What are the similarities and differences between the three types of clouds?

Simply put, there are three main forms of clouds: large cumulus clouds, large stratus clouds and fibrous cirrus clouds.

The scientific classification of clouds was first proposed by French naturalist Jean Lamarck in 180 1. 1929, according to the classification made by British scientist luke howard in 1803, the international meteorological organization divided clouds into ten major cloud genera according to their shapes, components and formation reasons. These ten cloud genera can be divided into three cloud systems according to the height of cloud bottom: high cloud system, middle cloud system and low cloud system. Another classification separates cumulonimbus and cumulonimbus from the low cloud family, which is called the straight cloud family. The cloud base height used here is only applicable to mid-latitude areas. (In addition to Britain and the United States, countries such as the World Gas Organization generally adopt the international system of units. )

Gaoyun nationality

High clouds are formed at a height of more than 6 kilometers, in the colder part of the troposphere. It belongs to three genera, all cirrus. At this height, water will solidify and crystallize, so this group of clouds is all made up of ice crystals. High clouds are generally fibrous, thin and mostly transparent.

cirrus

The clouds are fibrous, white, shadowless and shiny, yellow or red before sunrise and after sunset, and gray when the clouds are thick. Cirrus clouds are divided into four categories:

Cirrus cloud: the cloud silk is scattered and the fiber structure is clear, such as tangled silk, feathers, tail and so on.

Dense cirrus clouds: Clouds are dense and gather into sheets.

Hook cloud: Clouds are arranged in parallel, with small hooks at the top to form small balls, similar to commas.

Pseudocumulonimbus: The ice crystal part at the top of cumulonimbus has been separated from the parent body. Clouds are large and dense, often anvil-shaped.

cirrostratus

Clouds are all layered, transparent or milky white. Through the clouds, the outlines of the sun and the moon can be clearly seen, and objects on the ground are shaded and often dizzy. Cirrostratus can be divided into two categories:

Jun cirrostratus: The cloud curtain is thin and uniform, and no obvious structure can be seen.

Mao cirrostratus: The thickness of the cloud curtain is uneven, and the filamentary fiber structure is obvious.

cirrocumulus

Clouds are small, white and flaky, often in rows or groups, arranged neatly, like small ripples caused by a breeze blowing over the water. Convolution flowers have only 1 categories.

Zhongyunzu

Clouds form at an altitude of 2500 to 6000 meters. They are made up of excessively frozen water droplets.

High-level clouds (such as high-level clouds)

Clouds are evenly layered, grayish white or gray, covering the whole day. High-level clouds can be divided into two categories:

Transparent high-level cloud: the cloud is very thin, uniform in thickness, grayish white, and the outline of the sun and the moon is blurred, like a layer of ground glass.

Shadow high-level cloud: the cloud is thick and gray, and the striped structure of alternating light and dark can be seen at the bottom, which covers the sun and moon, but the outline is not visible.

altocumulus clouds

The clouds are small and well-defined. Thin clouds are white and can see the outline of the sun and the moon; Thick clouds and gray, the outline of the sun and the moon is indisputable. Flat, tile-shaped, fish-scale or wavy dense cloud bands. Arrange in groups, rows and waves in one or two directions. Cumulus clouds can be divided into six categories:

Translucent cumulus clouds: the clouds are thin, the individuals are separated and arranged neatly, and the blue sky can be seen in the cracks of the clouds; Even if there is no gap, the thin part of the cloud is brighter.

Shadow Cumulus: Clouds are thick and densely arranged, and there is no gap between clouds, so it is difficult to tell the position of the sun and the moon.

Podoid cumulus: Clouds are white, thick in the middle, thin in the edge, well-defined, isolated and scattered, and shaped like pods or lemons.

Fort cumulus: the bottom of the cloud block is flat, and the top protrudes into several small cloud towers, similar to a castle in the distance.

Flocculent cumulus: The edge of the cloud is broken, much like broken cotton wool.

Cumulonimbus high cumulonimbus: Clouds of different sizes are grayish white and have a slight appearance of cumulonimbus, which is formed by the expansion of rotten cumulonimbus or cumulonimbus.

Low cloud family

Include stratocumulus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus, cumulus and cumulonimbus, among which stratocumulus, stratocumulus and nimbostratus are composed of water droplets, and the height of the cloud bottom is usually below 2500m. Most low clouds are likely to rain, and there is often continuous rain and snow in nimbostratus. Cumulonimbus clouds and cumulonimbus clouds are composed of water droplets, supercooled water droplets and ice crystals. The height of the cloud bottom is usually below 2500 meters, but the cloud top is very high. Cumulonimbus clouds often have thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by strong winds and hail.

stratocumulus

Clouds are generally large, with great differences in thickness or shape, often gray or grayish white, and loose structure. Thin clouds can distinguish the position of the sun and the moon; Thick clouds are darker. Sometimes scattered, mostly in groups, rows and waves, neatly arranged in one or two directions. Stratocumulus can be divided into five categories:

Translucent stratocumulus: The clouds are thin, grayish white, arranged neatly, and the blue sky can be seen at the gap. Even without gaps, the edge of the cloud is bright.

Shadow stratocumulus: the cloud is very thick; Dark gray, seamless between clouds, often layered, all day, with obvious ups and downs at the bottom.

Cumulonimbus stratocumulus: Clouds vary in size, showing gray or dark gray stripes, with cumulonimbus characteristics at the top, which are flattened by descending cumulonimbus or cumulonimbus.

Lenticular stratocumulus: Clouds are flat, which are often directly formed by the rising of scattered heated air on the ground in the evening.

Stratocumulus Fort: The top of the cloud is protruding, and the bottom of the cloud is connected with a horizontal line, similar to a castle in the distance.

Strass (Saint Strass)

Clouds are layered, gray and foggy, but they are not connected with the ground and often cover the mountainside. Stratospheric clouds can be divided into two categories:

Layered clouds: Clouds are all layered, gray and foggy, but they are not connected with the ground and often cover the mountainside.

Stratocumulus: Broken pieces of stratocumulus formed by the splitting of stratocumulus or the lifting of fog.

nimbostratus

Clouds are evenly layered, covering the whole day, completely covering the sun and the moon, and are dark gray. The cloud bottom is often accompanied by broken rain clouds, which reduces the continuous rain and snow. Nimbostratus can be divided into two categories:

Nimbostratus: The clouds are evenly layered, covering the whole day, completely covering the sun and the moon, and are dark gray. The bottom of the clouds is often accompanied by broken rain clouds, which brings continuous rain and snow weather.

Broken rain clouds: Clouds are low and broken, with changeable shapes and gray or dark gray. They often appear under nimbostratus, cumulonimbus clouds and sheltered high-level clouds, and are formed by evaporation of precipitation and condensation of air humidity.

Direct exhibition cloud family

Direct clouds have a very strong updraft, so they can grow higher from the bottom. Cumulonimbus clouds of rainstorms and thunderstorms can start at a height close to the ground and then develop to a height of 75,000 feet. At the bottom of the cumulonimbus cloud, when the falling cold air meets the rising warm air, it will form a breast-like cloud like a pouch. When the cumulonimbus cloud expands, it will form a thin dome-shaped cloud at the top.

Cumulus (copper, cumulus)

The individual is obvious, the bottom is flat, the top is convex, and the clouds are incoherent. The light receiving part of the cloud is white and bright, and the bottom of the cloud is dark. Cumulus clouds can be divided into three categories:

Pale cumulus: The individual is small, the outline is clear, the bottom is flat, the top is curved and convex, like steamed bread, and the thickness is less than the horizontal width.

Cumulus: The individual is tall, with clear outline, flat and dark bottom, overlapping arc-shaped tops, like cauliflower, and the thickness exceeds the horizontal width.

Broken cumulus: small, incomplete in outline and changeable in shape, mostly white fragments, broken or primary cumulus.

cumulonimbus

The clouds are thick and thick, and they are as big as towering mountains. The top begins to freeze, the outline is vague, there is a fiber structure, the bottom is very dark, and there are often rain banners and broken rain clouds. Cumulonimbus clouds can be divided into two categories:

Bare cumulonimbus cloud: The top of the cloud begins to freeze, with overlapping arcs and vague outlines, but it has not yet spread outward.

Bristle cumulonimbus cloud: The top of the cloud has a white filamentous fiber structure, which expands into a horsehair or anvil shape, and the bottom of the cloud is dark and chaotic.

other

The condensation trail refers to the slender thin cloud formed when the jet plane passes at high altitude.

Noctilucent clouds are very rare. They are formed in the middle layer of the atmosphere and can only be seen at high latitudes.

Each kind of cloud has its particularity, but it is not static. Under certain conditions, this cloud can be transformed into that cloud, and that cloud can be transformed into another cloud. For example, light cumulus clouds can develop into thick cumulus clouds and then into cumulonimbus clouds; The top of the cumulonimbus is detached and becomes a pseudo cumulonimbus or cumulonimbus; Cirrocumulus descended to the upper clouds; The lowering of high-altitude clouds will turn into nimbostratus.