1. CLOUDS

2. What You Will Be Able To Do:
Predict weather conditions based on the characteristics of clouds.

3. What is a Cloud?
A cloud is a collection of millions of tiny water droplets or ice crystals.

4. How Clouds Form Clouds form as warm air rises and cools.
As the rising air cools, it becomes saturated. When the air is saturated, the water vapor changes to a liquid or a solid, depending on the air temperature.

5. Classifying Clouds
Clouds are classified by form and altitude.

6. Cumulus Clouds Puffy, white clouds that usually indicate fair weather.
But, when these clouds get larger, they produce thunderstorms.
Thunderstorms come from cumulonimbus clouds.
Clouds that have names that include -nimbus or nimbo- produce precipitation.

7. Cumulus Clouds
Cumulus Cloud
Cumulonimbus Cloud

8. Stratus Clouds Stratus clouds are clouds that form in layers.
Stratus clouds cover large areas of the sky and often block out the sun.
Nimbostratus clouds are dark stratus clouds that usually produce light to heavy, continuous rain.
Fog is a stratus cloud that has formed near the ground.

9. Stratus Clouds
Stratus Clouds
Nimbostratus Clouds

10. Cirrus Clouds
Cirrus clouds are thin, feathery, white clouds found at high altitudes.
Cirrus clouds form when the wind is strong.
If they get thicker, cirrus clouds indicate a change in the weather is coming.

11. Cirrus Clouds

12. Clouds and Altitude
Clouds are also classified by the altitude at which they form.
The prefix cirro- is used to describe clouds that form at high altitudes.
The prefix alto- describes clouds that form at middle altitudes.
Clouds that form at low altitudes don’t have a specific prefix to describe them.

13. Clouds and Altitude

14. What type of cloud?
Cirrus

15. What type of cloud?
Stratus

16. What type of cloud?
Cumulus

17. What type of cloud?
Nimbostratus

18. What type of cloud?
Cumulonimbus