Clouds

Jaydan Harris

Mrs. Troester

Expository Classification

7 April 2017

Clouds

Have you ever looked up into the sky and seen the many different kinds of clouds? There are many different types of clouds that you could have seen. There are many types of cloud formations; the most common are cumulus, cirrus, and stratus.

One common cloud that you see is a cumulus, which looks like a puffy cotton ball. The base of each cloud is often flat and can be only 1000 meters above the ground. That is only 3,300 feet. The top of the giant clouds usually looks like rounded towers and are very tall. When a cumulus cloud turns into a thunder storm it gets a new name! When cumulus congestus clouds continue to grow vertically they are then called cumulonimbus clouds. These clouds are very close to the earth when they are thunder clouds. They are only about 300 feet from the earth and very dangerous! They release tremendous amounts of energy by the condensation of water vapor within the cloud. Lightning, thunder, and even violent tornadoes are associated with the cumulonimbus.

Another common cloud type that you see is stratus, which looks like big sheets of clouds across the sky. They mean rain if it is warm out and if it is cold they mean it is likely going to snow. Sometimes they are on the ground or near the ground and we then call them fog. They usually form when it is cold then warm, wet air rolls in. Some weather men and women may say that if you see a stratus cloud to go inside and stay inside. These clouds hardly ever have precipitation but if they do it is a light drizzle or very little snow.

The last common cloud is a cirrus. These clouds look like feathers in the sky. They are thin and wispy. They are 20,000 feet in the air and are made of thin ice crystals. They mean that there is going to be nice weather and a beautiful day. Also they could indicate that a warm front is coming in.

Those are the three most common clouds and what they are associated with. There are many different types of cloud formations but cirrus, cumulus, and stratus are the most common that you see when you look in the sky. Hopefully you learned more about clouds.