Clouds

Question 1

Cumulus

Answer 1

[LOW]

• have noticeable vertical development.
• Looks like white fluffy ball of cotton.
• The elevation of the flat cloud base depends on the humidity. The more humid the air, the lower the clouds.

Question 2

Stratocumulus

Answer 2

[LOW]

• generally seen as a low gray or whitish layer showing little vertical development.
• Individual elements are often arranged in bands or rolls.

Question 3

Stratus

Answer 3

[LOW]

• flat, featureless cloud that is low to the ground.
• Varies in color from gray to white, and usually covers the entire sky.
• also appears fragmented during and after periods of rain.

Question 4

Cumulonimbus

Answer 4

[LOW-HI]

• a thunderstorm cloud that can reach height of 10 miles or more.
• Mature clouds are identified by the flat anvil shaped top.
• The flattening indicates the height of the tropopause which is the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere.

Question 5

Altocumulus

Answer 5

[MIDDLE]

• composed of water and appear as white or gray colored roll-like elements, bands or individual puffs.
• tend to occur in sheets or patches with wavy rolls and are the most common ‘middle’ cloud.

Question 6

Altostratus

Answer 6

[MIDDLE]

• always translucent enough to reveal the sun or the moon,
• but prevents object on the ground from casting shadows.
• These clouds also appear to have gray or bluish hues and never produce halos.

Question 7

Nimbostratus

Answer 7

[MIDDLE]

• a dark gray cloud that produces steady rain.
• Resulting from thickening altostratus, the cloud base descends into ‘low cloud’ region as rain increases.
• It often becomes difficult do distinguish from Stratus clouds

Question 8

Cirrus

Answer 8

[HI]

• appears as detached clouds in the form of white, delicate filaments, patches or narrow bands.
• Composed of ice crystals, they have hair-like or silky sheen appearance.

Question 9

Cirrostratus

Answer 9

[HI]

• transparent or semitransparent, whitish clouds with a hair-like or smooth appearance that totally or partially covers the sky.
• Composed of ice crystals, they frequently produce a partial or complete halo around the sun or the moon

Question 10

Cirrocumulus

Answer 10

[High]

• thin, white patches or layers without shading.
• Comprised of super-cooled water.
• They consists of very small elements in the form of grains or ripples.
• The size of cloud elements appears less than the width of one finger held at arm’s length.