As the warm air rises and meets cold air, water vapor cools and condenses forming these cotton-like clouds. Cumulus clouds commonly have rounded tops and flat darker bottoms. Those with little vertical development indicate that the weather will be fair.
What clouds indicate fair weather?
Towering cumulus clouds usually indicate fair, dry conditions. The bases of these clouds form at altitudes below 2000 m. They are mostly made of drops of water. Cumulus – known as fair-weather clouds because they usually indicate fair, dry conditions.
This warmed air rises by convection and forms Cumulus. These “fair weather” clouds look like cotton wool. If you look at a sky filled with cumulus, you may notice they have flat bases, which all lie at the same level. At this height, air from ground level has cooled to the dew point .
High-level clouds (5-13 km): cirrocumulus, cirrus, and cirrostratus. Mid-level clouds (2-7 km): altocumulus, altostratus, and nimbostratus. Low-level clouds (0-2 km): stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, and stratocumulus.
Cumulus – known as fair-weather clouds because they usually indicate fair, dry conditions. If there is precipitation, it is light. The clouds have a flattish base with rounded stacks or puffs on top.
What clouds are puffy and are fair weather?
Their tops are rounded, puffy, and a brilliant white when sunlit, while their bottoms are flat and relatively dark. Cumulus clouds develop on clear, sunny days when the sun heats the ground directly below ( diurnal convection). This is where they get their nickname of “fair weather” clouds.
The clouds have a flattish base with rounded stacks or puffs on top. When the puffs look like cauliflower heads they’re called cumulus congestus or towering cumulus. They can get very high. Cumulonimbus clouds – thunder clouds that have built up from cumulus clouds. Their bases are often quite dark.
What do clouds tell us about the weather?
So here are six clouds to keep an eye out for, and how they can help you understand the weather. Cumulus: little white fluffy clouds. Brett Sayles/Pexels, CC BY Clouds form when air cools to the dew point, the temperature at which the air can no longer hold all its water vapour.