Clouds form when warm air rises and cools, causing water vapor to condense onto particles like dust. There are three main cloud types based on altitude - high, middle, and low clouds. High clouds like cirrus are wispy and made of ice crystals. Middle clouds such as altostratus cover the sky in gray. Low clouds like stratus appear as blankets. Cumulus clouds are puffy and allow shapes to be seen. Nimbus clouds are dark and rain-bearing. Cloud names indicate their type and altitude through prefixes.
Clouds
What are clouds?
A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air.
Why do clouds float?
A cloud is made up of liquid water droplets. A cloud forms when air is heated by the sun. As it rises, it slowly cools it reaches the saturation point and water condenses, forming a cloud. As long as the cloud and the air that its made of is warmer than the outside air around it, it floats!
There are 3 main types of clouds:
Cirrus or thin feathery clouds
Stratus or layered clouds
Cumulus or fluffy clouds
Cirrus Clouds
Are the most common of the
high clouds. They are composed of ice and are thin, wispy clouds blown in high winds into long streamers. Cirrus clouds are usually white and predict fair to pleasant weather. By watching the movement of cirrus clouds you can tell from which direction weather is approaching. When you see cirrus clouds, it usually indicates that a change in the weather will occur within 24 hours.
Stratus Clouds
are uniform grayish clouds that often cover the entire sky. They resemble fog that doesn't reach the ground. Light mist or drizzle sometimes falls out of these clouds.
Cumulus Clouds
are white, puffy clouds that look like pieces of floating cotton. Cumulus clouds are often called "fair-weather clouds". The base of each cloud is flat and the top of each cloud has rounded towers. When the top of the cumulus clouds resemble the head of a cauliflower, it is called cumulus congestus or towering cumulus. These clouds grow upward and they can develop into giant cumulonimbus clouds, which are thunderstorm clouds.
The Importance of Clouds
Clouds help regulate Earth's energy balance by reflecting and scattering solar radiation and by absorbing Earth's infrared energy.
Clouds are required for precipitation to occur and, hence are an essential part of the hydrologic cycle.
Clouds indicate what type of atmospheric processes are occurring (e.g., cumulus clouds indicate surface heating and atmospheric turbulence).
Clouds help redistribute extra heat from the equator toward the poles.
References
https://www.google.com/search?q=clouds&biw=1366&bih=624&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixqOqjlu3NAhVHNpQKHbtGCE0Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=_
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=624&tbm=isch&q=clouds+clipart&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir8paml-3NAhXGkJQKHSrFAPUQhyYIHQ&dpr=1#imgrc=WZWIVB52x_MJRM%3A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cloud_types
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-clouds.htm
Clouds
What are clouds?
A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air.
Why do clouds float?
A cloud is made up of liquid water droplets. A cloud forms when air is heated by the sun. As it rises, it slowly cools it reaches the saturation point and water condenses, forming a cloud. As long as the cloud and the air that its made of is warmer than the outside air around it, it floats!
There are 3 main types of clouds:
Cirrus or thin feathery clouds
Stratus or layered clouds
Cumulus or fluffy clouds
Cirrus Clouds
Are the most common of the
high clouds. They are composed of ice and are thin, wispy clouds blown in high winds into long streamers. Cirrus clouds are usually white and predict fair to pleasant weather. By watching the movement of cirrus clouds you can tell from which direction weather is approaching. When you see cirrus clouds, it usually indicates that a change in the weather will occur within 24 hours.
Stratus Clouds
are uniform grayish clouds that often cover the entire sky. They resemble fog that doesn't reach the ground. Light mist or drizzle sometimes falls out of these clouds.
Cumulus Clouds
are white, puffy clouds that look like pieces of floating cotton. Cumulus clouds are often called "fair-weather clouds". The base of each cloud is flat and the top of each cloud has rounded towers. When the top of the cumulus clouds resemble the head of a cauliflower, it is called cumulus congestus or towering cumulus. These clouds grow upward and they can develop into giant cumulonimbus clouds, which are thunderstorm clouds.
The Importance of Clouds
Clouds help regulate Earth's energy balance by reflecting and scattering solar radiation and by absorbing Earth's infrared energy.
Clouds are required for precipitation to occur and, hence are an essential part of the hydrologic cycle.
Clouds indicate what type of atmospheric processes are occurring (e.g., cumulus clouds indicate surface heating and atmospheric turbulence).
Clouds help redistribute extra heat from the equator toward the poles.
References
https://www.google.com/search?q=clouds&biw=1366&bih=624&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixqOqjlu3NAhVHNpQKHbtGCE0Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=_
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=624&tbm=isch&q=clouds+clipart&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir8paml-3NAhXGkJQKHSrFAPUQhyYIHQ&dpr=1#imgrc=WZWIVB52x_MJRM%3A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cloud_types
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-clouds.htm
This is a presentation held by Project manager Christine Hafskjold at a strategy workshop for the Norwegian Mail in February 2009. The slides and notes are in Norwegian.
Class 11 explanation of clouds Geography Book Fundamentals of Human Development Complete Explanation of all concept of NCERT class 12th
It is easy to understand
All concept are taken under Guidance of Mrs Kavita Chabbra
2. What is a cloud?
A visible collection of water droplets or frozen
crystals of water that are suspended above the surface
of the earth.
3. How are clouds formed?
All air contains water, but near the ground it is
usually in the form of an invisible gas called water
vapor. When warm air rises, it expands and cools.
Cool air can’t hold as much water vapor as warm air,
so some of the vapor condenses onto tiny pieces of
dust that are floating in the air and form as a tiny
droplet around each dust particle. When billions of
these droplets come together they become a visible
cloud.
4. Why are they white?
They are white because they reflect the light of the
sun
5. Cloud Prefixes
High Clouds
Middle Clouds
Cirro = clouds above 18,000
feet
Alto =6,500 fee to 18,000 feet
above ground
Strato = Ground level to
6,500 feet
Low Clouds
Cloud Prefixes are:
Cirro is for High Clouds
Alto is for Middle Clouds
Strato is for Low Clouds
6. Types of clouds
CUMULUS:CUMULUS: Latin word meaning heap
White puffy clouds
Seen on a sunny day, the wind blows them around
These are the clouds you can see shapes in
7. Cumulus clouds
Notice the blue sky, white
puffy clouds
Can you see an animal in the
cloud in the center? I can
8. Types of Cumulus Clouds
Cirrocumulus Clouds
Small rounded white puffs that appear in long rows. Small
ripples sometimes resemble the scales of a fish. Usually seen
in winter and indicate fair, but cold weather. In tropical
regions them may indicate an approaching hurricane.
9. Types of Cumulus clouds
Alto Cumulus = mid level clouds made of water
droplets and appear as gray puffy masses. If you see
them on a warm sticky summer morning, be prepared
to see thunderstorms in the late afternoon.
10. Types of Cumulus clouds
Stratocumulus Clouds = low, puffy and gray,
most are in rows with blue sky between. Rain rarely
occurs with stratocumulus clouds.
11. Types of clouds
STRATUSSTRATUS: Latin root means layered
Usually seen on a rainy day
Like a blanket of light gray in the sky
You can’t tell where one cloud ends and another begins
13. Types of stratus clouds
Thin sheetlike high clouds that often cover
the entire sky. Usually come 12-24 hours
before snow or rain.
Cirrostratus
14. Altostratus Clouds
Gray or blue-gray mid-level clouds
Usually cover the entire sky
Form ahead of storms with continuous rain or snow
15. How are these clouds
different?
Cumulus clouds Stratus clouds
16. Cloud types
Cirrus CloudsCirrus Clouds
Thin and wispy
High in the sky
Made of ice crystals
Seen on a fair day
Point or curl in the direction the wind is moving
Usually indicate a change in the weather within 24
hours
17. Cirrus Clouds
See how you can almost see
through these clouds?
They also have “tails” that
point in the direction the air
is moving (what is moving
air called?)
18. Types of clouds
NimbusNimbus (latin means cloud)
Is giving off rain or snow (what is this called?)
Dark gray
Usually cover the whole sky
Can produce a thunderstorm or tornado
19. Nimbus Clouds
You can see how dark they
are. Sometimes they are not
quite so dark, but they
usually have rain or snow
with them.
20. How are these different?
Nimbus clouds Stratus clouds
21. How are these clouds
different?
Cumulus clouds Cirrus clouds