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Post  eddie Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:01 pm

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Endpapers
The ten main types of cloud. Illustration by Anthony Hawthornthwaite on the CloudAppreciation Society website.
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Post  Guest Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:22 am

We learnt all these names when I had a good teacher in grade 5. I have never forgotten them and I am always pleased to just look up at the sky and identify the cloud formations.

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Post  eddie Tue Jun 28, 2011 9:20 pm

HAMLET:
Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?

POLONIUS:
By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.

HAMLET:
Methinks it is like a weasel.

POLONIUS:
It is backed like a weasel.

HAMLET:
Or like a whale.

POLONIUS:
Very like a whale.

(Hamlet Act II sc iii)

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Post  Guest Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:27 am

from www.ouramazingplanet.com



HIGH CLOUDS

High clouds form at heights of 15,000 to 40,000 feet (4,500 to 12,000 meters). These are clouds that you only encounter on the top of high mountains or at the cruising altitude of a jet aircraft. Because at the altitudes at which they form the air temperature is below freezing, they tend to be comprised primarily of ice crystals. Like Peter Pan, most forms of high clouds lack the ability to cast shadows.

Cirrus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Cirrusclouds02
Cirrus clouds above Mount Wilson, Calif. Credit: NOAA

Cirrus clouds are the most abundant of all high level clouds. Cirrus means a "curl of hair." These wispy clouds are composed of ice and consist of long, thin streamers that are also called mare's tails. A few scattered cirrus clouds is a good sign of fair weather. However, a gradually increasing cover of web-like cirrus clouds is a sign that a warm front — the leading edge of a warmer and more humid air mass — is approaching.


Cirrostratus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Sundogs02
Partial halo with parhelia (sun dogs) on both sides of halo. Credit: NOAA/Grant W. Goodge

Cirrostratus clouds look like thin sheets that spread themselves across the sky. When the sky is covered by these icy shreds they give the sky a pale, white appearance. These clouds can indicate the approach of precipitation. So thin are they that they are translucent, or maybe even a little transparent, so that the sun and moon can be readily seen through them. Also look for a ring or halo surrounding the moon or sun when these clouds are in the sky, sometimes accompanied during the day by colored swatches of cloud called "sundogs," "mock suns," or parhelions.

Cirrostratus clouds usually come 12 to 24 hours before a period of rain or snow. Remember: "Circle around the moon, rain or snow soon."


Cirrocumulus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Cirroulus02
Cirrocumulus associated with the jet stream in the sky above the lighthouse at Brunswick, Ga. Credit: NOAA

Another form of high cloud is cirrocumulus. These tend to be large groupings of white streaks that are sometimes seemingly neatly aligned. For most climates these clouds mean a spell of fair weather.

However, during the summertime in the tropics, these clouds may indicate an approaching hurricane. The outer fringe of a hurricane, called the outflow boundary, serves as a very important element in hurricane development because the outflow represents all the energy being released by the hurricane. A powerful hurricane always has good outflow and is accompanied by spiral bands of cirrocumulus flowing out from the center.



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Post  Guest Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:27 am

MIDDLE CLOUDS

Middle clouds form at 6,500 to 20,000 feet (2,000 to 6,000 m). They are comprised of water, and, if cold enough, ice. Middle clouds frequently are opaque and block sunlight, but not always.


Altocumulus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Altoulus02
Altocumulus clouds. Credit: NOAA/Ralph F. Kresge

Altocumulus clouds are grayish-white with one part of the cloud darker than the other; there is a lot of contrast between light and dark. They are composed of water droplets and can blanket much of the sky in small, puffy, round layers. They resemble the striped patterns of fish scales on a mackerel hence the name "mackerel sky."

Mackerel skies and mare's tails formations sometimes appear in the same sky. When that happens, precipitation is sure to follow within 36 hours.

The old sailor's mnemonic for these kinds of clouds is "Mares tails and mackerel scales, tall ships carry short sails." Another is "Mackerel sky, storm is nigh," because if you see altocumulus clouds on a warm, humid morning, be prepared to observe thunderstorms late in the afternoon.


Altostratus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Altostratus02
Altostratus clouds at Pompano Beach, Fla. Credit: NOAA/Ralph F. Kresge

Altostratus clouds are grey and/or blue and cover the entire sky. The sun or moon may shine through an altostratus cloud, but will appear like a hazy and rather diffuse ball. Such clouds usually form ahead of storms that produce steady rain or snow.



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Post  Guest Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:28 am

LOW CLOUDS

Low clouds form below 6,500 feet (2,000 m). These clouds tend to contain chiefly water, but can also be comprised of ice and snow if the weather gets cold enough. Low clouds block sunlight and usually bring precipitation and wind.


Stratocumulus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Stratoulus02
Stratocumulus following cold front passage at Brunswick, Ga. Credit: NOAA/Don Whelpley

Stratocumulus clouds are low, puffy and gray. They appear as masses of puffy clouds with little or no space in between. A sky full of stratocumulus clouds indicates generally dry weather, though on occasion they can produce a brief light shower or sprinkle.d rather diffuse ball.

Such clouds usually form ahead of storms that produce steady rain or snow.


Nimbostratus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Nimbostratus02
Nimbostratus clouds. Credit: NOAA/Ralph F. Kresge

Nimbostratus clouds form a dark gray layer that is so thick that it completely blocks out the moon and sun. Nimbo is derived from nimbus means "rain-bearing" and these clouds will often produce precipitation in the form of a protracted period of rain and/or snow.


Stratus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Stratusclouds02
Stratus clouds. Credit: NOAA/Ralph F. Kresge

Stratus clouds are dull grayish clouds that often stretch across and block the entire sky; stratus means "a layer" and these clouds form flat, unbroken sheets, like a fog that is not on the ground. Stratus clouds produce only mist, drizzle or very light snow.


Vertical Clouds - Cumulus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Ulusclouds02
Fair weather cumulus clouds above Coconut Creek, Fla. Credit: NOAA/Ralph F. Kresge

Vertically developing clouds are the cumulus variety. Cumulus means "a heap" — clouds that are separate, piled-up, fluffy and of different sizes. These puffy clouds are low "fair weather" clouds.


Cumulus Congestus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Uluscongestus02
Cumulus Congestus clouds during the summer at Brunswick, Ga. Credit: NOAA/Don Whelpley

When the top of the cumulus clouds look like the head of a cauliflower, it is called cumulus congestus, or towering cumulus.


Cumulonimbus

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Ulonimbus02
Cumulonimbus with anvil top. Credit: NOAA

As they develop vertically upward they may go from small, fair weather clouds to large, boiling monsters called cumulonimbus, also called thunderheads.

Such clouds are most often associated with cold fronts: When a mass of cool, dry air pushes into a warm, moist air mass, the heavier cool air acts like an atmospheric plow and pushes the warm air up into violent thunderstorms. High winds aloft can make the cloud's top into a flat anvil-like shape and their bottoms are usually very dark.

These clouds can forecast some of the most severe weather including torrential downpours, vivid lightning, hail and even tornadoes.


Mammatus Clouds

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Mammatusclouds02
Mammatus clouds above Tulsa, Okla. Credit: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

Clouds that look like hanging bulges from the skies are called mammatus clouds. More often than not, references statr that such clouds are a forbearer of severe weather, but actually, just the opposite is true: These clouds are formed by sinking air and are sometimes seen after a potent thunderstorm; they signal that a storm is retreating, not approaching.

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Post  eddie Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:27 am

Apricot tails in an indigo sky

(Rosie- Tom Waits.)
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Post  eddie Sun Apr 29, 2012 7:26 pm

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Storming-victory---a-shot-001
Storming victory … a shot by Sony world photography awards L'Iris d'Or winner Mitch Dobrowner. Photograph: Mitch Dobrowner
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Post  Guest Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:31 pm

1


Last edited by blue moon on Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:41 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Post  Guest Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:40 pm

alien

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Post  Guest Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:48 pm

...it was the boat that spawned my love of boats. pirat

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Post  Guest Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:49 pm

blue moon wrote:...this is a coincidence
I'd rather call it "stars line-up" alien

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Post  Guest Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:54 pm

...ahh...the stars align Very Happy

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Post  eddie Thu May 03, 2012 8:43 am

I've looked at clouds from both sides now... Dobrowner
Rope out. Photograph: Mitch Dobrowner 2012.
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