What Is The Bottom Of A Cloud Called?

A cloud base

(or the base of the cloud) is the lowest altitude of the visible portion of a cloud. It is traditionally expressed either in metres or feet above mean sea level or above a planetary surface, or as the pressure level corresponding to this altitude in hectopascals (hPa, equivalent to the millibar).

Why are the bottoms of cumulus clouds including thunderclouds usually flat?

Cumulus clouds are, indeed, flat-bottomed

because they ride atop currents of rising warm air (warmer than the air surrounding them)

. … This occurs at about the same height in a given air mass at a given location, and the cumulus clouds at that spot have flat bottoms all at about the same height.

Why do clouds sometimes have flat bottoms?

As warm air rises, the water vapour remains invisible until the air cools enough for it to condense into water droplets. The altitude where that happens marks the bottom of the cloud.

Providing that more air feeds in from below

, new cloud will form there and preserve the flat bottom.

What does a flat cloud mean?

Stratus clouds are dull grayish clouds that often stretch across and block the entire sky; stratus means

“a layer”

and these clouds form flat, unbroken sheets, like a fog that is not on the ground. Stratus clouds produce only mist, drizzle or very light snow.

What clouds are fluffy and flat on the bottom?

Cumulus clouds

, those puffy clouds common in the sky during warm days, especially in the summer, are indeed flat-bottomed. It’s because of the way they form. They exist at the top of columns of warm air rising into the sky from the ground. Sunshine heats the ground, and the ground heats the air above it.

Are the bottoms of clouds flat?

From the ground these

bottoms appear very flat

, but if you are in a plane and fly through these bases during take-off or landing, you’ll be close enough to notice that the cloud bases are not a sharp boundary. The closer the temperature and dew point, the lower the cloud base.

What is the rarest type of cloud?

Nacreous clouds

are some of the rarest clouds on the planet. They are a form of polar stratospheric cloud, which is a main culprit in chemical destruction of the ozone layer.

Why do clouds turn GREY?

It is

the thickness, or height of clouds

, that makes them look gray. … The tiny water droplets and ice crystals in clouds are just the right size to scatter all colors of light, compared with the smaller molecules of air that scatter blue light most effectively. When light contains all colors, we perceive it as white.

Why do clouds look fluffy?

When warm air rises from the ground, it carries

water vapor

with it. When the water vapor meets the cold air found high in the sky, the gas condenses to liquid and forms cumulus clouds. While these fluffy-white clouds look like soft pillows of cotton, they are actually composed of small water droplets.

Why do clouds float?

FLOATING CLOUDS.

The water and ice particles in the clouds we see are

simply too small to feel the effects of gravity

. As a result, clouds appear to float on air. Clouds are composed primarily of small water droplets and, if it’s cold enough, ice crystals. … So the particles continue to float with the surrounding air.

Is fog a cloud?

Fog is

a cloud that touches the ground

. … Fog shows up when water vapor, or water in its gaseous form, condenses. During condensation, molecules of water vapor combine to make tiny liquid water droplets that hang in the air. You can see fog because of these tiny water droplets.

Why are clouds flat on bottom and fluffy on top?

During the day the sun warms the ground, which then radiates heat, causing air near the ground to warm and rise. …

As the air continues to rise, that first chunk of cloud gets pushed up as more cloud forms beneath

, resulting in a cloud that’s puffy on top but flat on the bottom.

What are flat GREY clouds called?

Stratus clouds

are uniform and flat, producing a gray layer of cloud cover which may be precipitation-free or may cause periods of light precipitation or drizzle.

What clouds are fluffy?

Cumulus clouds

look like fluffy, white cotton balls in the sky. They are beautiful in sunsets, and their varying sizes and shapes can make them fun to observe! Stratus cloud often look like thin, white sheets covering the whole sky.

What are the 8 types of precipitation?

• Rain. Most commonly observed, drops larger than drizzle (0.02 inch / 0.5 mm or more) are considered rain. …
• Drizzle. Fairly uniform precipitation composed exclusively of fine drops very close together. …
• Ice Pellets (Sleet) …
• Hail. …
• Small Hail (Snow Pellets) …
• Snow. …
• Snow Grains. …
• Ice Crystals.

What is the highest cloud ever recorded?