Thunderstorms with the greatest vertical build host the strongest updrafts, sometimes as high as 100 mph, that can propel the cloud tops to great heights. In the Chicago area, typical summer thunderstorms cluster in the
35,000-45,000 foot height range, while tops of severe thunderstorms can grow to 60,000 feet
.
How high are clouds usually?
At the upper reaches of the troposphere you’ll find high clouds, which, depending on geographic location, occur
between roughly 10,000 and 60,000 feet
. Below that is the home of mid-level clouds, which generally occur between 6,000 and 25,000 feet.
How heavy is a cloud?
According to scientists, the weight of the average cumulus cloud is
1.1 million pounds
! Think about that for a moment. This means that at any given moment, there are millions of pounds of water floating above your head. That’s the equivalent of 100 elephants.
How high can thunderheads go?
Called cumulonimbus or thunderheads, they’re the most dramatic looking clouds with their tall and imposing shape. They grow vertically instead of horizontally, forming into dense towers that can reach
20,000 feet
, though they’ve also been known to go as high as 75,000 feet.
What is the highest cloud ever recorded?
Astronomers have discovered the largest and oldest mass of water ever detected in the universe — a gigantic,
12-billion-year-old
cloud harboring 140 trillion times more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.
How long does a cloud last?
All in all, for the sorts of cumulus clouds you could point at and say “that is a cloud”,
one day
. For cloudy storm systems, that would appear to you as a cloud deck or overcast skies, about a five days. Longer for stronger, more organized systems.
Can you buy a cloud in the sky?
Large Bottled Sky consists of pure silica aerogel embedded with a “cloud”
, unique in form and which can never be repeated. A special gift for that special geek in your life!
Can I eat a cloud?
As clouds are made up of water vapor and helium,
they are not harmful to eat
. While eating clouds isn’t exactly harmful, it certainly isn’t nutritious.
Why are clouds white?
Clouds are white
because light from the Sun is white
. As light passes through a cloud, it interacts with the water droplets, which are much bigger than the atmospheric particles that exist in the sky.
Why do clouds not fall?
Like everything on this planet, the tiny droplets that make up a cloud are drawn towards the Earth by gravity. But
these droplets are so small that it’s hard for them to push past all the air beneath them
. This means that they don’t fall very fast at all – in fact, only about one centimetre per second.
How tall is a cumulonimbus?
Cumulonimbus clouds are the kings of all clouds, rising from low altitudes to
more than 60,000 feet (20,000 meters) above ground level
. They grow due to rising air currents called updrafts, with their tops flattening out into an anvil shape.
What is the highest thunderstorm?
Intense thunderstorms have updrafts strong enough to punch through the tropopause, and the tops of such storms can grow to
65,000 feet
. The world’s tallest thunderstorms, over the western equatorial Pacific where the tropopause tends to be highest, have been measured at nearly 14 miles high with tops to 75,000 feet.
What causes a lightning?
In the early stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground. When the opposite charges build up enough, this insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity that we know as lightning.
What is the rarest cloud?
Scientists have called
noctilucent clouds
“the highest, driest, coldest, and rarest clouds on Earth.” Indeed, most of the planet’s clouds form in the troposphere, the layer of atmosphere closest to the ground, and occasionally in the stratosphere.
Where do clouds go at night?
What is the oldest cloud?
How old is the oldest cloud on Earth? Astronomers have discovered the largest and oldest mass of water ever detected in the universe — a gigantic,
12-billion-year-old
cloud harboring 140 trillion times more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.
Does fog form on the ground?
The cold balls of ice fall into warm, very moist air near the surface.
As the hail accumulates on the ground, it cools the air just above the ground to the dew point, resulting in fog.
What are the big clouds called?
Those towering
cumulus clouds
that deliver rain, lightning, and thunder are called cumulonimbus. They can extend from just a few thousand feet above the ground to levels of 50,000 feet or higher. The bigger they grow, the more violent the weather becomes. Hail will often fall from these clouds.
What kind of weather does a cumulus cloud bring?
Mostly, cumulus indicates
fair weather, often popping up on bright sunny days
. Though if conditions allow, cumulus can grow into towering cumulus congestus or cumulonimbus clouds, which can produce showers.
Can a cloud fall?
Even though a cloud weighs tons,
it doesn’t fall on you
because the rising air responsible for its formation keeps the cloud floating in the air. The air below the cloud is denser than the cloud, thus the cloud floats on top of the denser air nearer the land surface.
Why do I like looking at the clouds?
Staring at the unknown yet massive sky with clouds rolling by, way past the trees and deep into the stars,
you are reminded of how small they are
. You know while you are inconsistent or uncertain, the sky and nature offers all the certainty and magnitude that is needed for the planet to keep on going.
Are clouds made of dust?
Clouds are created when water vapor, an invisible gas, turns into liquid water droplets.
These water droplets form on tiny particles, like dust
, that are floating in the air.
How do clouds feel?
Clouds are made of water vapor and
feel like mist
. Most of the time, you don’t touch the clouds. They move in with the weather, and pour down from the mountains around you. They’re cold and damp.
Can a cloud touch the ground?
Some clouds are high up in the sky. Low clouds form closer to Earth’s surface. In fact,
low clouds can even touch the ground
. These clouds are called fog.
Is a cloud alive?
For young students things are ‘living’ if they move or grow; for example,
the sun, wind, clouds and lightning are considered living because they change and move
.
