Cloud Types and Formation: A Beginner's Guide

Clouds Revised and edited by Tracy Sikes, Mount Bethel Elementary

How do clouds form? When water vapor in the air becomes liquid water or ice crystals.

Condensation • When the water vapor reaches the high cool air, it turns into water drops that form the clouds. • This is condensation and is part of the water cycle.

TYPES OF CLOUDS • There are many types of clouds. • Clouds are classified by: 1. Their color 2. Their shape and size 3. Where they form in the atmosphere.

STRATUS Sheets of low, grey clouds that bring light snow, rain, or drizzle.

FOG A cloud in contact with the ground. Fog is a type of Stratus cloud.

NIMBOSTRATUS Thicker layer than stratus clouds that completely block out the sun. They cause steady rain or snow.

CUMULUS White and puffy clouds that usually mean good weather.

CUMULUS • Cumulus clouds are fun to watch. • People often see “pictures” in the sky made by Cumulus clouds.

CUMULONIMBUS Dark, towering clouds that are also called “thunderheads”. These clouds produce heavy rain, thunder, and lighting.

CUMULONIMBUS • Often referred to as Nimbus.

CIRRUS Thin, featherlike clouds that are made of ice crystals high in the atmosphere. Usually means a change in the weather is coming.

CIRRUS CLOUDS

What does the color of a cloud tell you? • The color of a cloud lets you know how much water it contains. • White clouds have little water. • Dark clouds usually mean heavy rain. • Grey clouds can mean snow or rain.

Where do clouds form? • Clouds form along weather fronts.

Cloud Types and Formation: A Beginner's Guide

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