Gray cumulus clouds. Or what else do we know about the clouds? Clouds of an unusual form

We talked about the cereals, it's time to go to the description of cumulus and layered clouds. As mentioned, not all clouds are important when predicting the weather in Yakhting. Pirish are indicators far Actionsand imply a quick change in conditions. The cumulus clouds tend to mean an unstable mass of air-thermileous air, rises and mixed with colder air. These clouds can develop into cue-rain or thunderstorms. Big cumulus clouds are the most important type of clouds for the weatheroprognosis in yachting, because they can lead to the "shift" of wind, sudden shkwallax and require extreme respect.

Altocumulus High Clouds (AC)

Description of clouds: High altocumulus cumulus clouds (AC) -tipatic cloudiness for the warm season. Located, as a rule, above the slopes facing the sun. Sometimes they reach the stages of powerful cumulus clouds.

Lentilicular high heap clouds - Altocumulus Lenticularis (AS LENT)

Description of the clouds: lentilicular highly cumulus clouds - Altocumulus Lenticularis (AS Lent) - separate rather dense clouds of lentil or cigar-like shape with smooth outlines and wavy border. They are formed at an altitude of 2-6 km. The precipitate can fall out in the form of separate droplets or snowflakes. In contrast to the parish cumulus clouds, they may have shaded parts, which, as a rule, consist of water droplets.
There are due to the wave movements of air on highly located boundaries of inversions, in particular in front of cold fronts or occlusion fronts.

Translucent High Couch Clouds - Altocumulus Translucidus (AC TRANS)

Description of clouds: Translucent high-tender clouds - Altocumulus Translucidus (AC TRANS) usually consist of sharply delineated elements (waves, plates), characterized by a non-uniform density of dense gray sections alternate with thin, more illuminated parts of transparent white color. In thin parts through cumulus clouds can be shifted by heavenly luminaries or blue sky. They are formed at an altitude of 2-6 km. The precipitate can fall out in the form of separate droplets or snowflakes.
AC TRANS usually arise as a result of raising warm air masses, as well as when the cold front occurs, which displaces warm air up. Therefore, the presence of AC TRANs with warm and wet summer in the morning often foreshadows about the imminent appearance of thunderstorm clouds or weather change.

Non-free highly layered clouds - Altostratus Opacus (AS OP)

Description of clouds: Non-freezing highly layered clouds - Altostratus Opacus (AS OP) are homogeneous cover of gray, often variable density, which is noted by the degree of their illumination (the clouds are darker, lighter places). Through these layered clouds, the sun and the moon are not shining, but their location can be determined by a blurry light spot on the clouds. It is formed at an altitude of 3-5 km in the form of a light gray or bluish color, in which the bands or fibers can be distinguished. They almost always replace the raylasty clouds.
Most often arise in the process of lowering and sealing the perista laminated cloud. Consist of small droplets of water, but the peak of these layered clouds can reach the upper tier and consist of ice crystals. In this case, ice crystals, falling into the bulk of a layered cloud, act as a condensation core and cause precipitation. But in the middle and southern latitudes, precipitation, as a rule, do not reach the Earth due to evaporation. In winter, snow is snowing from these layered clouds.
AS OP, cover large spaces, as they decrease their bases, small dark nurses appear under them.

Flap High High Couch Clouds - Altocumulus Floccus (AC FL)

Description of clouds: Flap-shaped highly cumulus clouds - Altocumulus Floccus (AC FL) - pouch white cereal-torn flakes, relatively rapidly changing their outlines. They are formed at an altitude of 2-6 km due to the convective movement of air in the layer above 2 km. The precipitate can fall out in the form of separate droplets or snowflakes. In contrast to the parish cumulus clouds, they may have shaded parts, which, as a rule, consist of water droplets.
Highly cumulative clouds usually arise as a result of raising warm air masses, as well as when the cold front occurs, which displaces warm air up. Therefore, the presence of highly cumulus clouds with warm and wet summer in the morning often foreshadows about the imminent appearance of thunderstorm clouds or change of weather.

Translucent High Layered Clouds - Altostratus Translucidus (AS TRANS)

Description of clouds: translucent high-layered clouds - Altostratus Translucidus (AS Trans). The wavy structure of the layered cloud is noticeable, the sun's sun circle is quite distinguishable. On Earth, sometimes completely distinguishable shadows may occur. The stripes are clearly visible. The shiny of layered clouds, as a rule, gradually closes all the sky. The base is the base within 3-5 km, the thickness of the AC TRANS layered clouds on average Kolo 1 km, occasionally up to 2 km. The sediments fall out, but in the southern and middle latitudes in the summer rarely reached the Earth.

Orographic highly layered clouds and layered rain - Altostratus and NimBostratus (AS and NS)

Description of clouds: Orographic highly layered clouds and layered rain - Altostratus and NimBostratus (AS and NS) are formed on the winding slopes of the mountain ranges. If a powerful stream of wet air flows on the mountains, then the formation of the cloudiness occurs mainly on their atmospheric slopes. Clouds at the beginning acquire the form of highly layered clouds, and then grow up to large heights. Visibility range in layered clouds is horizontal and inclined quickly changes.

Day Layered Couch Clouds - Stratocumulus Diurnalis (SC DIUR)

Description of clouds: Daily layered cumulus clouds - STRATOCUMULUS DIURNALIS (SC DIUR) are formed from cumulus clouds when they are spreading. The spreading occurs not average, but in the lower tier (under the inversion boundary, located quite low), in the initial stage of education, their connection with Cu, the individual vertices of which protrude from the SC layer are clearly visible. It is conditionally assumed that the visible size of the elements of layered-cumulus clouds exceeds the tenfold diameter of the sun. Layer-cumulus clouds are formed due to wave movements in the inversion layers located below 2km on the surface of the Earth.

Spreading evening layered cumulus clouds - Stratocumulus Vesperalis (SC VESP)

Description of clouds: spreading evening layered-cumulus clouds - STRATOCUMULUS VESPERALIS (SC VESP) occur in the evening with the usual spreading of cumulus clouds due to the weakening of the rising air movements (convection). They have a form of flat elongated variety of layered-cumulus clouds formed during sedimentation of vertices of cumulus clouds and spreading their bases. Consist from droplets, under a negative temperature, from supercooled droplets or from a mixture of them with crystals and snowflakes.

Translucent layered cumulus clouds - STRATOCUMULUS TRANSLUCIDUS (SC TRANS)

Description of clouds: translucent layered-cumulus clouds - STRATOCUMULUS TRANSLUCIDUS (SC TRANS) Gray clouds consisting of large varnishes (waves) plates or blocks separated by lumen. In the intervals, the top layer of translucent layered cumulus clouds is visible or blue sky. The height of the base is in the range of 0.5, -1, 5 km. The thickness of the layer is from 200 to 800 meters. Consist from droplets, under a negative temperature of supercooled droplets or from a mixture of them with crystals and snowflakes. In most cases, precipitation does not give.

Flat cumulus clouds Cumulus Humulus (Cu Hum)

Description of clouds: flat cumulus Humulus cumulus clouds (Cu Hum) - scattered across the sky, rather dense cumulative clouds with clear horizontal bases, a little developed vertically. Observed mainly in the warm season. Usually they occur in the morning, reach the greatest development at around half acend and in the evening they spread, turning into layered cumulus evening clouds. Occasionally in moderate latitudes are observed in winter. The presence of flat cuch clouds Cu Hum speaks of established good weather and are called "good weather clouds"

Fog-shaped layered clouds - Stratus Nebulosus (ST NEB)

Description of clouds: Fog-shaped layered clouds - Stratus Nebulosus (ST NEB). A completely homogeneous layer of gray or yellowish color, similar to fog, raised above the ground surface. Typically, fog-shaped layered clouds close all the sky. The height of the base is in the range of 0.1 to 0.7 km., Sometimes the clouds merge with ground fog. Sometimes moron or small snow grains can fall out of the clouds (fine snow), which significantly worsens visibility. It is usually formed by cooling relative to warm air when it moves over a cold underlying surface, or with radiation heating of the lower layer of air during the night or several days in a row.

Running Rain - Fractonimbus (FRNB)

Description of clouds: Running Rain - Fractonimbus (FRNB) Dark gray clouds, sometimes with a yellowish or bluish tint. In case of precipitation, the clouds layer seems uniform, its heterogeneity and even its waviness are noticeable between precipitates. The clouds close all the sky without lumen. Base height from 0.1 km to 1 km. The thickness of the base ranges in the range of 2-3km, but sometimes it reaches 5 km. The sun and the moon through FRNB does not shine and even approximately not to mention their location. The precipitation falls in the form of a chain rain or snow, sometimes with breaks.
The main process of formation FRNB is air cooling at its ascending movement along the inclined front surface near the edge.

Fog

Fog. The accumulation of condensation products (droplets or crystals, or both both) weighted in the air, directly above the surface of the Earth. It occurs due to the movement of the air mass on a colder computing surface.

Dense layered-cumulus clouds - STRATOCUMULUS OPACUS (SC OP)

Description of clouds: dense layered-cumulus clouds - Stratocumulus Opacus (SC OP) is a layer of dark gray clouds consisting of merging boulders or plates. Dense layered-cumulus clouds are preserved until the lower surface is quite clear and you can distinguish with shafts, ridges or individual plates. When the elements of the clouds merge perfectly, and the layer becomes homogeneous, then the clouds are moving into layered rainding NS or layered. Layered cumulus clouds (SC OP) are formed in most cases inside homogeneous air masses. The height of the base is in the range of 0.5-1.5 km. The layer thickness is from 0.2 to 0. 8 km. Through (SC OP) the sky is not shown, with this form of cloud, it is impossible to determine the location of the sun or the moon. The precipitate can fall out in the form of rain or rare snow.

Wavy layered clouds - Stratus undulatus (ST und)

Description of clouds: Wavy layered clouds - Stratus undulatus (ST und), uniform in the structure of a gray or yellowish-gray layer of layered clouds, on the bottom surface of which you can distinguish with weakly pronounced waves. These waves, due to their long-length and low location, are sometimes noticeable only in the form of the correct alternation of darker and brighter seats. The height of the base is usually in the range of 0.2- 0.7 km. The sun and the moon through the clouds do not shine. Wavy layered clouds consist of droplets, at low temperatures - supercooled.
From the clouds it is possible to fall out of the sea or small snow grains, which significantly deteriorate visibility. They are formed mainly inside a homogeneous air mass. Wavy layered clouds are formed mainly due to cooling relative to warm air when it moves over a cold underlying surface or due to the radiative heating of the lower layer of air over the night or several days in a row. One of the reasons for the formation of wavy layered clouds can be the transfer of water vapor turbulent movements up into the folding layer and condensation of excess steam at the top of the layer. The diffusion of water vapor is also possible in the computersive layer on top of their warm air mass, if it is more wet than the lower layer of air. Of great importance for formation is the presence of a layer of temperature inversion located at a low height above the surface of the Earth.

Powerful cumulative clouds - Cumulus CONGESTUS (CU CONG)

Description of clouds: Powerful cumulus clouds - Cumulus CONGESTUS (CU CONG) highly developed cloud vertical. Some of them are partially broken, cosmaty, in the form of tilted towers. Thickness of 1.5 - 2 times higher than the base of the cumulus cloud. The top of the cumulus cloud is dazzling white, flower, the base is dimmed. In the central part, powerful cumulus clouds completely close the sun, the edges are shouted, and the crowns are often formed. Sids usually do not fall out. They are formed mainly as a result of powerful ascending air flow caused by uneven heating of the underlying surface. The development of CU CONG in summer leads to the development of Kuchvo rain clouds and livhed rain rains.

Medium heaf clouds - Cumuluc Mediocris (CU Med)

Description of clouds: Middle cumulus clouds - Cumuluc Mediocris (CU Med), having a view of isolated cloud masses, white heaps with gray flat base and white vertices resembling cauliflower. The vertical dimensions of medium cumulative clouds are commensurate with horizontal. The height of the base in moderate latitudes is usually from 0.8 to 1.5 km. However, it may fluctuate in large limits, depending on the values \u200b\u200bof relative humidity at the surface of the Earth. Vertical length from hundreds of meters to several kilometers. They are usually formed due to the temperature convection or front lift. Are intermediate between Cu Hum and Cu Cong. The sediments from the middle cumulus clouds usually do not fall out. In moderate latitudes from Cu Medi, separate raindrops can fall out, or a very short rare rain (sometimes during the fall of the rain drops on the clouds of which they fell out, the precipitation is already dissipated. Such rain is called "rain from a clear sky"

Kuchvo Rain Clouds Cumulonimbus (CB)

Description of clouds: Cumulonimbus rain clouds (CB), white clouds with dark, sometimes bluish bases, rising in the form of huge clouds with vertices. Often are observed in the form of individual clouds, but there may be their clusters. All sky is not closed, there may be lumens between individual clouds. The height of the base ranging from 0.4 to 1.0 km, the vertical length is usually up to 3-4 km, but they can develop to the tropopause. The sediments always have a stormy storm character: in summer, falling in the form of a large rain or hail, in spring and autumn in the form of ice or snowy cereals, and in winter in the form of a storm snow, part of the wet. Often with CB there is a thunderstorm. Clouds are usually formed as a result of the development of powerful cumulus clouds CU CONG. Under the clouds, precipitation falls are usually observed, and some cases rainbow.

On this description of the clouds. I hope this information will help to navigate in a huge number of different types of clouds and increase the accuracy of your weather forecasts to the sea. What will ultimately make your yachting safer and comfortable.

All types of clouds are listed and described in this article.

Types of clouds

Clouds of Upper Yarusa It is formed in moderate latitudes above 5 km, in polar - above 3 km, in tropical - above 6 km. The temperature at this height is rather low, so they consist mainly of ice crystals. Upper tier clouds are usually thin and white. The most common shape of the clouds of the upper tier are Cirrus (peristrays) and Cirrostratus (peristo-layered), which can usually observe with good weather.

Middle Yarus clouds Usually are located at an altitude of 2-7 km in moderate latitudes, 2-4 km - in polar and 2-8 km - in tropical. They consist mainly of fine particles of water, but at low temperatures may contain ice crystals. The most common type of medium tier clouds are Altocumulus (high-cumulus), Altostratus (high-layered). They may have shaded parts, which distinguishes them from peristo-cumulative clouds. This type of clouds usually arises as a result of air convection, as well as due to the gradual climbing of the air ahead of the cold front.

Clouds of Lower Yarusa located at altitudes below 2 km, where the temperature is sufficiently high, therefore consist mainly of water droplets. Only in the cold season. When the temperature is low, they contain ice particles (hail) or snow. The most common type of clouds of the lower tier is NimBostratus (layered-rain) and Stratocumulus (layered-cumulus) - the dark clouds of the lower tier, accompanied by moderate precipitation.

Rice1. Main types of clouds: Cirrus, CI), Cirrocumulus, CC), Circum (Cirrostratus, CS), High-Couch (Altocumulus, AC), High-Layered (Altostratus, AS), high-layered translucent (Altostratus translucidus , AS Trans), Layered Rain (NimBostratus, NS), Layered (STRATUS, ST), SECURITY-CUCH (STRATOCUMULUS, SC), cumulus clouds (Cumulus, Cu), Kuchvo-rain (Cumulonimbus, CB)

Cirrus, Ci)

Consist of separate peristraly elements in the form of thin white threads or white (or mostly white) nurses and the elongated ridges. Have a fibrous structure and / or silky shine. They are observed in the upper troposphere, in the average latitudes of their foundation most often lie at the heights of 6-8 km, in tropical from 6 to 18 km, in polar from 3 to 8 km). Visibility inside the cloud is 150-500 m. Built from ice crystals, large enough to have a noticeable drop rate; Therefore, they have a significant vertical stretch (from hundreds of meters to several kilometers). However, wind shift and differences in crystal sizes lead to the fact that the threads of the cider clouds are beveled and twisted. These clouds are characteristic of the front edge of the Warm Front cloud system or an occlusion front associated with an ascending slip. They are also often developing in an anti-cyclonic environment, sometimes parts or residues of ice vertices (attached) of cumulating rain clouds.

Views: nitevoid (Cirrus Fibratus, CI FIBR.), cogtevoid (Cirrus Uncinus, CI UNC.), funny (Cirrus Castellanus, Ci Cast.), dense (Cirrus Spissatus, Ci Spiss.), flood-shaped (Cirrus Floccus, Ci Fl.) And varieties: tired (Cirrus Intortus, Ci Int.), radial (Cirrus Radiatus, Ci Rad.), ardate-shaped (Cirrus Vertebratus, Ci Vert.), double (Cirrus Duplicatus, Ci Dupl.).

Sometimes this kind of clouds, along with the described clouds, also belongs peristo-layered and peristo-cochess Clouds.

Cirrocumulus, CC)

Cirrostratus, CS)

Galo formed on cider clouds

Sail-like clouds of the upper tier, consisting of ice crystals. They have a form of homogeneous, whitish pellets. The height of the lower edge is 6-8 km, the vertical length ranges from several hundred meters to several kilometers (2-6 or more), visibility inside the cloud - 50-200 m. The peristo-layered clouds are relatively transparent, so the sun or the moon can be Clearly visible through them. These clouds of the upper tier are usually formed when extensive air layers rise up due to multi-level convergence.

The peristo-layered clouds are characterized by the fact that they often give the halo phenomena around the sun or the moon. Galo is the result of the refraction of light crystals from which the cloud consists of. The peristo-layered clouds, however, have a tendency to be seal when the warm front approaches is approaching, which means an increase in the formation of ice crystals. As a result, Galo gradually disappears, and the sun (or moon) becomes less noticeable.

High-cumulative (Altocumulus, AC)

Formation of high-cumulus clouds.

High-cumulative clouds (Altocumulus, AC) - typical cloudiness for the warm season. Gray, white, or blued clouds in the form of waves and a variety consisting of flakes and plates separated by the lumens. The height of the lower boundary is 2-6 km, the vertical length is up to a few hundred meters, visibility inside the clouds - 50-80 m. Are there, as a rule, over places facing the Sun. Sometimes they reach the stages of powerful cumulus clouds. High-cumulus clouds usually arise as a result of raising warm air masses, as well as when the cold front occurs, which displaces warm air upwards. Therefore, the presence of high-cumulus clouds with warm and wet summer in the morning foreshadows the emergence of thunderstorm clouds or weather change.

High-layered (Altostratus, AS)

High-layered clouds

They have the form of a homogeneous or weak wavy wavy pellets of gray or bluish color, the sun and the moon, usually shine, but weakly. The height of the lower border is 3-5 km, the vertical length is 1-4 km, visibility in the clouds - 25-40 m. These clouds consist of ice crystals, supercooled water droplets and snowflakes. High-layered clouds can make roin or snow.

High-layered translucidus (Altostratus Translucidus, AS Trans)

High-layered clouds at sunset

High-layered translucent clouds. Wavy cloud structure is noticeable, the sun's sun circle is quite distinguishable. On Earth, sometimes completely distinguishable shadows may occur. Stripes are clearly visible. Pellea clouds, as a rule, gradually closes all the sky. The base height is within 3-5 km, the thickness of the AS TRANS clouds layer is about 1 km away, occasionally up to 2 km. The preciputes fall out, but in the summer of low and medium latitudes, the Earth rarely reaches.

Layered Rain (NimBostratus, NS)

Layered rain clouds and strong air flows.

Single-rain clouds are dark gray, in the form of a solid layer. With precipitation, it seems homogeneous, some heterogeneity and even some waviness of the layer are noticeable between the fallout of precipitation. From layered clouds are characterized by a more dark and bluish color, the inhomogeneity of the structure and the presence of chain precipitation. The height of the lower boundary is 0.1-1 km, the thickness is up to several kilometers.

Layered (Stratus, ST)

Layered clouds.

The layered clouds form a homogeneous layer, similar to the fog, but located at a height of hundreds or even dozens of meters. They usually close all the sky, but sometimes they can be observed in the form of torn clouds. The lower edge of these clouds can sink very low; Sometimes they merge with ground fog. The thickness of them is small - dozens and hundreds of meters.

Stratocumulus, SC)

Gray clouds consisting of large varnishes, waves, plates separated by lumen or merging into a solid gray wavy cover. Consist mainly of water drops. The layer thickness is from 200 to 800 m. The sun and the moon can only be shifted through thin edges of the clouds. Precipitation, as a rule, do not fall out. From layered-cumulus non-translucent clouds can fall out weak short precipitation.

Couch clouds (Cumulus, Cu)

Cumulus clouds. View from above.

Kuch clouds are dense, day-white clouds with significant vertical development (up to 5; km or more). The tops of the cumulative clouds have the type of domes or towers with rounded outlines. Usually, cumulus clouds arise as convection clouds in cold air masses.

Kuchevo-Rain (Cumulonimbus, CB)

Couple-rain clouds (Cumulonimbus Capillatus Incus)

Kuchvo-rain - powerful and dense clouds with strong vertical development (up to a height of 14 km), giving abundant rainseed precipitation with powerful hail and thunderstorms. Kuchevo-rain clouds / clouds develop from powerful cumulus clouds. They can form a line called shkvalov line. The lower levels of cucco-rain clouds consist mainly of water droplets, while on more high levelswhere temperatures are much lower than 0 ° C, ice crystals prevail.

... The clouds are our dreams and unraded to loud words ... silent and trembling ..., they are from their warmth, rise to the wind, as the heat always rises to the top ... there are also waiting for their own performance. Dreams are always bright and very beautiful they acquire the outlines of our fantasies and float with each other with slender rows ... My, yours, our ... White cotton wreaths, they seem to us from the ground and people admire them. Above the meadows and the fields of the cloud are so high that the sky seems to us more blue and beautiful-bottomless. And over the cities there are more, and they are denser, because the desires there are much more and the sky seems low, hung right above their heads. You will stretch your hand, stand up on the tiptoe and practically reach this snow-white wool ... The clouds are like letters sent to people who are far from us ... They can read them and see our mood, even for a lot of hundreds and thousands of kilometers, smile, and send to The answer us is a light and air kiss ... -)).

"Coming from the Moon!" ([email protected])

Clouds - Weighted in the atmosphere products condensation of water vapor visible in the sky from the surface of the Earth.

When in the atmosphere, under the influence of various conditions, the air masses occurs, the number of water vapors at any point can exceed the limit value required to saturate air under these conditions. In this case, the water vapors that are in excess must be thicken, i.e., go into a liquid or even a solid state. If such a thickening or condensation of vapors occurs at some height in the atmosphere and takes sufficiently extensive dimensions, and the distinguished particles of water or ice crystalline accumulate into significant masses, the result of such a cluster is the formation of the cloud.

The clouds consist of the smallest droplets of water and / or ice crystals (called cloud elements). Drip cloud elements are observed at the air temperature in the cloud above -10 ° C; From -10 to -15 ° C clouds have a mixed composition (droplets and crystals), and at a temperature in the cloud below -15 ° C - crystalline.

In the enlargement of cloud elements and the increase in their fall rate, they fall out of the clouds in the form of precipitation. As a rule, precipitation falls out of the clouds, which at least in some layer have a mixed composition (cumulating raindrops, layered-rain, high-layered). Weak drinking precipitations (in the form of frozen, snowy grains or weak small snow) can fall out of homogeneous clouds (drip or crystalline) - layered, layered-cumulus.

Classification of clouds

Usually clouds are observed in the troposphere. Tropospheric clouds are divided into species, varieties and additional features in accordance with the international classification of clouds. Occasionally, other types of clouds are observed: pearl clouds (at an altitude of 20-25 km) and silver clouds (at an altitude of 70-80 km).

Clouds of the upper tier (in medium latitudes height from 6 to 13 km):

Cirrus, Ci)

Medium tier clouds (in medium latitudes height from 2 to 7 km):

Clouds of the lower tier (in medium latitudes height up to 2 km):

Layered (Stratus, ST)

Vertical development clouds (convection clouds):

Kuchny (Cumulus, Cu)

"Ground":

Fog
Haze
Layered fog-shaped

Arcus.
Silver
Pearl
Validate
Asperatus.
Pileus.
Condensation mark
Gloria
Lenticular
Pyricumulative

Cirrus, Ci)

Consist of separate peristraly elements in the form of thin white threads or white (or mostly white) nurses and the elongated ridges. Have a fibrous structure and / or silky shine. Observed in the upper troposphere, sometimes at the heights of the tropopause or directly under it (in the average latitudes of their base, it is most often located at 6-8 km altitudes, in tropical from 6 to 18 km, in polar from 3 to 8 km). Visibility inside the cloud is 150-500 m. Built from ice crystals, large enough to have a noticeable drop rate; Therefore, they have a significant vertical stretch (from hundreds of meters to several kilometers). However, wind shift and differences in crystal sizes lead to the fact that the threads of the cider clouds are beveled and twisted. Well-pronounced phenomena of halo Cirish clouds are usually not given due to its dismemberment and smallness of individual cloud formations. These clouds are characteristic of the front edge of the Warm Front cloud system or an occlusion front associated with an ascending slip. They are also often developing in an anti-cyclonic environment, sometimes parts or residues of ice vertices (attached) of cumulating rain clouds.

Cirrus Fibratus, CI FIBR), cogtevoid (CIRRUS UNCINUS, CI UNC CIRRUS (CIRRUS CASTELLANUS, CI CAST.), Dense (Cirrus Spissatus, CI Spiss.), Floccus (CIRRUS FLOCCUS, CI FL .) and varieties: confused (Cirrus Intortus, CI Int.), Radial (Cirrus Radiatus, Ci Rad.), Ardate (Cirrus Vertebratus, Ci Vert.), Double (Cirrus Duplicatus, Ci Dupl.).

Sometimes this kind of clouds, along with the described clouds, also includes peristo-layered and peristo-cumulus clouds.

Cirrocumulus, CC)

They are often called "lamb". Very high small spherical clouds elongated in the line. Similar to the backs of mackerel or ripples on the coastal sand. The height of the lower boundary is 6-8 km, the vertical length is up to 1 km, visibility inside is 200-500 m. Are a sign of increasing temperature. It is often observed along with cervical or peristo-layered clouds. Often are the predecessors of the storm. With these clouds, it is observed. "Iridization" - rainbow colored edge of the clouds. They do not have shading, even on the other side, which is overturn from the sun. Formed when wave and rising movements occur in the upper troposphere and consist of ice crystals. In the peristo-cumulus clouds can be observed halo and the crowns around the Sun and the Moon. The precipitates do not fall out.

Cirrostratus, CS)

High-cumulative (Altocumulus, AC)

High-layered (Altostratus, AS)

High-layered translucidus (Altostratus Translucidus, AS Trans)

Layered (Stratus, ST)

The layered clouds form a homogeneous layer similar to the fog, but located at some height (most often from 100 to 400 m, sometimes 30-90 m). They usually close all the sky, but sometimes they can be observed in the form of torn clouds. The lower edge of these clouds can sink very low; Sometimes they merge with ground fog. The thickness of them is small - dozens and hundreds of meters. Sometimes precipitation falls out of these clouds, most often in the form of snowy grains or morosi.

Stratocumulus, SC)

Gray clouds consisting of large varnishes, waves, plates separated by lumen or merging into a solid gray wavy cover. Consist mainly of water drops. The height of the lower boundary is usually ranging from 500 to 1800 m. The thickness of the layer is from 200 to 800 m. The sun and the moon can only be shifted through thin edges of the clouds. Precipitation, as a rule, do not fall out. From layered-cumulus non-translucent clouds can fall out weak short precipitation.

Couch clouds (Cumulus, Cu)

Kuch clouds are dense, day bright white clouds with significant vertical development. The height of the lower boundary is usually from 800 to 1500 m, sometimes 2-3 km and more. Thickness is 1-2 km, sometimes 3-5 km. The tops of the cumulative clouds have the type of domes or towers with rounded outlines. Usually, cumulus clouds arise as convection clouds in cold or neutral air masses.

Layered Rain (NimBostratus, NS)

Single-rain clouds are dark gray, in the form of a solid layer. With precipitation, it seems homogeneous, some heterogeneity and even some waviness of the layer are noticeable between the fallout of precipitation. From layered clouds are characterized by a more dark and bluish color, the inhomogeneity of the structure and the presence of chain precipitation. Lower border height - from 100 to 1900 m, thickness - up to several kilometers.

Kuchevo-Rain (Cumulonimbus, CB)

Kuchvo-rain - powerful and dense clouds with strong vertical development (several kilometers, sometimes up to a height of 12-14 km), giving abundant rainseed precipitation with powerful hail and thunderstorms. Kuchevo-rain clouds develop from powerful cumulus clouds. They can form a line called shkvalov line. The lower levels of cucco-rain clouds consist mainly of water droplets, while at higher levels, where temperatures are much lower than 0 ° C, ice crystalline prevail. The height of the lower boundary is usually below 2000 m, that is, in the lower tier of the troposphere.

Silver clouds

Silver clouds are formed in the upper layers of the atmosphere. These clouds are at an altitude of approximately 80 km. They can be observed immediately after sunset or before sunrise. Silver clouds were discovered only in the 20th century.

Pearl

Pearl clouds are formed in the sky at large altitudes (about 20-30 km) and consisting, apparently, from ice crystals or supercooled water droplets.

Validate

Sealed or tubular clouds - clouds, the base of which has a specific cellular or silent form. It is rare, mainly in tropical latitudes, and are associated with the formation of tropical cyclones.

Lenticular

Lenticular (lenticular) clouds are formed on the ridges of air waves or between two layers of air. A characteristic feature of these clouds is that they are not moving, there would be a strong wind. The flow of air pierced over the earth's surface is streamlined obstacles, and air waves are formed. Usually hang from the leeward side of the mountain ranges, behind the ridges and individual vertices at a height of two to fifteen kilometers.

Pyricumulative

Pyricumulative clouds or pyrochumulyus - convective (cumulus or heap-rain) clouds caused by fire or volcanic activity. These clouds received their name because the fire creates convective ascending streams, which, as the condensing, reaching the condensation level, lead to the formation of the clouds - first a cumulative, and under favorable conditions - and cumulatory raindrops. In this case, thunderstorms are possible; Lightning strikes from this cloud then cause new fires.

Study history

The first direct observers for the clouds were aeronautics, rising in balloons, which were established the fact that all observed forms of clouds in their structure are disintegrated into two groups:

Water particles in liquid form and
Clouds of small ice crystals.

Another fact that the structure of the clouds of the first group was lifted to the mountains and observations during the climbing of the mountains, when the observer is surrounded by such a cloud from all sides, is no different from an ordinary fog observed near the earth's surface; That the observer below seemed to the clouds holding on the slope of the mountain or at some height in the atmosphere, the observer who had fallen into such a cloud was fog. Since the time of Hallery and Leibnia, it was already known and confirmed by direct observation that individual fog particles, and, consequently, the clouds have a spherical shape. To explain why these balls are kept in the air in equilibrium, the hypothesis was proposed that these spherical fog particles consist of air bubbles surrounded by the finest water shell (vessels - as such bubbles were named); with sufficient sizes of bubbles and a sufficiently thin shell (the calculation made by Clausius showed that the thickness of the water shell should be no more than 0.0001 mm) the resistance of the air to their fall should be so much that the fall of the vessels can be performed very slowly, and they must be floating In the air, and with the most weak upward stream, their drop can go even in the upward movement. This hypothesis has acquired widespread, after Clausius managed, based on the expected unusually fine water shell of vessels, give an explanation to the blue sky. Simultaneously with the Vesicular hypothesis, there was another opinion that the water balls of fogs consistent with the liquid water. The difficulty of examining under the microscope of water balls led to the fact that such observations over them managed to do in a fairly reliable form only in 1880, when for the first time DINES (Dines), watching water balls from which fogs in England came to the conclusion that the observed They are fog particles essence real water droplets, the dimensions of which range from 0.016 to 0.127 mm. Later, the same observations were made by Assman on the top of broken, which - especially in the cold season - is in the field of the most energetic formation of clouds of various shapes that are generated somewhat higher, then a little lower, then just at its height. Assman was convinced that all the form of clouds containing liquid water, consist of real droplets, the dimensions of which vary between 0.006 mm (in the upper parts of the clouds) and 0.035 mm (in the lower parts). These droplets were observed with liquid even at a temperature? 10 ° C; Only touching some solid body (for example, the object glass microscope) they instantly turned into ice needles. Finally, Obermair and Buddha showed that if we proceed from the phenomena of capillary, the existence of vessels cannot be admitted. Thus, this hypothesis went into the past. Studies of Stokes and calculations made by Maxwell proved that weak flow raising at a speed of not more than 0.5 meters per second, it is enough to stop the drop in water droplets. Regarding the second group of clouds, which are used commonly at high altitudes - as a cigarette and peristo-layered - observations of aeronautics showed that these forms consist exclusively of water in a solid state. Miriada ice crystals and needles, similar to those who are observed often in the lower layers of the atmosphere falling in quiet, frosty days in winter, - often even with the cloudless sky, - forming the right hexagonal plates or six-sided prisms from microscopically small to the above-handed eye, keep in the upper The layers of the atmosphere and form the individual fibers or pasta bundles, the monotonous layer are common to large spaces, giving the sky whipping shade with a peristo-layered cloudiness.

To form clouds, you need to transition to a drop-like state. However, the theoretical surveys of Betzold, based on Eitken experiments, showed that this transition is a very complex phenomenon. Very witty experiments, Eitken stated that one cooling of the air masses below the temperature of their saturation with water vapors is not enough enough so that the pair moves into a drop-like state: for this, the presence of at least the smallest solid particles is needed, on which it begins to get into droplets condensing in liquid pairs. When the air, overwhelmed with water vapors, is absolutely clean, the pair, even going through the saturation temperature, do not appeal, however, in the liquid, remaining proved. Some gaseous bodies, such as ozone and nitrogen compounds, can also contribute to the formation of water droplets. That hard bodies really play a role in the formation of clouds, it could already be seen from observations that have established the existence of dirty rains. Finally, an extremely bright zori, observed after the eruption of Krakatau volcano in 1883, showed the presence of the smallest particles of the dust thrown by eruption on very large altitudes. All this explained the possibility of raising with strong winds of microscopically small dust particles is very high into the atmosphere and opinion of Eitken and Betzold about the need for the presence of solid particles for the formation of clouds received a justification.

In the early 1930s, experimental and theoretical work on the study of clouds were launched at the Leningrad Institute of Experimental Meteorology (Lem) under the leadership of V. N. Obolensky. In March 1958, on the initiative of N. S. Shishkin, an independent "department of cloud physics" was created in the main geophysical observatory named after A. I. Waikova.

In order to study the cloud cover of the Earth and the study of education and the "evolution" of NASA clouds in 2006 launched two specialized satellites Cloudsat and CalipSo.

In April 2007, NASA launched the AIM Satellite Polar orbit (The Aeronomy of Ice In The Mesosphere), designed to study silver clouds.

the article is taken with RU.Wikipedia.org

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Stratist-cumulus clouds (Stratocumulus, SC)

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The average height of the lower boundary:
0.6 - 1.5 km.
Thickness:
0.2 to 0.8 km.
Microstructure of clouds:
Basically drip, sometimes mixed, extremely rarely crystalline. Radius of drops of 5 microns. Crystals - in the form of thin plaquets needles. Water content - 0.2 - 0.5 g / m3.
Optical phenomena, transparency:
The sun and the moon can only shine through the thin edges of the clouds, and the crowns are observed.
Precipitation: As a rule, do not fall out. From the layered-cumulating of translucent clouds can fall out of weak short precipitation.
Features of the location:
Often are arranged in the form of the right parallel rows or waves.

Description and distinctive features: Form large and pretty low waves, ridges, boulders of grayish or gray, are usually located correct rows. Sometimes between them there are lumen of the blue sky - these are translucent layered-cumulus clouds - Stratocumulus Translucidus (SC Trans). In other cases, they form a stripped dark gray cover consisting of shafts or large blocks - dense layered-cumulus clouds - STRATOCUMULUS OPACUS (SC OP).
Layered raindrops consist mainly of small water droplets, in winter - supercooled. Translucent layered-cumulus clouds of precipitation never give and are not a sign of weather worsening. On the contrary, they are often formed with good sustainable and quiet weather, in this case their education indicates a large humidity. Dense layered cumulus clouds are very often observed in rainy weather, when they accompany more powerful clouds (layered rain or cumulating), giving precipitation.
Loystural-cumulus clouds are formed as a result of the occurrence of wave movements in the layers of inversions located below 2 km, spreading cumulative clouds in the layer under inversion below 2 km, as well as in the evening due to the weakening of convection. Loystural-cumulus clouds resulting from cumulus are called layered-cumulus formed from Kuchny - Stratocumulus Cumulogenitus (SC CUG).
Differ from highly lesser height, big sizes Separate boulders and plates and greater density. From layered and layered-rain clouds are characterized by a more discontinuous lower boundary and a clear wavy structure, and from layered and rainy are also distinguished by the lack of long precipitation.

Additional Information

Stratocumulus. (Layer-cumulus, SC) The sky look like cumulative cells, stretched vertically and with the lack of significant vertical development. Usually cloud elements SC form wavy and / or cellular ridges with dark central parts and lighter (thin) edges of cloud elements, through which the sun and the moon can be shifted. The fusion of cloud elements SC leads to the formation of uneven gray cloud cover.
SC is quite easy to confuse with high-tech (Altocumulus, AC) clouds similar in their shape with SC, but located at greater height (on average tier troposphere). Considering that SC closer to us than AC, a distinctive feature for their separation can be distinguished in the visible size of cloud elements. If individual cloud elements of the observed clouds have a visible length of more than 5 °, then this is SC, and if less than 5 °, then this is AC. This corner size corresponds to the three middle fingers of an adult on an elongated hand. However, if you are closed by plane, then ACs are becoming indistinguishable from SC. The precipitates given by SC are rarely observed, and are short-term and weak (for example, rare snowflakes can fall out - "White flies" - which, due to their insignificance, can remain unnoticed by an observer or observed in a small area). Most often under SC, you can observe only the falls of the fall. The most common types of SC: Stratocumulus Floccus, Stratocumulus Castellanus and Stratocumulus Stratiformis.

Stratocumulus floccus Looks like a layer of closely grouped flat cellular cloud elements. At the same time, higher clouds or pure sky can be seen in the lumeges between the cloud elements.

Cloud elements Stratocumulus Castellanus. have kind