Clouds Leaflet No. 4. ©2013 by Andrew Schuerger. Licensed for use in one classroom.

What is a cloud? When water evaporates, ‘water vapor’ is not visible. When water vapor condenses into water droplets or ice crystals, it becomes visible. Clouds are visible water droplets or ice crystals in the sky. Clouds can form over water or land.

The Water Cycle Water evaporates from oceans and land surfaces. Water vapor rises into the atmosphere and begins to cool. As the water cools it begins to condense into small water droplets or ice crystals. Water droplets and ice crystals form clouds. Once the clouds have enough water, rain or snow begins to fall. Precipitation then collects on the surface and begins the Water Cycle again.

There are many types of clouds. Here are a few examples. Let’s look at six different types of clouds.

(1) Cumulus clouds are white and puffy.

(2) Cirrus clouds are thin and wispy.

(3) Nimbostratus clouds are small rain clouds.

(4) Cumulonimbus clouds are BIG rain clouds.

(5) Stratus clouds are uniform horizontal layers of clouds.

(6) Fog is a cloud that forms near the ground.

Guess the cloud type. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkyFGMAT-Qc 1) These are cirrus clouds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkyFGMAT-Qc **Look at the Notes for the answers.

Guess the cloud type. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVxWOmcfLR4 1) This is a large cumulonimbus cloud building into a severe thunderstorm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVxWOmcfLR4

Guess the cloud type. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNJ6JFc0bk0 1) This is fog.

Guess the cloud type. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-QXMM6dlgE These small puffy clouds are cumulus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-QXMM6dlgE

Guess the cloud type. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjeHJX2wpXU 1) These are stratus clouds.

Guess the cloud type. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yicRXuh6_Vg 1) These are nimbostratus clouds.

Guess the cloud type. This is an example of ‘multiple cloud types’ in one scenic view. The thin wispy clouds are cirrus clouds. Cirrus clouds only form at very high altitudes, so they are above the puffy cumulus clouds on the right.

Guess the cloud type. This photograph is another example of a ‘multiple cloud types’ in a single scenic view. The upper clouds are stratus clouds. But the lower clouds are fog.

*hint – Look carefully…. Guess the cloud type. *hint – Look carefully…. This was a trick question. The clouds are not water vapor but a smoke plume from a forest fire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMagDRCpJ14 This is partly a trick question. The upper left part of the photo has a layer of stratus clouds covering the scene. The center is a volcanic eruption (Sarychev Volcano, Russia). And the right part of the photo is the ash plume from the volcano.

Resources Additional Websites The information, photographs and illustrations presented here were obtained from several government websites: a) NOAA = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [www.noaa.gov] b) NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration [www.nasa.gov] c) NWS = NOAA National Weather Service [www.weather.gov] Additional Websites National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.go The Weather Channel: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker The Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/ NOAA National Weather Service Radar: http://radar.weather.gov NOAA’s photo-library: http://photolib.noaa.gov NOAA Ocean Research: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov