1. CLOUDS
A simple learning guide

2. WHAT IS A CLOUD?

3. No doubt you’ve found yourself once
looking at the sky, and seeing something
like this:
THAT is a cloud

4. A cloud, in meteorology can be described as:
“…a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals
made of water or various chemicals suspended in
the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary
body.”
But what does that mean?
Let’s go ahead and take a closer look at this
phenomenon.

5. Do you know about the cycle of water?
To put it simply, after rain falls and turns into rivers, lakes
and even puddles, this water evaporates due to the rays of
the sun.
The water vapor cools at higher altitudes due to low
temperatures in the atmosphere. It condenses.
This condensation is what we call a Cloud.

6. Okay, but why are there so many kinds of clouds?
Good question. Let’s explain that in a bit more detail.

7. Clouds are formed when water vapor condenses and
crystallizes around dust and other particles found in the
atmosphere.
Depending on the temperature, altitude, density and other
factors, clouds can form at lower or higher altitudes.
The altitude in which a cloud forms has a significant effect
in its appearance and behavior. This and a number of other
factors allows us to “predict” the weather.

8. Based on its forms and behavior, meteorologists have
classified three large types of clouds. They are:
• Cirriform
• Cumuliform
• Stratiform

9. Cirriforms are clouds that usually form at the highest
altitudes in the sky
The name “cirrus” or “cirro”
comes from Latin , and means
“curly”
Most of these clouds are found
to be thin and wispy, and
mainly composed of ice
crystals, due to the cold
temperature at these altitudes.

10. Cumuliforms are usually the first type of cloud that
comes to mind when you hear the word “cloud”
Cumuliforms are formed
at all altitude levels, and
their name comes from
the Latin “cumulus”
which means “heaps” or
“piles”.

11. Cumuliforms are can also sometimes develop into a
huge towering form of cloud called a “cumulonimbus”.
Cumulonimbus are
typically responsible for
heavy rains, storms and
lightning.
The word “nimbus” comes
from Latin as well, and
denotes precipitation.
That is, rains.

12. Finally, stratoforms are clouds that appear in large
horizontal groups. The name “stratos” comes from the
Latin word, “layer”
When you see a “cloudy”
day, where there’s almost
no trace of a blue sky,
you’re looking at a
stratoform cloud.

13. Things to remember about
clouds
Clouds can have characteristics of more than one group.
Thus, we have stratocumulus and cirrostratus clouds,
among others.
The affix “nimbus” (as in cumulonimbus) is not exclusive
to cumulus clouds. Nimbostratus is the type of cloud
responsible for long and steady rains.