Know the Classification of Clouds

Clouds can be found in the sky all over the world. Some clouds are visible, and some are not; they are cloud covers. Cloud covers are layers of clouds in the sky. It varies from place to place depending on specific humidity levels, landscape and wind. We all know that clouds can be of different colours, sizes and shapes. Different types of clouds can suggest different weather conditions.

Therefore, the classification of clouds is very important in meteorology to predict weather changes. 

What are Clouds?

Clouds are visible masses of ice crystals or tiny water drops formed from condensed water vapour present in the atmosphere. They are usually visible above a specific height on the earth’s surface. The classification of clouds is done as per their shape and height. The different names of clouds are derived from Latin. Cloud can be dark and heavy or white and light. 

A white cloud is a close accumulation of water drops that reflect most of the sunshine, and in a black cloud, the water drops begin to clump, leaving large spaces and therefore unable to reflect sunbeams.

How are Clouds Formed?

When water vapour fills the air or gets saturated, it forms a cloud. Cool air cannot hold much water vapour like hot air. And as the cloud rises in the air, it begins to cool down, and condensation starts, creating large droplets of water that fall as rain or precipitation on the earth’s surface. Classification of clouds is very important in understanding the concept of clouds better.

Classification of Clouds

Clouds play an important role in weather predictions as various clouds indicate various weather occurrences. Hence, the classification of clouds is a very important aspect of meteorology. We will tell you how clouds are categorized and the different types of clouds.

• Cirrostratus Clouds – Cirrostratus clouds are ice crystals and look like thin sheets. And a halo creates when the sun’s rays go through these clouds.
• Cirrocumulus Cloud – Cirrocumulus clouds look like good patches and create a mackerel sky. They are mostly white and grey. Also, these cirrocumulus are made of ice crystals and chilled droplets of water.
• Cirrus Cloud – Cirrus clouds are the feather-shaped, hairy thin form of clouds made with pure ice crystals. They are also known as mare’s tails due to their shape. Cirrus indicates clear weather.
• Altostratus Cloud – Altostratus clouds look like thin sheets with grey or bluish-green colour. And the sun can be seen through it depending on the thickness of the cloud. As much as the cloud is thick, the transparency is also reduced.
• Altocumulus Cloud – Altocumulus Clouds look like the wool of circular shapes with dark shades of grey and create a beautiful mackerel sky.
• Nimbostratus Cloud – Nimbostratus clouds are multi-layered with grey or black colour. They mostly appear 6ft high from the earth’s surface. Nimbostratus can bring continuous snowfall and rain.
• Stratocumulus cloud – Stratocumulus are the small sponge and circular shapes of countless cloud waves. These kinds of clouds indicate light showers or snowfall.
• Stratus Cloud – These types of clouds occur at a low level. They are generally low lining clouds with dark grey and white. The heavy fog close to the earth’s surface is an example of a Stratus Cloud. 
• Cumulus Cloud – Small puffy cotton shaped cumulus Cloud indicates fine weather. They generally appear horizontally and have a small vertical height.
• Cumulonimbus Cloud – Cumulonimbus clouds are large vertical clouds that are thick and mostly black and grey. This Cumulonimbus indicates a heavy rainfall, sometimes accompanied by storms or thunderstorms. 
• Noctilucent Cloud – These clouds are thinly shaped, mostly pale and faint blue. Noctilucent clouds are made of pure ice crystals. And mostly appears in summer skies.
• Polar Stratospheric Cloud – Polar Stratospheric Clouds are the upper-level clouds that generally appear in the skies of the Polar region. These are also thin in shape with great rainbow coloured hues. But the increasing amounts of such clouds indicate spanning the size of the ozone sphere.
• Mammatus Cloud – Mammatus Clouds are the special types according to the genetic classification of clouds. They look like woollen balls. Generally, clouds form when the air rises, but these clouds form when the air sinks towards the ground. Such clouds indicate incoming natural phenomena like heavy rain, storms, or even hurricanes.

Conclusion

The study of clouds is essential in understanding impending weather conditions. Different types of clouds suggest different weather conditions. Therefore, classifying clouds is very important to get a clear idea about them. This categorization of clouds depends on shape, size, colour, density etc. 

And there are more than 24 types of existence, all of them could not be listed here due to lack of time and space like lenticular clouds, Arcus clouds, Roll clouds etc.