Cloud

In meteorology, a cloud is an
aerosol consisting of a visible
mass of minute liquid droplets,
frozen crystals, or other
particles suspended in the
atmosphere of a planetary body
or similar space.[1] Water or
various other chemicals may
Cumuliform cloudscape over Swifts Creek, Australia
compose the droplets and
crystals. On Earth, clouds are
formed as a result of saturation
of the air when it is cooled to its dew point, or when it gains
sufficient moisture (usually in the form of water vapor) from an
adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature.
They are seen in the Earth's homosphere, which includes the
troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. Nephology is the
science of clouds, which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch
of meteorology. There are two methods of naming clouds in their
respective layers of the homosphere, Latin and common.
Play media
Genus types in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer closest to
Clouds (c. 1920s), a silent
Earth's surface, have Latin names because of the universal
documentary film about clouds
adoption of Luke Howard's nomenclature that was formally
produced by the United States
proposed in 1802. It became the basis of a modern international
Department of Agriculture
system that divides clouds into five physical forms which can be
further divided or classified into altitude levels to derive ten basic
genera. The main representative cloud types for each of these forms are stratus, cirrus, stratocumulus,
cumulus, and cumulonimbus. Low-level clouds do not have any altitude-related prefixes. However mid-
level stratiform and stratocumuliform types are given the prefix alto- while high-level variants of these same
two forms carry the prefix cirro-. Genus types with sufficient vertical extent to occupy more than one level
do not carry any altitude related prefixes. They are classified formally as low- or mid-level depending on
the altitude at which each initially forms, and are also more informally characterized as multi-level or
vertical. Most of the ten genera derived by this method of classification can be subdivided into species and
further subdivided into varieties. Very low stratiform clouds that extend down to the Earth's surface are
given the common names fog and mist, but have no Latin names.

In the stratosphere and mesosphere, clouds have common names for their main types. They may have the
appearance of stratiform veils or sheets, cirriform wisps, or stratocumuliform bands or ripples. They are
seen infrequently, mostly in the polar regions of Earth. Clouds have been observed in the atmospheres of
other planets and moons in the Solar System and beyond. However, due to their different temperature
characteristics, they are often composed of other substances such as methane, ammonia, and sulfuric acid,
as well as water.
Tropospheric clouds can have a direct effect on climate change on Earth. They may reflect incoming rays
from the sun which can contribute to a cooling effect where and when these clouds occur, or trap longer
wave radiation that reflects back up from the Earth's surface which can cause a warming effect. The
altitude, form, and thickness of the clouds are the main factors that affect the local heating or cooling of
Earth and the atmosphere. Clouds that form above the troposphere are too scarce and too thin to have any
influence on climate change. Clouds are the main uncertainty in climate sensitivity.[2]

Contents
Tabular overview
Etymology and history of cloud science and nomenclature
Etymology
Aristotle
First comprehensive classification
Formation in the homosphere: How air becomes saturated
Adiabatic cooling
Non-adiabatic cooling
Adding moisture to the air
Classification: How clouds are identified in the troposphere
Physical forms
Levels and genera
Species
Varieties
Accessory clouds, supplementary features, and other derivative types
Distribution: Where tropospheric clouds are most and least prevalent
Convergence along low-pressure zones
Divergence along high pressure zones
Luminance, reflectivity, and coloration
Effects on the troposphere, climate, and climate change
Polar stratospheric
Polar mesospheric
Extraterrestrial
In culture and religion
See also
References
Bibliography
External links

Tabular overview
The table that follows is very broad in scope. It draws from several methods of cloud classification, both
formal and informal, used in different levels of the Earth's homosphere by a number of cited authorities,
especially with respect to forms,[3] altitude levels,[4] forms and levels,[5] towering vertical clouds,[6] and
clouds above the troposphere.[7] Despite some differences in nomenclature, the classification schemes seen
in this article can be combined by using an informal cross-classification of physical forms and altitude levels
to derive the 10 tropospheric genera, the fog and mist that forms at surface level, and several additional
major types above the troposphere. The cumulus genus includes four species that indicate vertical size
which can affect the altitude levels. This table should not be seen as a strict or singular classification, but as
an illustration of how various major cloud types are related to each other and defined through a full range
of altitude levels from Earth's surface to the "edge of space."

Stratiform Cirriform Stratocumuliform Cumuliform

Forms and Cumulonimbiform
non- mostly limited- free-
levels strong convective
convective nonconvective convective convective
PMC:
Noctilucent
Extreme-level Noctilucent Noctilucent bands
billows or whirls
veils
Very high- Nitric acid and Cirriform Lenticular
level water PSC nacreous PSC nacreous PSC
High-level Cirrostratus Cirrus Cirrocumulus
Mid-level Altostratus Altocumulus
Cumulus
Low-level Stratus Stratocumulus humilis or
fractus
Multi-level or
Cumulus
moderate Nimbostratus
mediocris
vertical
Towering Cumulus
Cumulonimbus
vertical congestus
Surface-level Fog or mist

Etymology and history of cloud science and nomenclature

Etymology

The origin of the term "cloud" can be found in the Old English words clud or clod, meaning a hill or a
mass of stone. Around the beginning of the 13th century, the word came to be used as a metaphor for rain
clouds, because of the similarity in appearance between a mass of rock and cumulus heap cloud. Over time,
the metaphoric usage of the word supplanted the Old English weolcan, which had been the literal term for
clouds in general.[8][9]

Aristotle

Ancient cloud studies were not made in isolation, but were observed in combination with other weather
elements and even other natural sciences. Around 340 BC, Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote
Meteorologica, a work which represented the sum of knowledge of the time about natural science,
including weather and climate. For the first time, precipitation and the clouds from which precipitation fell
were called meteors, which originate from the Greek word meteoros, meaning 'high in the sky'. From that
word came the modern term meteorology, the study of clouds and weather. Meteorologica was based on
intuition and simple observation, but not on what is now considered the scientific method. Nevertheless, it
was the first known work that attempted to treat a broad range of meteorological topics in a systematic way,
especially the hydrological cycle.[10]

First comprehensive classification

After centuries of speculative theories about the

formation and behavior of clouds, the first truly
scientific studies were undertaken by Luke Howard in
England and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in France.
Howard was a methodical observer with a strong
grounding in the Latin language, and used his
background to classify the various tropospheric cloud
types during 1802. He believed that the changing
cloud forms in the sky could unlock the key to
weather forecasting. Lamarck had worked
Tropospheric cloud classification by altitude of
independently on cloud classification the same year
occurrence: Multi-level and vertical genus-types
and had come up with a different naming scheme that
not limited to a single altitude level include
failed to make an impression even in his home nimbostratus, cumulonimbus, and some of the
country of France because it used unusual French larger cumulus species.
names for cloud types. His system of nomenclature
included 12 categories of clouds, with such names as
(translated from French) hazy clouds, dappled clouds, and broom-like clouds. By contrast, Howard used
universally accepted Latin, which caught on quickly after it was published in 1803.[11] As a sign of the
popularity of the naming scheme, German dramatist and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe composed four
poems about clouds, dedicating them to Howard. An elaboration of Howard's system was eventually
formally adopted by the International Meteorological Conference in 1891.[11] This system covered only the
tropospheric cloud types, but the discovery of clouds above the troposphere during the late 19th century
eventually led to the creation of separate classification schemes using common names for these very high
clouds, which were still broadly similar to some cloud forms identified in the troposphere.[7]

Formation in the homosphere: How air becomes saturated

Terrestrial clouds can be found throughout most of the
homosphere, which includes the troposphere, stratosphere, and
mesosphere. Within these layers of the atmosphere, air can become
saturated as a result of being cooled to its dew point or by having
moisture added from an adjacent source.[12] In the latter case,
saturation occurs when the dew point is raised to the ambient air
temperature.
Cumulus clouds in May

Adiabatic cooling

Adiabatic cooling occurs when one or more of three possible lifting agents – convective, cyclonic/frontal,
or orographic – cause a parcel of air containing invisible water vapor to rise and cool to its dew point, the
temperature at which the air becomes saturated. The main mechanism behind this process is adiabatic
cooling.[13] As the air is cooled to its dew point and becomes saturated, water vapor normally condenses to
form cloud drops. This condensation normally occurs on cloud condensation nuclei such as salt or dust
particles that are small enough to be held aloft by normal circulation of the air.[14][15]
One agent is the convective upward motion of air
caused by daytime solar heating at surface level.[14]
Airmass instability allows for the formation of
cumuliform clouds that can produce showers if the air
is sufficiently moist.[16] On moderately rare
occasions, convective lift can be powerful enough to
penetrate the tropopause and push the cloud top into
the stratosphere.[17]

Frontal and cyclonic lift occur when stable air is Play media
forced aloft at weather fronts and around centers of
Animation of cloud evolution from cumulus humilis
low pressure by a process called convergence.[18] to cumulonimbus capillatus incus
Warm fronts associated with extratropical cyclones
tend to generate mostly cirriform and stratiform clouds
over a wide area unless the approaching warm airmass is unstable, in which case cumulus congestus or
cumulonimbus clouds are usually embedded in the main precipitating cloud layer.[19] Cold fronts are
usually faster moving and generate a narrower line of clouds, which are mostly stratocumuliform,
cumuliform, or cumulonimbiform depending on the stability of the warm airmass just ahead of the front.[20]

A third source of lift is wind circulation forcing air over a physical

barrier such as a mountain (orographic lift).[14] If the air is
generally stable, nothing more than lenticular cap clouds form.
However, if the air becomes sufficiently moist and unstable,
orographic showers or thunderstorms may appear.[21]

Non-adiabatic cooling

Along with adiabatic cooling that requires a lifting agent, three

Windy evening twilight enhanced by
major nonadiabatic mechanisms exist for lowering the temperature
the Sun's angle, can visually mimic a
of the air to its dew point. Conductive, radiational, and evaporative tornado resulting from orographic lift
cooling require no lifting mechanism and can cause condensation
at surface level resulting in the formation of fog.[22][23][24]

Adding moisture to the air

Several main sources of water vapor can be added to the air as a way of achieving saturation without any
cooling process: evaporation from surface water or moist ground,[25][26][27] precipitation or virga,[28] and
transpiration from plants.[29]

Classification: How clouds are identified in the troposphere

Tropospheric classification is based on a hierarchy of categories with physical forms and altitude levels at
the top.[3][4] These are cross-classified into a total of ten genus types, most of which can be divided into
species and further subdivided into varieties which are at the bottom of the hierarchy.[30]

Physical forms
Clouds in the troposphere assume five physical forms based on
structure and process of formation. These forms are commonly
used for the purpose of satellite analysis.[3] They are given below
in approximate ascending order of instability or convective
activity.[31]

Stratiform

Nonconvective stratiform clouds appear in stable airmass

conditions and, in general, have flat, sheet-like structures that can Low stratus fractus partly obscuring
form at any altitude in the troposphere.[32] The stratiform group is nimbostratus over Deccan Plateau,
India
divided by altitude range into the genera cirrostratus (high-level),
altostratus (mid-level), stratus (low-level), and nimbostratus (multi-
level).[4] Fog is commonly considered a surface-based cloud
layer.[21] The fog may form at surface level in clear air or it may be
the result of a very low stratus cloud subsiding to ground or sea
level. Conversely, low stratiform clouds result when advection fog
is lifted above surface level during breezy conditions.

Cirriform
Cirrus fibratus clouds in March
Cirriform clouds in the troposphere are of the genus cirrus and
have the appearance of detached or semimerged filaments. They
form at high tropospheric altitudes in air that is mostly stable with
little or no convective activity, although denser patches may
occasionally show buildups caused by limited high-level
convection where the air is partly unstable.[33] Clouds resembling
cirrus can be found above the troposphere but are classified
separately using common names.

Stratocumuliform
Stratocumulus over Orange County.
Clouds of this structure have both cumuliform and stratiform
characteristics in the form of rolls, ripples, or elements.[5] They
generally form as a result of limited convection in an otherwise mostly stable airmass topped by an
inversion layer.[34] If the inversion layer is absent or higher in the troposphere, increased airmass instability
may cause the cloud layers to develop tops in the form of turrets consisting of embedded cumuliform
buildups.[35] The stratocumuliform group is divided into cirrocumulus (high-level), altocumulus (mid-
level), and stratocumulus (low-level).[5]

Cumuliform

Cumuliform clouds generally appear in isolated heaps or tufts.[36][37] They are the product of localized but
generally free-convective lift where no inversion layers are in the troposphere to limit vertical growth. In
general, small cumuliform clouds tend to indicate comparatively weak instability. Larger cumuliform types
are a sign of greater atmospheric instability and convective activity.[38] Depending on their vertical size,
clouds of the cumulus genus type may be low-level or multi-level with moderate to towering vertical
extent.[4]
Cumulonimbiform

The largest free-convective clouds comprise the genus

cumulonimbus, which have towering vertical extent. They occur in
highly unstable air[14] and often have fuzzy outlines at the upper
parts of the clouds that sometimes include anvil tops.[5] These
clouds are the product of very strong convection that can penetrate
the lower stratosphere.

Cumulus over Dooars, West Bengal,

Levels and genera
India

Tropospheric clouds form in any of three levels (formerly called

étages) based on altitude range above the Earth's surface. The
grouping of clouds into levels is commonly done for the purposes
of cloud atlases, surface weather observations,[4] and weather
maps.[39] The base-height range for each level varies depending
on the latitudinal geographical zone.[4] Each altitude level
comprises two or three genus-types differentiated mainly by
physical form.[40][5]

The standard levels and genus-types are summarised below in

Cumulonimbus cloud over the Gulf of
approximate descending order of the altitude at which each is
Mexico in Galveston, Texas
normally based.[41] Multi-level clouds with significant vertical
extent are separately listed and summarized in approximate
ascending order of instability or convective activity.[31]

High-level

High clouds form at altitudes of 3,000 to 7,600 m (10,000 to 25,000 ft) in the polar regions, 5,000 to
12,200 m (16,500 to 40,000 ft) in the temperate regions, and 6,100 to 18,300 m (20,000 to 60,000 ft) in the
tropics.[4] All cirriform clouds are classified as high, thus constitute a single genus cirrus (Ci).
Stratocumuliform and stratiform clouds in the high altitude range carry the prefix cirro-, yielding the
respective genus names cirrocumulus (Cc) and cirrostratus (Cs). If limited-resolution satellite images of
high clouds are analysed without supporting data from direct human observations, distinguishing between
individual forms or genus types becomes impossible, and they are collectively identified as high-type (or
informally as cirrus-type, though not all high clouds are of the cirrus form or genus).[42]

Genus cirrus (Ci):

These are mostly fibrous wisps of delicate, white,

cirriform, ice crystal clouds that show up clearly
against the blue sky.[33] Cirrus are generally non-
convective except castellanus and floccus subtypes
which show limited convection. They often form along
a high altitude jetstream[43] and at the very leading
edge of a frontal or low-pressure disturbance where
they may merge into cirrostratus. This high-level cloud
A large field of cirrocumulus
genus does not produce precipitation.[41]

Genus cirrocumulus (Cc):

 This is a pure white high stratocumuliform layer of
limited convection. It is composed of ice crystals or
supercooled water droplets appearing as small
unshaded round masses or flakes in groups or lines
with ripples like sand on a beach.[44][45] Cirrocumulus
occasionally forms alongside cirrus and may be
accompanied or replaced by cirrostratus clouds near
the leading edge of an active weather system. This High cirrus upper-left merging into
genus-type occasionally produces virga, precipitation cirrostratus and some cirrocumulus
that evaporates below the base of the cloud.[19] upper right

Genus cirrostratus (Cs):

Cirrostratus is a thin nonconvective stratiform ice crystal veil that typically gives rise to
halos caused by refraction of the sun's rays. The sun and moon are visible in clear
outline.[46] Cirrostratus does not produce precipitation, but often thickens into altostratus
ahead of a warm front or low-pressure area, which sometimes does.[47]

Mid-level

Nonvertical clouds in the middle level are prefixed by alto-,

yielding the genus names altocumulus (Ac) for stratocumuliform
types and altostratus (As) for stratiform types. These clouds can
form as low as 2,000 m (6,500 ft) above surface at any latitude, but
may be based as high as 4,000 m (13,000 ft) near the poles,
7,000 m (23,000 ft) at midlatitudes, and 7,600 m (25,000 ft) in the
tropics.[4] As with high clouds, the main genus types are easily
identified by the human eye, but distinguishing between them
using satellite photography alone is not possible. When the
Sunrise scene giving a shine to an
supporting data of human observations are not available, these altocumulus stratiformis perlucidus
clouds are usually collectively identified as middle-type on satellite cloud (see also 'species and
images.[42] varieties')

Genus altocumulus (Ac):

This is a midlevel cloud layer of limited convection that is usually appears in the form of
irregular patches or more extensive sheets arranged in groups, lines, or waves.[48]
Altocumulus may occasionally resemble cirrocumulus, but is usually thicker and
composed of a mix of water droplets and ice crystals, so the bases show at least some
light-grey shading.[49] Altocumulus can produce virga, very light precipitation that
evaporates before reaching the ground.[50]

Genus altostratus (As):

Altostratus is a midlevel opaque or translucent nonconvective veil of grey/blue-grey cloud

that often forms along warm fronts and around low-pressure areas. Altostratus is usually
composed of water droplets, but may be mixed with ice crystals at higher altitudes.
Widespread opaque altostratus can produce light continuous or intermittent
precipitation.[51]

Low-level
Low clouds are found from near the surface up to 2,000 m
(6,500 ft).[4] Genus types in this level either have no prefix or
carry one that refers to a characteristic other than altitude. Clouds
that form in the low level of the troposphere are generally of larger
structure than those that form in the middle and high levels, so they
can usually be identified by their forms and genus types using
satellite photography alone.[42]

Genus stratocumulus (Sc):

Altostratus translucidus near top of
This genus type is a stratocumuliform cloud layer of
photo merging into altostratus
limited convection, usually in the form of irregular
opacus near bottom
patches or more extensive sheets similar to
altocumulus but having larger elements with deeper-
gray shading.[52] Stratocumulus is often present
during wet weather originating from other rain clouds,
but can only produce very light precipitation on its
own.[53]

Genus cumulus (Cu); species humilis – little vertical

extent:

These are small detached fair-weather cumuliform Stratocumulus stratiformis perlucidus

clouds that have nearly horizontal bases and flattened over Galapagos, Tortuga Bay (see
also 'species and varieties')
tops, and do not produce rain showers.[54]

Genus stratus (St):

This is a flat or sometimes ragged nonconvective stratiform

type that sometimes resembles elevated fog.[55] Only very
weak precipitation can fall from this cloud, usually drizzle or
snow grains.[56][57] When a very low stratus cloud subsides
to surface level, it loses its Latin terminology and is given the
common name fog if the prevailing surface visibility is less
than 1 km.[58] If the visibility is 1 km or higher, the visible
condensation is termed mist.[59]

Multi-level or moderate vertical

These clouds have low- to mid-level bases that form anywhere from near Stratus nebulosus
the surface to about 2,400 m (8,000 ft) and tops that can extend into the translucidus
mid-altitude range and sometimes higher in the case of nimbostratus.

Genus nimbostratus (Ns); multi-level:

This is a diffuse, dark grey, multi-level stratiform layer with great horizontal extent and usually moderate to
deep vertical development that looks feebly illuminated from the inside.[60] Nimbostratus normally forms
from mid-level altostratus, and develops at least moderate vertical extent[61][62] when the base subsides into
the low level during precipitation that can reach moderate to heavy intensity. It achieves even greater
vertical development when it simultaneously grows upward into the high level due to large-scale frontal or
cyclonic lift.[63] The nimbo- prefix refers to its ability to produce continuous rain or snow over a wide area,
especially ahead of a warm front.[64] This thick cloud layer lacks any towering structure of its own, but
 may be accompanied by
embedded towering
cumuliform or
cumulonimbiform
types.[62][65]
Meteorologists affiliated
with the World
Meteorological
Organization (WMO)
Cumulus humilis and cumulus
Deep multi-level nimbostratus cloud
officially classify mediocris with stratocumulus
covering the sky with a scattered nimbostratus as mid-level stratiformis perlucidus in the
layer of low stratus fractus pannus for synoptic purposes foreground (see also 'species and
(see also 'species' and while informally varieties')
'supplementary features' sections) characterizing it as multi-
level.[4] Independent
meteorologists and educators appear split between those who
largely follow the WMO model[61][62] and those who classify nimbostratus as low-level, despite its
considerable vertical extent and its usual initial formation in the middle altitude range.[66][67]

Genus cumulus (Cu); species mediocris – moderate vertical extent:

These cumuliform clouds of free convection have clear-cut, medium-grey, flat bases and
white, domed tops in the form of small sproutings and generally do not produce
precipitation.[54] They usually form in the low level of the troposphere except during
conditions of very low relative humidity, when the clouds bases can rise into the middle-
altitude range. Cumulus mediocris is officially classified as low-level and more informally
characterized as having moderate vertical extent that can involve more than one altitude
level.[4]

Towering vertical

Towering vertical cumulus

congestus embedded within
a layer of cumulus
mediocris: Higher layer of
stratocumulus stratiformis
perlucidus.
 Progressive evolution of a single cell thunderstorm

These very large cumuliform and cumulonimbiform types have cloud bases in the same low- to mid-level
range as the multi-level and moderate vertical types, but the tops nearly always extend into the high levels.
Unlike less vertically developed clouds, they are required to be identified by their standard names or
abbreviations in all aviation observations (METARS) and forecasts (TAFS) to warn pilots of possible
severe weather and turbulence.[6]

Genus cumulus (Cu); species congestus – great vertical extent:

Increasing airmass instability can cause free-convective cumulus to grow very tall to the
extent that the vertical height from base to top is greater than the base-width of the cloud.
The cloud base takes on a darker grey coloration and the top commonly resembles a
cauliflower. This cloud type can produce moderate to heavy showers[54] and is designated
Towering cumulus (Tcu) by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Genus cumulonimbus (Cb):

This genus type is a heavy, towering, cumulonimbiform

mass of free-convective cloud with a dark-grey to nearly
black base and a very high top in the form of a mountain or
huge tower.[68] Cumulonimbus can produce thunderstorms,
local very heavy downpours of rain that may cause flash
floods, and a variety of types of lightning including cloud-to-
ground that can cause wildfires.[69] Other convective severe
Isolated cumulonimbus cloud over weather may or may not be associated with thunderstorms
the Mojave Desert, releasing a heavy and include heavy snow showers, hail,[70] strong wind
shower
shear, downbursts,[71] and tornadoes.[72] Of all these
possible cumulonimbus-related events, lightning is the only
one of these that requires a thunderstorm to be taking place
since it is the lightning that creates the thunder. Cumulonimbus clouds can form in
unstable airmass conditions, but tend to be more concentrated and intense when they are
associated with unstable cold fronts.[20]

Species

Genus types are commonly divided into subtypes called species that indicate specific structural details
which can vary according to the stability and windshear characteristics of the atmosphere at any given time
and location. Despite this hierarchy, a particular species may be a subtype of more than one genus,
especially if the genera are of the same physical form and are differentiated from each other mainly by
altitude or level. There are a few species, each of which can be associated with genera of more than one
physical form.[73] The species types are grouped below according to the physical forms and genera with
which each is normally associated. The forms, genera, and species are listed from left to right in
approximate ascending order of instability or convective activity.[31]

Stratiform Cirriform Stratocumuliform Cumuliform

Forms and Cumulonimbiform
non- mostly limited- free-
levels strong convective
convective nonconvective convective convective
Cirrus
non-convective
* uncinus Cirrocumulus
Cirrostratus * fibratus * stratiformis
High-level * nebulosus * spissatus * lenticularis
* fibratus limited * castellanus
convective * floccus
* castellanus
* floccus
Altostratus Altocumulus
* no * stratiformis
differentiated * lenticularis
Mid-level
species * castellanus
(always * floccus
nebulous) * volutus
Stratocumulus
* stratiformis
Stratus Cumulus
* lenticularis
Low-level * nebulosus * humilis
* castellanus
* fractus * fractus
* floccus
* volutus
Nimbostratus
* no
Multi-level or
differentiated Cumulus
moderate
species * mediocris
vertical
(always
nebulous)
Cumulonimbus
Towering Cumulus
* calvus
vertical * congestus
* capillatus

Stable or mostly stable

Of the non-convective stratiform group, high-level cirrostratus comprises two species. Cirrostratus
nebulosus has a rather diffuse appearance lacking in structural detail.[74] Cirrostratus fibratus is a species
made of semi-merged filaments that are transitional to or from cirrus.[75] Mid-level altostratus and multi-
level nimbostratus always have a flat or diffuse appearance and are therefore not subdivided into species.
Low stratus is of the species nebulosus[74] except when broken up into ragged sheets of stratus fractus (see
below).[61][73][76]

Cirriform clouds have three non-convective species that can form in stable airmass conditions. Cirrus
fibratus comprise filaments that may be straight, wavy, or occasionally twisted by wind shear.[75] The
species uncinus is similar but has upturned hooks at the ends. Cirrus spissatus appear as opaque patches
that can show light grey shading.[73]

Stratocumuliform genus-types (cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and stratocumulus) that appear in mostly stable
air with limited convection have two species each. The stratiformis species normally occur in extensive
sheets or in smaller patches where there is only minimal convective activity.[77] Clouds of the lenticularis
species tend to have lens-like shapes tapered at the ends. They are
most commonly seen as orographic mountain-wave clouds, but
can occur anywhere in the troposphere where there is strong wind
shear combined with sufficient airmass stability to maintain a
generally flat cloud structure. These two species can be found in
the high, middle, or low levels of the troposphere depending on the
stratocumuliform genus or genera present at any given
time.[61][73][76]
Altocumulus lenticularis forming over
Ragged mountains in Wyoming with lower
layer of cumulus mediocris and
The species fractus shows variable instability because it can be a higher layer of cirrus spissatus
subdivision of genus-types of different physical forms that have
different stability characteristics. This subtype can be in the form of
ragged but mostly stable stratiform sheets (stratus fractus) or small ragged cumuliform heaps with
somewhat greater instability (cumulus fractus).[73][76][78] When clouds of this species are associated with
precipitating cloud systems of considerable vertical and sometimes horizontal extent, they are also classified
as accessory clouds under the name pannus (see section on supplementary features).[79]

Partly unstable

These species are subdivisions of genus types that can occur in

partly unstable air with limited convection. The species castellanus
appears when a mostly stable stratocumuliform or cirriform layer
becomes disturbed by localized areas of airmass instability, usually
in the morning or afternoon. This results in the formation of
embedded cumuliform buildups arising from a common stratiform
base.[80] Castellanus resembles the turrets of a castle when viewed
from the side, and can be found with stratocumuliform genera at
any tropospheric altitude level and with limited-convective patches
of high-level cirrus.[81] Tufted clouds of the more detached floccus
species are subdivisions of genus-types which may be cirriform or
stratocumuliform in overall structure. They are sometimes seen
with cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and stratocumulus.[82]

A newly recognized species of stratocumulus or altocumulus has

been given the name volutus, a roll cloud that can occur ahead of a Clouds loom over Puerto Caldera, in
cumulonimbus formation.[83] There are some volutus clouds that the Pacific coast of Costa Rica
form as a consequence of interactions with specific geographical
features rather than with a parent cloud. Perhaps the strangest
geographically specific cloud of this type is the Morning Glory, a rolling cylindrical cloud that appears
unpredictably over the Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Australia. Associated with a powerful "ripple" in
the atmosphere, the cloud may be "surfed" in glider aircraft.[84]

Unstable or mostly unstable

More general airmass instability in the troposphere tends to produce clouds of the more freely convective
cumulus genus type, whose species are mainly indicators of degrees of atmospheric instability and resultant
vertical development of the clouds. A cumulus cloud initially forms in the low level of the troposphere as a
cloudlet of the species humilis that shows only slight vertical development. If the air becomes more
unstable, the cloud tends to grow vertically into the species mediocris, then strongly convective congestus,
the tallest cumulus species[73] which is the same type that the International Civil Aviation Organization
refers to as 'towering cumulus'.[6]

With highly unstable atmospheric conditions, large cumulus may continue to grow into even more strongly
convective cumulonimbus calvus (essentially a very tall congestus cloud that produces thunder), then
ultimately into the species capillatus when supercooled water droplets at the top of the cloud turn into ice
crystals giving it a cirriform appearance.[73][76]

Varieties

Genus and species types are further subdivided into varieties whose names can appear after the species
name to provide a fuller description of a cloud. Some cloud varieties are not restricted to a specific altitude
level or form, and can therefore be common to more than one genus or species.[85]

Opacity-based

All cloud varieties fall into one of two main groups. One group
identifies the opacities of particular low and mid-level cloud
structures and comprises the varieties translucidus (thin
translucent), perlucidus (thick opaque with translucent or very
small clear breaks), and opacus (thick opaque). These varieties are
always identifiable for cloud genera and species with variable
A layer of stratocumulus stratiformis opacity. All three are associated with the stratiformis species of
perlucidus hiding the setting sun with altocumulus and stratocumulus. However, only two varieties are
a background layer of stratocumulus seen with altostratus and stratus nebulosus whose uniform
cumulogenitus resembling distant structures prevent the formation of a perlucidus variety. Opacity-
mountains. based varieties are not applied to high clouds because they are
always translucent, or in the case of cirrus spissatus, always
opaque.[85][86]

Pattern-based

A second group describes the occasional arrangements of cloud

structures into particular patterns that are discernible by a surface-
based observer (cloud fields usually being visible only from a
significant altitude above the formations). These varieties are not
always present with the genera and species with which they are
otherwise associated, but only appear when atmospheric
conditions favor their formation. Intortus and vertebratus varieties
occur on occasion with cirrus fibratus. They are respectively
Cirrus fibratus radiatus over ESO's
filaments twisted into irregular shapes, and those that are arranged
La Silla Observatory[87]
in fishbone patterns, usually by uneven wind currents that favor
the formation of these varieties. The variety radiatus is associated
with cloud rows of a particular type that appear to converge at the
horizon. It is sometimes seen with the fibratus and uncinus species of cirrus, the stratiformis species of
altocumulus and stratocumulus, the mediocris and sometimes humilis species of cumulus,[88][89] and with
the genus altostratus.[90]
Another variety, duplicatus (closely spaced layers of the same type, one
above the other), is sometimes found with cirrus of both the fibratus and
uncinus species, and with altocumulus and stratocumulus of the species
stratiformis and lenticularis. The variety undulatus (having a wavy
undulating base) can occur with any clouds of the species stratiformis or
lenticularis, and with altostratus. It is only rarely observed with stratus
nebulosus. The variety lacunosus is caused by localized downdrafts that
create circular holes in the form of a honeycomb or net. It is occasionally
seen with cirrocumulus and altocumulus of the species stratiformis,
castellanus, and floccus, and with stratocumulus of the species stratiformis
and castellanus.[85][86]

Combinations Altocumulus stratiformis

duplicatus at sunrise in the
It is possible for some species to show combined varieties at one time, California Mojave Desert,
especially if one variety is opacity-based and the other is pattern-based. An USA (higher layer orange to
example of this would be a layer of altocumulus stratiformis arranged in white; lower layer grey)
seemingly converging rows separated by small breaks. The full technical
name of a cloud in this configuration would be altocumulus stratiformis
radiatus perlucidus, which would identify respectively its genus, species, and two combined
varieties.[76][85][86]

Accessory clouds, supplementary features, and other derivative types

Supplementary features and accessory clouds are not further subdivisions of cloud types below the species
and variety level. Rather, they are either hydrometeors or special cloud types with their own Latin names
that form in association with certain cloud genera, species, and varieties.[76][86] Supplementary features,
whether in the form of clouds or precipitation, are directly attached to the main genus-cloud. Accessory
clouds, by contrast, are generally detached from the main cloud.[91]

Precipitation-based supplementary features

One group of supplementary features are not actual cloud formations, but precipitation that falls when water
droplets or ice crystals that make up visible clouds have grown too heavy to remain aloft. Virga is a feature
seen with clouds producing precipitation that evaporates before reaching the ground, these being of the
genera cirrocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, nimbostratus, stratocumulus, cumulus, and
cumulonimbus.[91]

When the precipitation reaches the ground without completely evaporating, it is designated as the feature
praecipitatio.[92] This normally occurs with altostratus opacus, which can produce widespread but usually
light precipitation, and with thicker clouds that show significant vertical development. Of the latter, upward-
growing cumulus mediocris produces only isolated light showers, while downward growing nimbostratus is
capable of heavier, more extensive precipitation. Towering vertical clouds have the greatest ability to
produce intense precipitation events, but these tend to be localized unless organized along fast-moving cold
fronts. Showers of moderate to heavy intensity can fall from cumulus congestus clouds. Cumulonimbus, the
largest of all cloud genera, has the capacity to produce very heavy showers. Low stratus clouds usually
produce only light precipitation, but this always occurs as the feature praecipitatio due to the fact this cloud
genus lies too close to the ground to allow for the formation of virga.[76][86][91]

Cloud-based supplementary features

Incus is the most type-specific supplementary feature, seen only with cumulonimbus of the species
capillatus. A cumulonimbus incus cloud top is one that has spread out into a clear anvil shape as a result of
rising air currents hitting the stability layer at the tropopause where the air no longer continues to get colder
with increasing altitude.[93]

The mamma feature forms on the bases of clouds as downward-facing bubble-like protuberances caused
by localized downdrafts within the cloud. It is also sometimes called mammatus, an earlier version of the
term used before a standardization of Latin nomenclature brought about by the World Meteorological
Organization during the 20th century. The best-known is cumulonimbus with mammatus, but the mamma
feature is also seen occasionally with cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, altostratus, and stratocumulus.[91]

A tuba feature is a cloud column that may hang from the bottom of a cumulus or cumulonimbus. A newly
formed or poorly organized column might be comparatively benign, but can quickly intensify into a funnel
cloud or tornado.[91][94][95]

An arcus feature is a roll cloud with ragged edges attached to the lower front part of cumulus congestus or
cumulonimbus that forms along the leading edge of a squall line or thunderstorm outflow.[96] A large arcus
formation can have the appearance of a dark menacing arch.[91]

Several new supplementary features have been formally recognized by the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO). The feature fluctus can form under conditions of strong atmospheric wind shear
when a stratocumulus, altocumulus, or cirrus cloud breaks into regularly spaced crests. This variant is
sometimes known informally as a Kelvin–Helmholtz (wave) cloud. This phenomenon has also been
observed in cloud formations over other planets and even in the sun's atmosphere.[97] Another highly
disturbed but more chaotic wave-like cloud feature associated with stratocumulus or altocumulus cloud has
been given the Latin name asperitas. The supplementary feature cavum is a circular fall-streak hole that
occasionally forms in a thin layer of supercooled altocumulus or cirrocumulus. Fall streaks consisting of
virga or wisps of cirrus are usually seen beneath the hole as ice crystals fall out to a lower altitude. This
type of hole is usually larger than typical lacunosus holes. A murus feature is a cumulonimbus wall cloud
with a lowering, rotating cloud base than can lead to the development of tornadoes. A cauda feature is a tail
cloud that extends horizontally away from the murus cloud and is the result of air feeding into the storm.[83]

Accessory clouds

Supplementary cloud formations detached from the main cloud are known as accessory clouds.[76][86][91]
The heavier precipitating clouds, nimbostratus, towering cumulus (cumulus congestus), and cumulonimbus
typically see the formation in precipitation of the pannus feature, low ragged clouds of the genera and
species cumulus fractus or stratus fractus.[79]

A group of accessory clouds comprise formations that are associated mainly with upward-growing
cumuliform and cumulonimbiform clouds of free convection. Pileus is a cap cloud that can form over a
cumulonimbus or large cumulus cloud,[98] whereas a velum feature is a thin horizontal sheet that sometimes
forms like an apron around the middle or in front of the parent cloud.[91] An accessory cloud recently
officially recognized the World meteorological Organization is the flumen, also known more informally as
the beaver's tail. It is formed by the warm, humid inflow of a super-cell thunderstorm, and can be mistaken
for a tornado. Although the flumen can indicate a tornado risk, it is similar in appearance to pannus or scud
clouds and does not rotate.[83]

Mother clouds
 Clouds initially form in clear air or become clouds when fog rises
above surface level. The genus of a newly formed cloud is
determined mainly by air mass characteristics such as stability and
moisture content. If these characteristics change over time, the
genus tends to change accordingly. When this happens, the
original genus is called a mother cloud. If the mother cloud retains
much of its original form after the appearance of the new genus, it
is termed a genitus cloud. One example of this is stratocumulus
cumulogenitus, a stratocumulus cloud formed by the partial
spreading of a cumulus type when there is a loss of convective lift.
Cumulus partly spreading into
stratocumulus cumulogenitus over
If the mother cloud undergoes a complete change in genus, it is
the port of Piraeus in Greece considered to be a mutatus cloud.[99]

Other genitus and

mutatus clouds

The genitus and mutatus categories have been expanded to include

certain types that do not originate from pre-existing clouds. The
term flammagenitus (Latin for 'fire-made') applies to cumulus
congestus or cumulonimbus that are formed by large scale fires or
volcanic eruptions. Smaller low-level "pyrocumulus" or "fumulus"
clouds formed by contained industrial activity are now classified as
Cumulonimbus mother cloud
cumulus homogenitus (Latin for 'man-made'). Contrails formed
dissipating into stratocumulus
from the exhaust of aircraft flying in the upper level of the
cumulonimbogenitus at dusk
troposphere can persist and spread into formations resembling
cirrus which are designated cirrus homogenitus. If a cirrus
homogenitus cloud changes fully to any of the high-level genera,
they are termed cirrus, cirrostratus, or cirrocumulus homomutatus. Stratus cataractagenitus (Latin for
'cataract-made') are generated by the spray from waterfalls. Silvagenitus (Latin for 'forest-made') is a stratus
cloud that forms as water vapor is added to the air above a forest canopy.[99]

Stratocumulus fields

Stratocumulus clouds can be organized into "fields" that take on certain specially classified shapes and
characteristics. In general, these fields are more discernible from high altitudes than from ground level.
They can often be found in the following forms:

Actinoform, which resembles a leaf or a spoked wheel.

Closed cell, which is cloudy in the center and clear on the edges, similar to a filled
honeycomb.[100]
Open cell, which resembles an empty honeycomb, with clouds around the edges and clear,
open space in the middle.[101]

Vortex streets

These patterns are formed from a phenomenon known as a Kármán vortex which is named after the
engineer and fluid dynamicist Theodore von Kármán,.[102] Wind driven clouds can form into parallel rows
that follow the wind direction. When the wind and clouds encounter high elevation land features such as a
vertically prominent islands, they can form eddies around the high land masses that give the clouds a
twisted appearance.[103]
Distribution: Where tropospheric clouds
are most and least prevalent

Convergence along low-pressure zones

Although the local distribution of clouds can be significantly

influenced by topography, the global prevalence of cloud cover in Cirrus fibratus intortus formed into a
the troposphere tends to vary more by latitude. It is most prevalent Kármán vortex street at evening
in and along low pressure zones of surface tropospheric twilight
convergence which encircle the Earth close to the equator and near
the 50th parallels of latitude in the northern and southern
hemispheres.[106] The adiabatic cooling processes that lead to the
creation of clouds by way of lifting agents are all associated with
convergence; a process that involves the horizontal inflow and
accumulation of air at a given location, as well as the rate at which
this happens.[107] Near the equator, increased cloudiness is due to
the presence of the low-pressure Intertropical Convergence Zone
(ITCZ) where very warm and unstable air promotes mostly Global cloud cover, averaged over
cumuliform and cumulonimbiform clouds.[108] Clouds of virtually the month of October 2009. NASA
any type can form along the mid-latitude convergence zones composite satellite image.[104]
depending on the stability and moisture content of the air. These
extratropical convergence zones are occupied by the polar fronts
where air masses of polar origin meet and clash with those of
tropical or subtropical origin.[109] This leads to the formation of
weather-making extratropical cyclones composed of cloud systems
that may be stable or unstable to varying degrees according to the
stability characteristics of the various airmasses that are in
conflict.[110]

Divergence along high pressure zones Play media

These maps display the fraction of
Divergence is the opposite of convergence. In the Earth's Earth's area that was cloudy on
troposphere, it involves the horizontal outflow of air from the average during each month from
upper part of a rising column of air, or from the lower part of a January 2005 to August 2013. The
subsiding column often associated with an area or ridge of high measurements were collected by the
Moderate Resolution Imaging
pressure.[107] Cloudiness tends to be least prevalent near the poles
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on
and in the subtropics close to the 30th parallels, north and south.
NASA's Terra satellite. Colors range
The latter are sometimes referred to as the horse latitudes. The
from blue (no clouds) to white (totally
presence of a large-scale high-pressure subtropical ridge on each cloudy). Like a digital camera,
side of the equator reduces cloudiness at these low latitudes.[111] MODIS collects information in
Similar patterns also occur at higher latitudes in both gridded boxes, or pixels. Cloud
hemispheres.[112] fraction is the portion of each pixel
that is covered by clouds. Colors
range from blue (no clouds) to white
Luminance, reflectivity, and coloration (totally cloudy).[105] (click for more
detail)
The luminance or brightness of a cloud is determined by how light
is reflected, scattered, and transmitted by the cloud's particles. Its
brightness may also be affected by the presence of haze or photometeors such as halos and rainbows.[113]
In the troposphere, dense, deep clouds exhibit a high reflectance (70% to 95%) throughout the visible
spectrum. Tiny particles of water are densely packed and sunlight cannot penetrate far into the cloud before
it is reflected out, giving a cloud its characteristic white color, especially when viewed from the top.[114]
Cloud droplets tend to scatter light efficiently, so that the intensity of the solar radiation decreases with
depth into the gases. As a result, the cloud base can vary from a very light to very-dark-grey depending on
the cloud's thickness and how much light is being reflected or transmitted back to the observer. High thin
tropospheric clouds reflect less light because of the comparatively low concentration of constituent ice
crystals or supercooled water droplets which results in a slightly off-white appearance. However, a thick
dense ice-crystal cloud appears brilliant white with pronounced grey shading because of its greater
reflectivity.[113]

As a tropospheric cloud matures, the dense water droplets may combine to produce larger droplets. If the
droplets become too large and heavy to be kept aloft by the air circulation, they will fall from the cloud as
rain. By this process of accumulation, the space between droplets becomes increasingly larger, permitting
light to penetrate farther into the cloud. If the cloud is sufficiently large and the droplets within are spaced
far enough apart, a percentage of the light that enters the cloud is not reflected back out but is absorbed
giving the cloud a darker look. A simple example of this is one's being able to see farther in heavy rain than
in heavy fog. This process of reflection/absorption is what causes the range of cloud color from white to
black.[115]

Striking cloud colorations can be seen at any altitude, with the color of a cloud usually being the same as
the incident light.[116] During daytime when the sun is relatively high in the sky, tropospheric clouds
generally appear bright white on top with varying shades of grey underneath. Thin clouds may look white
or appear to have acquired the color of their environment or background. Red, orange, and pink clouds
occur almost entirely at sunrise/sunset and are the result of the scattering of sunlight by the atmosphere.
When the sun is just below the horizon, low-level clouds are gray, middle clouds appear rose-colored, and
high clouds are white or off-white. Clouds at night are black or dark grey in a moonless sky, or whitish
when illuminated by the moon. They may also reflect the colors of large fires, city lights, or auroras that
might be present.[116]

A cumulonimbus cloud that appears to have a greenish or bluish tint is a sign that it contains extremely high
amounts of water; hail or rain which scatter light in a way that gives the cloud a blue color. A green
colorization occurs mostly late in the day when the sun is comparatively low in the sky and the incident
sunlight has a reddish tinge that appears green when illuminating a very tall bluish cloud. Supercell type
storms are more likely to be characterized by this but any storm can appear this way. Coloration such as this
does not directly indicate that it is a severe thunderstorm, it only confirms its potential. Since a green/blue
tint signifies copious amounts of water, a strong updraft to support it, high winds from the storm raining out,
and wet hail; all elements that improve the chance for it to become severe, can all be inferred from this. In
addition, the stronger the updraft is, the more likely the storm is to undergo tornadogenesis and to produce
large hail and high winds.[117]

Yellowish clouds may be seen in the troposphere in the late spring through early fall months during forest
fire season. The yellow color is due to the presence of pollutants in the smoke. Yellowish clouds are caused
by the presence of nitrogen dioxide and are sometimes seen in urban areas with high air pollution
levels.[118]
 Stratocumulus stratiformis An occurrence of cloud Sunset reflecting shades of
and small castellanus made iridescence with pink onto grey stratocumulus
orange by the sun rising altocumulus volutus stratiformis translucidus
and cirrocumulus (becoming perlucidus in the
stratiformis background)

Stratocumulus stratiformis Late-summer rainstorm in Particles in the atmosphere

perlucidus before sunset. Denmark. Nearly black color of and the sun's angle enhance
Bangalore, India. base indicates main cloud in colors of stratocumulus
foreground probably cumulogenitus at evening
cumulonimbus. twilight

Effects on the troposphere, climate, and climate change

Tropospheric clouds exert numerous influences on Earth's troposphere and climate. First and foremost, they
are the source of precipitation, thereby greatly influencing the distribution and amount of precipitation.
Because of their differential buoyancy relative to surrounding cloud-free air, clouds can be associated with
vertical motions of the air that may be convective, frontal, or cyclonic. The motion is upward if the clouds
are less dense because condensation of water vapor releases heat, warming the air and thereby decreasing
its density. This can lead to downward motion because lifting of the air results in cooling that increases its
density. All of these effects are subtly dependent on the vertical temperature and moisture structure of the
atmosphere and result in major redistribution of heat that affect the Earth's climate.[119]

The complexity and diversity of clouds in the troposphere is a major reason for difficulty in quantifying the
effects of clouds on climate and climate change. On the one hand, white cloud tops promote cooling of
Earth's surface by reflecting shortwave radiation (visible and near infrared) from the sun, diminishing the
amount of solar radiation that is absorbed at the surface, enhancing the Earth's albedo. Most of the sunlight
that reaches the ground is absorbed, warming the surface, which emits radiation upward at longer, infrared,
wavelengths. At these wavelengths, however, water in the clouds acts as an efficient absorber. The water
reacts by radiating, also in the infrared, both upward and downward, and the downward longwave
radiation results in increased warming at the surface. This is analogous to the greenhouse effect of
greenhouse gases and water vapor.[119]

High-level genus-types particularly show this duality with both short-wave albedo cooling and long-wave
greenhouse warming effects. On the whole, ice-crystal clouds in the upper troposphere (cirrus) tend to
favor net warming.[120][121] However, the cooling effect is dominant with mid-level and low clouds,
especially when they form in extensive sheets.[120] Measurements by NASA indicate that on the whole, the
effects of low and mid-level clouds that tend to promote cooling outweigh the warming effects of high
layers and the variable outcomes associated with vertically developed clouds.[120]

As difficult as it is to evaluate the influences of current clouds on current climate, it is even more
problematic to predict changes in cloud patterns and properties in a future, warmer climate, and the resultant
cloud influences on future climate. In a warmer climate more water would enter the atmosphere by
evaporation at the surface; as clouds are formed from water vapor, cloudiness would be expected to
increase. But in a warmer climate, higher temperatures would tend to evaporate clouds.[122] Both of these
statements are considered accurate, and both phenomena, known as cloud feedbacks, are found in climate
model calculations. Broadly speaking, if clouds, especially low clouds, increase in a warmer climate, the
resultant cooling effect leads to a negative feedback in climate response to increased greenhouse gases. But
if low clouds decrease, or if high clouds increase, the feedback is positive. Differing amounts of these
feedbacks are the principal reason for differences in climate sensitivities of current global climate models.
As a consequence, much research has focused on the response of low and vertical clouds to a changing
climate. Leading global models produce quite different results, however, with some showing increasing low
clouds and others showing decreases.[123][124] For these reasons the role of tropospheric clouds in
regulating weather and climate remains a leading source of uncertainty in global warming
projections.[125][126]

Polar stratospheric
Polar stratospheric clouds (PSC's) form in the lowest part of the
stratosphere during the winter, at the altitude and during the season
that produces the coldest temperatures and therefore the best
chances of triggering condensation caused by adiabatic cooling.
Moisture is scarce in the stratosphere, so nacreous and non-
nacreous cloud at this altitude range is restricted to polar regions in
the winter where the air is coldest.[7]

PSC's show some variation in structure according to their chemical

makeup and atmospheric conditions, but are limited to a single Lenticular nacreous clouds over
very high range of altitude of about 15,000–25,000 m (49,200– Antarctica
82,000 ft), so they are not classified into altitude levels, genus
types, species, or varieties. There is no Latin nomenclature in the
manner of tropospheric clouds, but rather descriptive names using common English.[7]

Supercooled nitric acid and water PSC's, sometimes known as type 1, typically have a stratiform
appearance resembling cirrostratus or haze, but because they are not frozen into crystals, do not show the
pastel colours of the nacreous types. This type of PSC has been identified as a cause of ozone depletion in
the stratosphere.[127] The frozen nacreous types are typically very thin with mother-of-pearl colorations and
an undulating cirriform or lenticular (stratocumuliform) appearance. These are sometimes known as type
2.[128][129]
Polar mesospheric
Polar mesospheric clouds form at an extreme-level altitude range
of about 80 to 85 km (50 to 53 mi). They are given the Latin name
noctilucent because of their illumination well after sunset and
before sunrise. They typically have a bluish or silvery white
coloration that can resemble brightly illuminated cirrus.
Noctilucent clouds may occasionally take on more of a red or
orange hue.[7] They are not common or widespread enough to
have a significant effect on climate.[130] However, an increasing
frequency of occurrence of noctilucent clouds since the 19th Noctilucent cloud over Estonia
century may be the result of climate change.[131]

Noctilucent clouds are the highest in the atmosphere and form near the top of the mesosphere at about ten
times the altitude of tropospheric high clouds.[132] From ground level, they can occasionally be seen
illuminated by the sun during deep twilight. Ongoing research indicates that convective lift in the
mesosphere is strong enough during the polar summer to cause adiabatic cooling of small amount of water
vapour to the point of saturation. This tends to produce the coldest temperatures in the entire atmosphere
just below the mesopause. These conditions result in the best environment for the formation of polar
mesospheric clouds.[130] There is also evidence that smoke particles from burnt-up meteors provide much
of the condensation nuclei required for the formation of noctilucent cloud.[133]

Noctilucent clouds have four major types based on physical structure and appearance. Type I veils are very
tenuous and lack well-defined structure, somewhat like cirrostratus or poorly defined cirrus.[134] Type II
bands are long streaks that often occur in groups arranged roughly parallel to each other. They are usually
more widely spaced than the bands or elements seen with cirrocumulus clouds.[135] Type III billows are
arrangements of closely spaced, roughly parallel short streaks that mostly resemble cirrus.[136] Type IV
whirls are partial or, more rarely, complete rings of cloud with dark centres.[137]

Distribution in the mesosphere is similar to the stratosphere except at much higher altitudes. Because of the
need for maximum cooling of the water vapor to produce noctilucent clouds, their distribution tends to be
restricted to polar regions of Earth. A major seasonal difference is that convective lift from below the
mesosphere pushes very scarce water vapor to higher colder altitudes required for cloud formation during
the respective summer seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres. Sightings are rare more than 45
degrees south of the north pole or north of the south pole.[7]

Extraterrestrial
Cloud cover has been seen on most other planets in the Solar System. Venus's thick clouds are composed of
sulfur dioxide (due to volcanic activity) and appear to be almost entirely stratiform.[138] They are arranged
in three main layers at altitudes of 45 to 65 km that obscure the planet's surface and can produce virga. No
embedded cumuliform types have been identified, but broken stratocumuliform wave formations are
sometimes seen in the top layer that reveal more continuous layer clouds underneath.[139] On Mars,
noctilucent, cirrus, cirrocumulus and stratocumulus composed of water-ice have been detected mostly near
the poles.[140][141] Water-ice fogs have also been detected on Mars.[142]

Both Jupiter and Saturn have an outer cirriform cloud deck composed of ammonia,[143][144] an
intermediate stratiform haze-cloud layer made of ammonium hydrosulfide, and an inner deck of cumulus
water clouds.[145][146] Embedded cumulonimbus are known to exist near the Great Red Spot on
Jupiter.[147][148] The same category-types can be found covering Uranus, and Neptune, but are all
composed of methane.[149][150][151][152][153][154] Saturn's moon Titan has cirrus clouds believed to be
composed largely of methane.[155][156] The Cassini–Huygens Saturn mission uncovered evidence of polar
stratospheric clouds[157] and a methane cycle on Titan, including lakes near the poles and fluvial channels
on the surface of the moon.[158]

Some planets outside the Solar System are known to have atmospheric clouds. In October 2013, the
detection of high altitude optically thick clouds in the atmosphere of exoplanet Kepler-7b was
announced,[159][160] and, in December 2013, in the atmospheres of GJ 436 b and GJ 1214
b.[161][162][163][164]

In culture and religion

Clouds play an important role in various cultures and
religious traditions. The ancient Akkadians believed
that the clouds were the breasts of the sky goddess
Antu[166] and that rain was milk from her breasts.[166]
In Exodus 13:21–22, Yahweh is described as guiding
the Israelites through the desert in the form of a "pillar
of cloud" by day and a "pillar of fire" by night.[165]

In the ancient Greek comedy The Clouds, written by

Aristophanes and first performed at the City Dionysia
in 423 BC, the philosopher Socrates declares that the
Joshua Passing the River Jordan with the Ark of
Clouds are the only true deities[167] and tells the main
the Covenant (1800) by Benjamin West, showing
character Strepsiades not to worship any deities other
Yahweh leading the Israelites through the desert
than the Clouds, but to pay homage to them alone.[167] in the form of a pillar of cloud, as described in
In the play, the Clouds change shape to reveal the true
Exodus 13:21–22[165]
nature of whoever is looking at them,[168][167][169]
turning into centaurs at the sight of a long-haired
politician, wolves at the sight of the embezzler Simon, deer at the sight of the coward Cleonymus, and
mortal women at the sight of the effeminate informer Cleisthenes.[168][169][167] They are hailed the source
of inspiration to comic poets and philosophers;[167] they are masters of rhetoric, regarding eloquence and
sophistry alike as their "friends".[167]

In China, clouds are symbols of luck and happiness.[170] Overlapping clouds are thought to imply eternal
happiness[170] and clouds of different colors are said to indicate "multiplied blessings".[170]

Cloud watching or cloud gazing is a popular children's activity involving watching the clouds and looking
for shapes in them, a form of pareidolia.[171][172]

See also
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) (US)
Bioprecipitation
Ceiling
Cloud albedo
Cloud Appreciation Society
Cloud cover
Cloud forcing
Cloud seeding
Clouds (sculpture)
 Cloudscape (art)
Cloudscape photography
Coalescence
Extraterrestrial sky
Fog
Mist
Mushroom cloud
Pileus (meteorology)
Precipitation
Sunshine duration
Undulatus asperatus
Weather lore

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Bibliography
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External links
Current global map of total cloud water (https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/lev
el/overlay=total_cloud_water/winkel3/)
 Monthly maps of global cloud cover (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/view.php?
d1=MODAL2_M_CLD_FR#), from NASA's Earth Observatory
World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) International Cloud Atlas (https://cloudatlas.wm
o.int/home.html) International Cloud Atlas

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