stratus clouds
Shapes in the sky
There are many different kinds of clouds, and each kind has a name. Most
clouds are named for their shapes.
The clouds that look like great sheets pulled across the sky are called
stratus clouds. Strato means “sheetlike.” These are the kinds of
clouds that are closest to the ground.
When a stratus cloud is dark, with a steady rain falling from it, it is
a nimbostratus cloud. Nimbus means “rain,” so a nimbostratus cloud is
a “rain sheet.’
Cumulus clouds are the ones that look like fluffy balls of cotton, or
scoops of ice cream all piled up. Cumulus means “pile” or “heap.” When
a cumulus cloud rises high into the air and grows dark and heavy
cumulus cloud
with rain, it is called cumulonimbus—a “pile of rain.” These are the
kinds of clouds that cause thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Stratocumulus clouds cover much of the sky, like stratus clouds, but are
piled up, like cumulus clouds. It’s easy to see how they got their name.
Alto means “high,” and altocumulus clouds are higher than stratus
clouds. They may be as much as 20,000 feet (6,296 meters) above the
ground. They don’t look much like piles, though. Sometimes they look
like lumpy, white ripples stretched across the sky. Then they are called
altocumulus undulatus clouds. Undulatus means “ripple.”
The highest clouds of all are cirrus clouds. They are made of ice
droplets, and look like thin, wispy streaks or curls. And cirrus means
“curl of hair.” Sometimes, cirrus clouds are piled together. Then they
are called cirrocumulus clouds. When there are lots of such cirrocumulus
clouds, people say it’s a “mackerel sky,” because the clouds look like
the scales of the fish called a mackerel.
cirrus clouds
