Medium high clouds occupy altitudes of 6,500 feet to 18,000 feet. In the tropics, they may indicate an approaching hurricane. Cirrocumulus are usually seen in the winter and indicate fair, but cold, weather. They are usually white, but sometimes appear gray. Cirrostratus clouds usually come 12-24 hours before a rain or snow storm.Ĭirrocumulus are small, rounded puffs that usually appear in long rows. The sun or moon can shine through Cirrostratus clouds. The appearance of cirrus clouds usually indicates that a change in weather will occur within 24 hours.Ĭirrostratus are sheetlike, thin clouds that usually cover the entire sky. By watching the movement of cirrus clouds you can tell from which direction weather is approaching. Sometimes called mares tails, they stream with the wind. Cirrus clouds are usually white and predict fair weather. They are composed of ice and consist of long, thin, wispy streamers. High clouds above 18,000 feet are cirrus clouds.Ĭirrus clouds are the most common of the high clouds. (I just made that up.) Types Of Cirrus Clouds Then there’s stratusstratus – low (stratus) and flat (stratus) – but since that is redundant, we just call them stratus. These clouds could be either cumulonimbus which would be a puffy, vertically-rising rain cloud or nimbostratus which would be a sheet or flat-looking rain cloud. Nimbo or nimbus might be used with cumulus or stratus to indicate a cloud formation that is producing rain. It can also be used with stratus (flat, layered) as in cirrostratus to indicate a high, flat or layered cloud.Īlto clouds can also be used with cumulus and stratus to indicate altocumulus and altostratus which are middle altitude puffy clouds and middle altitude flat or layered clouds respectively. Names of specific types of clouds are created by combining the name of the cloud’s shape with the name of the cloud’s height.Ĭirros (high) or Cirro can be used with cumulus (heap, puffy) to indicate a cirrocumulus or high, puffy cloud. There are three catagories of heights: Cloud GroupĪnd then there are clouds that can grow from low to high: Clouds with vertical growth The other thing you need to know is the height of the clouds. Nimbus clouds can be either cumulus (puffy) or stratus (flat).
Stratus means “spread out, flatten, cover with a layer” I remember cumulus because they remind me of cool whip. Storm Cloud NamesĬumulus means “heap, a pile, an accumulation” Stratus clouds are flat (like bread) and can be layered or thin and wispy. The other shape of clouds is pretty flat and straight – your plain old white bread clouds (straight = stratus). Cumulus clouds can look like animals or people. These are Cumulus clouds and they are puffy. The first type looks like spoonfuls of marshmallow cream or cool whip (cool whip = cumulus). There are actually ten different types of clouds, but for now we’ll concentrate on two basic shapes. (If you have your own system, let us know and we’ll put it up here.)įirst you need to identify clouds by their shape. So I developed my own system for classifying clouds. When I first started to learn about clouds, I found all the names confusing and hard to remember. You can “keep a weather eye” by watching clouds and paying attention to changes in the wind and the seas.
A skipper knows to always check the weather forecast before leaving the dock, but sometimes weather changes happen very rapidly.
It can also save you and your family from being caught in a sudden thunderstorm. It’s also a pleasant way to pass the time when you are bored. We may earn comission from links on this page, but we have confidence in all recommended products.Ī boat on the water is a great place to watch clouds.