Cloud types and extent.
Form 4 2016
notes
• Clouds consist of tiny water droplets or ice particles that are too light
to fall to Earth.
• They are formed when air containing water vapour is forced to rise.
As it rises into lower pressure, the air expands and cools. If it is
uplifted enough to cool below dew point the water vapour condenses
into water droplets or if it is sufficiently cold into ice.
• Remember – rising air does not cool because it is rising into cooler
layers of the atmosphere but because it uses energy as it expands.
• Air will continue to rise while it is warmer and lighter than the air it is
rising into. The tallest clouds are in the tropical zone where the
tropopause is at its highest.
• Only three types of clouds produce precipitation. For this to happen
there has to be a lot of water droplets or ice particles, plus sufficient
air movement for the particles to collide and join together. If they
become large enough they fall to the ground as precipitation.
• The density and vertical extent of a cloud determine if it looks white,
grey, or black from below. If it is thin enough for sunlight to pass
through it will appear white.
• Draw fair weather clouds p181 fig 7.26
Types of clouds
The main types of clouds
There are three main types of clouds which are classified according to their
shape. These shapes depend on how far the air has been made to rise.
• Where there is little vertical uplift, but the uplift is over a wide area, clouds
form in layers and are known as stratus.
• More vertical, but localized, uplift results in heaped cumulus clouds with
flat bases and globular upper surfaces.
• Where condensation occurs at high levels, wispy cirrus clouds called cirrus
are formed. Cirrus clouds are often described as feather like.
Stratus
The cloud that covers
the top of the Table
Mountain in Cape
Town is often stratus
cloud.
Cumulus
Low level
clouds
Cirrus
The cloud types can be subdivided as follows:
• Very high clouds in layers – cirrostratus
• Very high globular clouds – cirrocumulus
• Middle level clouds are altostratus or altocumulus
• Low level cloud is either stratus or cumulus. If it has both
characteristics is called stratocumulus.
Cirrostratus
Cirrocumulus
High globular
clouds
Altostratus
Stratocumulus
Altocumulus
• Two types of clouds have much greater vertical extent than the fair
weather clouds:
• Nimbostratus- a layer of cloud that can be up to 5km deep (deep enough
to produce steady rain). Nimbostratus clouds can bring continuous
precipitation that can last for many hours.
• Cumulonimbus- biggest cloud and can grow from sea level to the top of
the troposphere. These are associated with storms. As it can not rise any
further when it reaches the stratosphere it spreads out making the
distinctive anvil shape at the top of the cloud.
• “Nimbus" comes from the Latin word for "rain.") Nimbostratus or
cumulonimbus clouds.
• Draw rain clouds in the tropics p182 complete geo fig 7.31
Cumulonimbus – rain clouds
Nimbostratus - drizzle
How is cloud cover measured?
• The extent of cloud cover is measured by eye using a cloud mirror and
is expressed as oktas (eighths) of the sky covered with cloud e.g. a full
cloud cover is eight oktas and half the sky covered is four oktas.
Symbol Oktas Description
0/8 Clear
1/8 Fine
2/8 Scattered clouds, approximately 25% cover
3/8 Fair
4/8 Partly cloudy, approximately 50% cover.
5/8 Partly Cloudy
6/8 Mostly cloudy, approximately 75% cover
7/8 Cloudy
8/8 Overcast
Sky obscured. The sky can not be seen e.g like from fog.
Weather Circles
You will need to be familiar
with weather circles.
Examine the chart and make
sure that you are familiar
with the circles and what
they mean.
Question
Study the 2 circles and describe in detail the differences in weather conditions at Lerwick and Land's End at
that time.
Answer
Lerwick. Rain shower, low temperatures (6°C), cloudy
skies (4 oktas), with high winds (40 knots) from the south,
south west.
Land's End. Drizzle, warmer temperatures (12°C), cloudy
skies (8 Oktas) with lighter winds (15 knots) from the south
west.
