1. CLOUDS Condensation: Process when water vapor goes
Name
Period
Date
CLOUDS
Condensation:
Process when water vapor goes
from a gas to liquid.
Cloud:
A collection of millions of tiny water droplets or ice crystals

2. Humidity – The amount of water vapor or moisture in
the air.
Relative Humidity – The amount of humidity the air
contains versus the amount it can
actually hold.
Dew Point – The temperature the air must cool to in
order to be saturated and condensation to
occur.

3. Maximum water vapor that air holds
Absolute Humidity:
Maximum water vapor that air holds
Relative Humidity:
Actual humidity at a certain temperature

4. Humidity:
Relative Humidity:
Dew Point:
How do clouds form?
Warm air rises and
cools
2. The rising air cools and becomes saturated
Your
foldable
3. At saturation the water vapor changes to a liquid or a solid depending on the air temperature

5. Cloud Types Classifications based on: 1. Shape or Form 2. Altitude
3. Precipitation

6. Cirrus
“CURL of HAIR”
Nimbo
“RAIN”
1803
Luke Howard
Classifications
1. Shape
2. Altitude
3. Precipiation
Stratus
“LAYERED”
Cumulus
“HEAPED”

7. VERY COLD
HIGH
MID
LOW
NOT SO COLD

8. DESCRIPTIONS
Cumulus
Puffy, white clouds that tend to have flat bottoms
Formed when warm air rises
Indicates fair weather
Other adjectives: Piled, lumpy, billowy

9. Stratus Form in layers Covers large areas of the sky
Often blocks the sun or moon
Formed by gentle lifting of a large mass of air
FOG - stratus cloud that comes in contact with the ground
Other adjectives: sheets, blanket

10. Cirrus Thin, feathery, white clouds High altitudes
Formed when the wind is strong
Indicated approaching bad weather
Other adjectives: wispy looking, horse tails

11. Nimbo When nimbo or nimbus is part of the cloud’s
name it means precipitation might fall
Nimbostratus clouds are dark stratus cloud that produce light to heavy continuous rain
Cumulonimbus clouds are cumulous clouds that form thunderstorms and produce heavy rain

12. Cirrus clouds HIGH altitude clouds – 6000 meters +
Primarily composed of ice crystals and include the following:
Cirrus clouds

13. 2. Cirrocumulus clouds

14. They “blanket” the sky and are usually translucent
3. Cirrostratus clouds

15. MEDIUM altitude clouds – 2000 meters to below 6000 meters
They can contain ice crystals and/or water droplets and may occasionally be associated with some light precipitation. Alto means MID
They appear “puffier” than the HIGH level cirrocumulus because we’re closer to them!
4. Altocumulus

16. 5. Altostratus

17. 6. Cumulus LOW altitude clouds – Below 2000 meters
Low clouds are most often composed of water droplets, but can have ice crystals in colder climates.
6. Cumulus
Cumulus clouds tend to be “opaque” due to their “thickness”

18. 7. Stratocumulus

19. People often refer to a Stratus cloud filled sky as “overcast”

20. is considered a low Stratus cloud that is in contact with the ground
FOG
is considered a low Stratus cloud that is in contact with the ground
So . . .
Fog = Stratus Cloud NOT a separate cloud type!

21. Multi-layer clouds: 9. Nimbostratus
A gray and rainy day is usually filled with Nimbostratus clouds!
These clouds are very dark, usually overcast, and are associated with large areas of
continuous precipitation

22. 10. CUMULONIMBUS Can extend above 60,000 feet
They usually have large anvil-shaped tops
These are the clouds that can produce
lightning, thunder, heavy rains, hail, strong winds, and tornadoes.

23. All together

24. Special Clouds:
Mammatus Clouds

25. Here are some other, rarer, types of clouds:

26. Produced by the flow of air interacting with
Orographic clouds
Produced by the flow of air interacting with
mountainous terrain.
CAP cloud

27. Lens-shaped clouds that can result from
Lenticular
cloud
Lens-shaped clouds that can result from
strong wind flow over
rugged terrain

28. SUNDOG

32. These clouds are called Undulatus Asperatus.
They are very rare

34. This could be the first new cloud formation to be added
in over 50 years.
The clouds actually dissipate before storms form, despite their dark and threatening appearance.

35. Taken in Gilberts, Il. by Caitlin Gurgone
March 16, 2012

36. Garrett Schneider’s
Fire Rainbow pictures
2013

37. Determining Cloud Level
To determine cumulus cloud level hold your hand out at arm’s length and compare the size of the cloud “part” to the following:
Low-level cumulus clouds are about the same size, or
larger than, your fist.
Mid-level cumulus clouds are farther away and the individual
cloud pieces are about the size of your thumb.
High-level cumulus clouds are smaller still, with individual
cloud pieces about the size of the nail on your
little finger.

38. Stratus clouds have no distinct cloud pieces to measure and a general rule is that cloud opacity tends to decrease with height. Thus, by observing how much the cloud obscures the Sun, you can estimate the level of a stratus cloud.
Low-level clouds are generally thicker than mid-level clouds, and a high-level cirrostratus is very thin.
If there is precipitation, the chances are very good that you are dealing with a low-level cloud. Mid-level clouds occasionally precipitate, but this is a rare occurrence.

40. The END!