Clouds!

1. Clouds! by Betsy , Janie , Lealis , and Christopher

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4. Clouds • How do clouds form? Clouds are made of water droplets. A cloud is formed if water vapor is added to the air and the air cools enough. • Clouds form when water vapor turns into a liquid, water. For example, when water comes off your cold glass of water, that is the process. • After the water droplets form into a cloud, they fall down on earth as rain or snow. • Did you know that the way meteorologists name clouds is by how high in the sky they form? They also make the name by looking at the appearance of the cloud. • Clouds can have a double name. They have a double name because the first part of the name has to do with the height, and the second part has to do with how they look. • The inside of a cloud is really all fog. Fog is also a different type of a cloud. • Lastly, a cloud could hold up to 150 thousand tons of water. That could be enough to fill a mile long pond, 300 feet wide and five feet deep! That’s a lot of water!

5. Mid- Level Clouds Altocumulus • The bottom of a mid-level cloud normally appears to be between 6,500 to 20,000 feet. Because of low altitudes are, they’re mostly formed by water droplets. • However, when the temperature is low enough, ice crystals can be formed. • Altocumulus clouds look like stretched out clouds in the sky. When you see altocumulus clouds that can mean rain or snow depending on the temperature. • The name altocumulus means middle and heap, so the clouds are puffy and located in the middle of the atmosphere.

6. Low Level Clouds Nimbostratus Stratocumulus • Nimbostratus clouds are low-level clouds. Low-level clouds are usually rain clouds. • If it is cold enough the rain droplets turn into ice. • We usually consider nimbostratus clouds as fog. • They are very low to the ground. • Stratocumulus clouds are also low-level. • They are usually light gray or dark gray clouds. • Stratocumulus clouds have breaks of clear sky in between them.

7. High Level Clouds Cirrus Cirrostratus • Cirrus clouds are thin and wispy clouds that are the most common high level clouds. • They are usually found at about 20,000 feet in the sky. • Cirrus clouds are made up of ice crystals. • These clouds are very thin and are made of ice crystals. • Although this cloud can be thousands of feet thick, it is very hard to see. • When broad layers of air are lifted by large-scale convergence, the cirrostratus clouds form.

8. Clouds with Vertical Development Fair Weather Cumulus Cumulonimbus • These clouds have the appearance of cotton and have a life of5-40 minutes. • They are known for their flatness and particular outlines. • Fair weather cumulus clouds don’t grow as much as others. • These clouds are much bigger and more vertically made than fair weather cumulus clouds. • They are fueled by strong heat transfers leading to cloud forming. • The top of cumulonimbus clouds can easily get up to 39,000 feet or higher.

9. Contrails What Is It?? A contrail is also known as a condensation trail. It is a cirrus-like trail of condensed water vapor, and it looks like a trail of a kite. Contrails are made at the high altitudes where extremely cold temperatures freeze water droplets in seconds before they can evaporate. Contrails form by the water vapor being in the atmosphere from the smoke of a jet engine. If the surrounding air is cold enough, ice crystals develop, making a contrail.

10. Conclusion The major clouds types are stratus, cumulus, and cirrus. Cloud types are determined by the weather. Cirrus and nimbostratus clouds can both contain ice crystals. The stratocumulus clouds are the most common storm clouds.

11. Bibliography • LeMone, Margaret A. "Cloud." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2010. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. • http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloudhome.html • http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/home.rxml