Know About Clouds

Every time when we step out of our house, most of us have a habit to see the sky. Likewise, when we travel, we look at the sky and we will be wondering about the white or grey coloured clouds. Whenever I think of clouds, it takes me back to my childhood days, where I use to spend hours just by looking at the clouds... because looking at them is fun, it will change into the shape I have in my mind, it changes my moods.. sometimes bright, sometimes dull and sometimes fiery. I think some of you might also be able to relate your own experience with mine.

To small kids we used to show the clouds, saying see it looks like a cat, dog or elephant, whatever they are interested in by picking some patterns in the clouds. Like the one in Fig.1. that I imagined as a lion. Hope you also picked that image...

Fig. 1. Bits of Stratus clouds clearly visible at the time of sunset

Place: Coimbatore

So, they are awesome, without paper and pencil we draw our imagination on them, we enjoy them. With these fun and enjoyment, let's know some facts about them (Clouds).

Clouds are water droplets or ice or both suspended in the air in the atmosphere. Clouds form when warm air rise, they cool and then condense. Like plants and animals they too have different classifications (genera, species and varieties). Broadly, there are ten genera (categories) of clouds. Depending upon the altitude of different clouds the clouds are divided into low level clouds (upto 2 km) made of water droplets, middle level clouds (2 - 8 km) made of ice crystals and water droplets and high level clouds (6 - 18 km) made of ice crystals. The clouds and their altitude are different over polar, temperate and tropics due to the different altitude of the troposphere over those regions. The following image (Fig. 1) shows all the ten genera and the levels of different clouds.

Ci: Cirrus

Cc: Cirrocumulus

Cs: Cirrostartus

Ac:Altocumulus

As: Altostratus

Ns: Nimbostratus

St: Stratus

Sc: Stratocumulus

Cu: Cumulus

Cb: Cumulonimbus

Fig.1. Clouds at different levels

Image source: International cloud atlas by WMO

These ten genera's can be remembered like this...()

Cirrus kind (Ci, Cc, Cs) will be at high altitudes and will appear thin hairlike or ripples of sand or sometimes forms a halo around the sun.

Stratus kind (Cs, As, St, Sc, Ns) will be greyish mostly and are sheet like

Cumulus kind (Cc, Ac, Sc, Cu, Cb) will be of different forms like cotton balls, puffy and tower like.

Nimbus kind (Ns, Cb) will be of multilayered cloud with dark colour.

Following are the photograph of all ten genera cloud (Fig. 2) taken from the International Cloud Atlas 2017, WMO with a brief note about them.

Fig. 2. Images of ten genera of clouds

Now, I think after knowing the kind of clouds you will be more interested to watch them and identify them. By observing them day to day you will get lifetime experience in understanding the weather. Because I have my own experience with Altocumulus cloud during my school days, that if I notice Ac at my place (continental climate), I can expect rain in a day or two. So you too can experience the science around you.

A good weather observer will become a good weather forecaster. So, don't wait, start to observe them, learn from them and be mesmerized by them. Experience them, 100% you all will enjoy...