What do cirrocumulus clouds mean?

What do cirrocumulus clouds mean?

fair
Cirrocumulus clouds are small rounded puffs that usually appear in long rows high in the sky. When these clouds cover a lot of the sky, they can look like the scales of a fish, which is it is called a “mackerel sky.” Cirrocumulus are common in winter and indicate fair, but cold, weather.

Is cirrocumulus a rain cloud?

The appearance of cirrostratus clouds in wintertime in the middle and northern latitudes, with its typical halo, has long been identified as a precursor to steady rain or snow. Cirrocumulus (Figure 4 shown with altocumulus for comparison) clouds are patchy, finely granulated clouds.

Where is a cirrocumulus cloud located?

the troposphere
Cirrocumulus clouds are thin cloud patches found high in the troposphere and are the only cloud found here that has cloud heap characteristics. Because cirrocumulus clouds are so high in altitude, the cloud heaps take on what can be described as a ‘grain of rice’ appearance.

What is a cirrocumulus cloud for kids?

Cirrocumulus clouds are made up of many puffy cloudlets arranged in lines across the sky, and they form when the wind blows cirrus clouds or airplane trails into a different shape. They don’t make rain themselves, but they can be a sign that rain is coming.

What type of cloud is cirrocumulus?

Cirrocumulus is one of the three main genus-types of high-altitude tropospheric clouds, the other two being cirrus and cirrostratus. They usually occur at an altitude of 5 to 12 km (16,000 to 39,000 ft). Like lower-altitude cumuliform and stratocumuliform clouds, cirrocumulus signifies convection.

What type of cloud is a cirrocumulus?

Cirrocumulus clouds are made up of lots of small white clouds called cloudlets, which are usually grouped together at high levels. Composed almost entirely from ice crystals, the little cloudlets are regularly spaced, often arranged as ripples in the sky.

What are cirrocumulus clouds sometimes called mackerel?

Cirrocumulus are tiny, high clumps of cloud containing ice crystals. This type of cloud often forms in beautiful regular waves and ripples, making a pattern in the sky. The pattern is known as a “mackerel sky” because clouds look like the mottled scales on the body of a mackerel.

What level is a cirrocumulus cloud?

Cirrocumulus cloud
Variety	Lacunosus Undulatus
Altitude	5,000-15,000 m (16,000-49,000 ft)
Classification	Family A (High-level)
Appearance	Small, flakey, and white high-altitude cumulus patches.

What does cumulonimbus mean in science?

The cumulonimbus cloud, or thunderstorm, is a convective cloud or cloud system that produces rainfall and lightning. It often produces large hail, severe wind gusts, tornadoes, and heavy rainfall.

What are cirrocumulus clouds made of?

What does a cumulonimbus cloud look like?

Cumulonimbus clouds are large, tall clouds that are dark on the bottom, bring thunderstorms, have a fuzzy outline toward the upper part of the cloud and may have a flat top called an anvil. Besides thunderstorms, these clouds can bring hail, tornadoes and snow, and they also form during hurricanes.

What are facts about cirrus clouds?

Cirrus clouds are generally found at heights above 5,000 m (16,500 ft) Cirrus is composed entirely of ice crystals. An extensive area of cirrus, covering a large portion of the sky, may indicate an approaching weather front and a change in the weather The familiar ‘anvil’ of a cumulonimbus cloud is in fact cirrus!

What causes a cirrus cloud to form?

Cirrus clouds also may form in low-pressure systems when air is forced upward at the center of the system. If the air reaches high enough to form ice crystals, cirrus may form. Cirrus may also appear at and around thunderstorms as upper level winds blow ice crystals off the top of these towering cumulonimbus clouds.

What characteristics does a cumulus cloud have?

Cumulus clouds are thick fluffy clouds, with a flat base. Basically, water vapor starts condensing at a particular altitude, and as it rises further, it tends to drift upwards in the Earth’s atmosphere, which gives these clouds their characteristic fluffy appearance with a flat base.

What causes a cumulus cloud?

Cumulus clouds form via atmospheric convection as air warmed by the surface begins to rise. As the air rises, the temperature drops (following the lapse rate), causing the relative humidity (RH) to rise.