heaps
Stratocumulus
● Their growth is almost
completely retarded by a
strong inversion.
Layered Heaps
Stratocumulus
● As a result, they flatten
out like stratus clouds,
giving them a layered
appearance.
Layered Heaps
Stratocumulus ● These clouds are
extremely common,
covering on average
around twenty-three
percent of the earth's
oceans and twelve
percent of the earth's
continents.
Layered Heaps
Stratocumulus
● They are less common in
tropical areas and
commonly form after
cold fronts.
Layered Heaps
Stratocumulus
● They reflect a large
amount of the incoming
sunlight, producing a net
cooling effect.
Layered Heaps
Stratocumulus
● They can produce drizzle,
which stabilizes the cloud by
warming it and reducing
turbulent mixing
Layered Heaps
Altocumulus ● Altocumulus clouds
form from 6,500 feet
high to 13,000 feet in
polar areas
Layered Heaps
Altocumulus
● 23,000 feet in
temperate areas and
25,000 feet in tropical
areas.
Layered Heaps
Altocumulus
● They can have precipitation
and are commonly
composed of a mixture of
ice crystals, supercooled
water droplets, and water
droplets in temperate
latitudes.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus ● Cirrocumulus
clouds form in
patches and
cannot cast
shadows.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus
● They commonly
appear in regular,
rippling patterns or in
rows of clouds with
clear areas between.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus
● Cirrocumulus are
formed via convective
processes.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus
● Significant growth of
these patches indicates
high-altitude
instability and can
signal the approach of
poorer weather.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus
● The ice crystals in the
bottoms of
cirrocumulus clouds
tend to be in the form
of hexagonal
cylinders.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus
● They are not solid,
but instead tend to
have stepped funnels
coming in from the
ends
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus
● Towards the top of
the cloud, these
crystals have a
tendency to clump
together.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus ● These clouds do
not last long
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus ● They tend to change into
cirrus because as the water
vapor continues to deposit
on the ice crystals, they
eventually begin to fall,
destroying the upward
convection.
Layered Heaps
Cirrocumulus
● The cloud then
dissipates into cirrus
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● Cirrus clouds are formed
when water vapor
Cirrus undergoes deposition at
high altitudes (13,000 ft)
above sea level to (39,000
ft) above sea level.
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● These conditions
Cirrus commonly occur at
the leading edge of a
warm front.
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● Because humidity is
Cirrus low at such high
altitudes, they tend to
be very thin.
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● Cirrus can form from
Cirrus
tropical cyclones, and are
commonly seen fanning out
from the eye walls of
hurricanes.
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● A large shield of cirrus
typically accompanies the
Cirrus high altitude outflow of
hurricanes or typhoons, and
these can make the
underlying rain bands—and
sometimes even the
eye—difficult to detect in
satellite photographs.
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● cirrus clouds arrive in
Cirrus advance of the frontal
system or tropical
cyclone
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● They indicate that
Cirrus weather conditions
may soon deteriorate.
Wisps: The Cirrus Family
● While they indicates the
Cirrus arrival of precipitation
(rain), cirrus clouds per se
produce only fall streaks
(falling ice crystals that
evaporate before landing on
the ground).
Extraterrestrial Cirrus Clouds
● Cirrus clouds have
been observed on
several other planets.
Extraterrestrial Cirrus Clouds
● On Jupiter, cirrus
clouds are composed
of ammonia
Extraterrestrial Cirrus Clouds
● NASA's Cassini probe
detected these clouds
on Saturn
Extraterrestrial Cirrus Clouds
● Thin water-ice cirrus
form on Saturn's
moon Titan
Extraterrestrial Cirrus Clouds
● Cirrus clouds
composed of methane
ice exist on Uranus.
Extraterrestrial Cirrus Clouds
● On Neptune, thin
wispy clouds which
could possibly be
cirrus have been
detected over the
Great Dark Spot
Extraterrestrial Cirrus Clouds
● As on Uranus,
these are probably
methane crystals.
Cirrus Clouds on Mars
● On September 18, 2008,
the Martian Lander Phoenix
took a time-lapse
photograph of a group of
cirrus clouds moving across
the Martian sky
Cirrus Clouds on Mars
● Near the end of its
mission, the Phoenix
Lander detected more
thin clouds close to
the north pole of
Mars.
Cirrus Clouds on Mars
● Over the course of
several days, they
thickened, lowered,
and eventually began
snowing.
Cirrus Clouds on Mars
● The total
precipitation was
only a few
thousandths of a
millimeter.
Cirrus Clouds on Mars
● These clouds formed
during the Martian
night in two layers,
one around 13,000 ft
above ground and the
other at surface level.
Cirrus Clouds on Mars
● They lasted through
early morning before
being burned away by
the sun.
Precipitating Clouds
Cumulonimbus ● Form when cumulus
congestus clouds develop a
strong updraft that propels
their tops higher and higher
into the atmosphere until
they reach the tropopause at
60,000 feet (18,000 m) in
altitude.
Precipitating Clouds
Cumulonimbus ● Cumulonimbus clouds,
commonly called
thunderheads, can produce
high winds, torrential rain,
lightning, gust fronts,
waterspouts, funnel clouds,
and tornadoes.
Precipitating Clouds
Nimbostratus ● Dark, low-level clouds
accompanied by light
to moderately falling
precipitation.
Precipitating Clouds
Nimbostratus ● Are primarily
composed of water
droplets since their
bases generally lie
below 6,500 feet.
Precipitating Clouds
Nimbostratus ● When temperatures
are cold enough, these
clouds may also
contain ice particles
and snow.
Precipitating Clouds
Nimbostratus ● The sun and moon are
not visible through
nimbostratus clouds
Strange Types of Clouds: Mammatus
Mammatus
Strange Types of Clouds: Mammatus
● Mammatus clouds form in sinking air.
(Most clouds form in rising air.)
Strange Types of Clouds: Mammatus
● Although mammatus most frequently form on the
underside of a cumulonimbus, they can develop
underneath cirrocumulus, altostratus, altocumulus,
and stratocumulus.
Strange Types of Clouds: Mammatus
● For a mammatus to form, the sinking air must be cooler than
the air around it and have high liquid water or ice content.
Strange Types of Clouds: Mammatus
● They derive their name from their appearance.
The baglike sacs that hang beneath the cloud
resemble cow's udders.
Strange Types of Clouds: Altocumulus Lenticularis
Altocumulus lenticularis
Strange Types of Clouds: Altocumulus Lenticularis
● These formations are frequently caused by wave motions
in the atmosphere, and are frequently seen in mountains
or hilly areas.
Strange Types of Clouds: Altocumulus Lenticularis
● They may be triggered off by hills only a few hundred
metres high, and may extend downwind for over 100 KM
The cloud elements form at the windward edge of the
cloud and are carried to the downwind edge - where they
evaporate.
Strange Types of Clouds: Altocumulus Lenticularis
● The cloud as a whole is usually stationary - or
slow moving.
Strange Types of Clouds: Altocumulus Lenticularis
● These clouds often have very smooth
outlines, and show definite shading.
Strange Types of Clouds: Roll Clouds
Roll Cloud
Strange Types of Clouds: Roll Clouds
● Roll clouds are a type of arcus cloud, which
is a category of low cloud formations.
Strange Types of Clouds: Roll Clouds
● Roll clouds sometimes form along with
storms,born out of the storm's downdraft.
Strange Types of Clouds: Roll Clouds
● Sinking cold air causes warm, moist air on the planet's
surface to climb to higher altitudes, where the
moisture condenses into cloud form.
Strange Types of Clouds: Roll Clouds
● Winds from the storm "roll" the cloud parallel to the
horizon, creating an effect that looks much like a
horizontal tornado.
Strange Types of Clouds: Fallstreak Holes
Fallstreak Holes
Strange Types of Clouds: Fallstreak Holes
● Fallstreak Holes are large circular or elliptical gaps
that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulus
clouds.
Strange Types of Clouds: Fallstreak Holes
● Such holes are formed when the water temperature in the
clouds is below freezing but the water has not frozen yet due to
the lack of ice nucleation particles.
Strange Types of Clouds: Fallstreak Holes
● When ice crystals do form it sets off a domino effect, due to the
Bergeron process, causing the water droplets around the
crystals to evaporate: this leaves a large, often circular, hole in
the cloud.
Strange Types of Clouds:Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves
Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves
Strange Types of Clouds:Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves
Kelvin-Helmholtz Waves
Strange Types of Clouds
Supercell
Strange Types of Clouds
Undulatus asperatus
Strange Types of Clouds
Nacreous Clouds
Strange Types of Clouds
Noctilucent clouds
Strange Types of Clouds
shelf clouds
Strange Types of Clouds
Polar Stratospheric Clouds
Strange Types of Clouds
Pyrocumulus
Strange Types of Clouds
Mushroom clouds
