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.
What makes clouds white and fluffy?
Clouds are white because light from the Sun is white . ... But in a cloud, sunlight is scattered by much larger water droplets. These scatter all colours almost equally meaning that the sunlight continues to remain white and so making the clouds appear white against the background of the blue sky.
Why do clouds look like fluffy cotton balls?
Puffy “balls of cotton”:
Cumulus clouds that are flatter tend to be found when updrafts are weak , meaning clouds are unable to grow very tall. When the tops of cumulus clouds are puffy and cauliflower-like, be on the lookout for rain showers. When updrafts are strong, cumulus clouds can grow quickly.
What kind of clouds look fluffy?
Cumulus clouds look like fluffy, white cotton balls in the sky.
What does it mean when the clouds are fluffy?
White, fluffy cumulus clouds suggest fair, dry conditions. Fair-weather cumulus clouds do not last long. When they produce rain showers, it is most often light and brief. If you see these fluffy clouds turning dark or gray though, it is going to rain.
Can you touch a cloud?
Unfortunately, it does not feel like cotton balls or cotton candy, but most people have technically touched a cloud before . If you wanted to touch an airborne cloud, the best way to do this is either skydiving or in a hot air balloon, though I would not want to be stuck in a cloud while in a hot air balloon.
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.
What is the highest cloud ever recorded?
| Noctilucent clouds | Noctilucent clouds over Kuresoo bog, Viljandimaa, Estonia | Abbreviation NLC/PMC | Altitude 76,000 to 85,000 m (250,000 to 280,000 ft) | Classification Other |
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How high can clouds go?
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.
Which is true of high clouds?
High clouds appear in the highest levels of the troposphere . They are most brilliant white due to the ice crystals in this level. These cloudsusually develop on says with weather and lighter winds at the surface, generally these clouds do not produce precipitation except in some cases.
What is the rarest cloud?
Kelvin Helmholtz Waves are perhaps the rarest cloud formation of all. Rumored to be the inspiration for Van Gogh’s masterpiece “Starry Night”, they are incredibly distinctive. They are mainly associated with cirrus, altocumulus, and stratus clouds over 5,000m.
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.
Do altostratus clouds rain?
Altostratus clouds are “strato” type clouds (see below) that possess a flat and uniform type texture in the mid levels. ... However, altostratus clouds themselves do not produce significant precipitation at the surface , although sprinkles or occasionally light showers may occur from a thick alto- stratus deck.
What do black clouds mean?
A: Very dark looking or black clouds are probably those that contain a lot of rain in them and part of a thunderstorm, McRoberts adds. “In general, the severity of a storm is related to cloud height, which is why dark clouds are usually an indicator of bad weather.
Why are there no clouds in the sky?
The usual reason for the absence of clouds will be the type of pressure , with the area being under the influence of a high pressure or anticyclone. Air would be sinking slowly, rather than rising and cooling.
Do Low clouds mean tornado?
A wall cloud is a cloud that is lowered from a thunderstorm , forming when rapidly rising air causes lower pressure below the storm’s main updraft. ... Wall clouds that rotate are a warning sign of very violent thunderstorms. They can be an indication that a tornado will touch down within minutes or even within an hour.
