A report on Cloud

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Stratocumuliform cloudscape
Tropospheric cloud classification by altitude of occurrence: Multi-level and vertical genus-types not limited to a single altitude level include nimbostratus, cumulonimbus, and some of the larger cumulus species.
Cumulus humilis clouds in May
Windy evening twilight enhanced by the Sun's angle, can visually mimic a tornado resulting from orographic lift
Nimbostratus cloud producing precipitation
Cirrus fibratus clouds in March
Stratocumulus over Orange County.
Stratocumulus cloud
Cumulus humilis clouds
Cumulonimbus cloud over the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas
High cirrus upper-left merging into cirrostratus and some cirrocumulus upper right
A large field of cirrocumulus
Sunrise scene giving a shine to an altocumulus stratiformis perlucidus cloud (see also 'species and varieties')
Altostratus translucidus near top of photo merging into altostratus opacus near bottom
Cumulus humilis clouds over Jakarta, Indonesia
Stratocumulus stratiformis perlucidus over Galapagos, Tortuga Bay (see also 'species and varieties')
Stratus nebulosus translucidus
Deep multi-level nimbostratus cloud covering the sky with a scattered layer of low stratus fractus pannus (see also 'species' and 'supplementary features' sections)
Cumulus humilis and cumulus mediocris with stratocumulus stratiformis perlucidus in the foreground (see also 'species and varieties')
Towering vertical cumulus congestus embedded within a layer of cumulus mediocris: Higher layer of stratocumulus stratiformis perlucidus.
Progressive evolution of a single cell thunderstorm
Isolated cumulonimbus cloud over the Mojave Desert, releasing a heavy shower
Altocumulus lenticularis forming over mountains in Wyoming with lower layer of cumulus mediocris and higher layer of cirrus spissatus
Example of a castellanus cloud formation
Cumulus mediocris cloud, about to turn into a cumulus congestus
A layer of stratocumulus stratiformis perlucidus hiding the setting sun with a background layer of stratocumulus cumulogenitus resembling distant mountains.
Cirrus fibratus radiatus over ESO's La Silla Observatory
Altocumulus stratiformis duplicatus at sunrise in the California Mojave Desert, USA (higher layer orange to white; lower layer grey)
Cumulus partly spreading into stratocumulus cumulogenitus over the port of Piraeus in Greece
Cumulonimbus mother cloud dissipating into stratocumulus cumulonimbogenitus at dusk
Cirrus fibratus intortus formed into a Kármán vortex street at evening twilight
Global cloud cover, averaged over the month of October 2009. NASA composite satellite image.
Lenticular nacreous clouds over Antarctica
Noctilucent cloud over Estonia
Joshua Passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant (1800) by Benjamin West, showing Yahweh leading the Israelites through the desert in the form of a pillar of cloud, as described in
Stratocumulus stratiformis and small castellanus made orange by the sun rising
An occurrence of cloud iridescence with altocumulus volutus and cirrocumulus stratiformis
Sunset reflecting shades of pink onto grey stratocumulus stratiformis translucidus (becoming perlucidus in the background)
Stratocumulus stratiformis perlucidus before sunset. Bangalore, India.
Late-summer rainstorm in Denmark. Nearly black color of base indicates main cloud in foreground probably cumulonimbus.
Particles in the atmosphere and the sun's angle enhance colors of stratocumulus cumulogenitus at evening twilight
Total cloud cover fraction averaged over the years 1981-2010 from the CHELSA-BIOCLIM+ data set

Aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space.

- Cloud
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50 related topics with Alpha

Overall
Nimbostratus virga

Virga

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Nimbostratus virga
Virga falling from Altocumulus
Virga during a sunset
Funnel cloud-esque virga

In meteorology, a virga, also called a dry storm, is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation falling from a cloud that evaporates or sublimates before reaching the ground.

This figure shows a calculation for thermal convection in the Earth's mantle. Colors closer to red are hot areas and colors closer to blue are in warm and cold areas. A hot, less-dense lower boundary layer sends plumes of hot material upwards, and likewise, cold material from the top moves downwards.

Convection

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Single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity .

Single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity .

This figure shows a calculation for thermal convection in the Earth's mantle. Colors closer to red are hot areas and colors closer to blue are in warm and cold areas. A hot, less-dense lower boundary layer sends plumes of hot material upwards, and likewise, cold material from the top moves downwards.
Thermal image of a newly lit Ghillie kettle. The plume of hot air resulting from the convection current is visible.
Thermal circulation of air masses
Convection cells in a gravity field
Idealised depiction of the global circulation on Earth
How Foehn is produced
Stages of a thunderstorm's life.
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An oceanic plate is added to by upwelling (left) and consumed at a subduction zone (right).
An illustration of the structure of the Sun and a red giant star, showing their convective zones. These are the granular zones in the outer layers of these stars.
This color schlieren image reveals thermal convection originating from heat conduction from a human hand (in silhouette) to the surrounding still atmosphere.
A fluid under Rayleigh–Bénard convection: the left picture represents the thermal field and the right picture its two-dimensional Fourier transform.

Discrete convective cells in the atmosphere can be identified by clouds, with stronger convection resulting in thunderstorms.

Cumulus fractus

Fractus cloud

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Cumulus fractus
A nimbostratus cloud in the background with a stratus fractus in the middle of the upper half of the image.
Scud clouds under a thunderstorm

Fractus clouds (scuds) also known as Fractostratus or Fracto-Cumulus are small, ragged cloud fragments that are usually found under an ambient cloud base.

Panorama of a strong shelf cloud, a type of arcus cloud.

Arcus cloud

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Panorama of a strong shelf cloud, a type of arcus cloud.
Underside of a weak shelf cloud.
A time-lapse photography of shelf cloud just before a thunderstorm in Pondicherry, Puducherry, India.
thumb|A shelf cloud over Enschede, Netherlands
A shelf cloud in Durango, Mexico
A roll cloud associated with a severe thunderstorm over Racine, Wisconsin, United States
Coastal roll cloud in Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay, a type known as Volutus<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sutherland|first1=Scott|title=Cloud Atlas leaps into 21st century with 12 new cloud types|url=https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/cloud-atlas-leaps-into-21st-century-with-12-new-cloud-types/80685/|access-date=24 March 2017|work=The Weather Network|agency=Pelmorex Media|date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>
A sequence of volutus clouds at sea in the Drake Passage of the Southern Ocean
Roll clouds over the south of Brazil.

An arcus cloud is a low, horizontal cloud formation, usually appearing as an accessory cloud to a cumulonimbus.

Cirrostratus at night causing a moon halo

Cirrostratus cloud

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Cirrostratus at night causing a moon halo
High cloud weather map symbols.

Cirrostratus is a high-level, very thin, generally uniform stratiform genus-type of cloud.

This diagram shows types, and size distribution in micrometres (μm), of atmospheric particulate matter.

Particulates

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Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air.

Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air.

This diagram shows types, and size distribution in micrometres (μm), of atmospheric particulate matter.
PM2.5 and PM10 compared with a human hair in a graphic from the Environmental Protection Agency
2005 radiative forcings and uncertainties as estimated by the IPCC.
Global aerosol optical thickness. The aerosol scale (yellow to dark reddish-brown) indicates the relative amount of particles that absorb sunlight.
Particulates in the air causing shades of grey and pink in Mumbai during sunset
Solar radiation reduction due to volcanic eruptions
Air pollution measurement station in Emden, Germany
Deaths from air pollution compared to other common causes
Air quality information on PM10 displayed in Katowice, Poland
Air quality trends in the United States
Air quality trends in the western United States
Air quality trends in the southwestern United States
Concentration of PM10 in Europe

Cloud droplets form onto pre-existing aerosol particles, known as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).

Lenticular cloud over the Antarctic ice near Scott Base.

Lenticular cloud

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Lenticular cloud over the Antarctic ice near Scott Base.
A lenticular cloud covers the summit crater of Mayon Volcano, Philippines.

Lenticular clouds (Latin: Lenticularis lentil-shaped, from lenticula lentil) are stationary clouds that form mostly in the troposphere, typically in parallel alignment to the wind direction.

Mammatus clouds formation in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu India - 2019

Mammatus cloud

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Mammatus clouds formation in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu India - 2019
Mammatus clouds in the Nepal Himalayas
Mammatus clouds on an anvil cloud
Panorama of mammatus cloud formations in Swifts Creek, Victoria
Mammatus clouds over U.S. Air Force Academy, 2004
Mammatus clouds over Croatia
Mammatus clouds over New York City, 2009
Mammatus clouds in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1973
Mammatus clouds over San Antonio, Texas, 2009
Mammatus Clouds over the Pacific Coast San Francisco
Mammatus clouds over Squaw Valley Ski Resort, Olympic Valley, California
Cirrus mamma
Mammatus clouds in Milan, Italy, in July 2005 on a very hot, humid day without wind
Mammatus Clouds in San Francisco, California
Mammatus clouds forming in Minnesota in 2005
Mammatus clouds and crepuscular rays over San Francisco Bay
Aerial photo of mammatus clouds over central New South Wales, Australia,
Mammatus Clouds Over Sierras de Córdoba Mountains, Argentina
Mammatus clouds above Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City, Utah
Mammatus clouds over Santa Catarina, Brazil, following Cyclone Catarina.
Cumulus Mammatus clouds between Hamilton and Missoula, Montana
Mammatus clouds over the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, 2011.
Just before a large thunderstorm in Altomuenster, Bavaria, Germany
Mammatus clouds over Bingley, UK, following a thunderstorm on 2 November 2013
Mammatocumulus in Cap de Creus, Girona, Spain. Electric atmosphere. June 2014
Mammatus clouds over Austin, Texas, after the torrential Memorial Day floods of 2015.
Mammatus Clouds over Hoshiarpur May 20, 2016, Punjab, India
Mammatus Clouds observed in Norwich Norfolk, UK, 2015/05/24 just before sunset in the west moving east. Duration 17 minutes. Calm weather. No rain, 19 Celsius.
Strikingly regular mammatus clouds on June 26, 2012 in Regina, Saskatchewan, following a severe storm warning and tornado watch.
Mammatus clouds in Lithuania, 2016
Mammatus clouds formation in Berlin Germany 2021
Mammatus clouds over Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 2021.
thumb|center|alt=Mammatus clouds in the evening near Guthrie, Oklahoma on 2 May 2022|Mammatus clouds in the evening near Guthrie, Oklahoma on 2 May 2022
thumb|alt=Picture taken of Mammatus Clouds in Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh) Pennsylvania on June 16th 2022 around 9:02pm.|Mammatus clouds at 9:02pm near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 16th 2022
thumb|Mammatus cloud in Sandefjord, Norway on July 15th 2022 around 20:43

Mammatus (also called mamma or mammatocumulus, meaning "mammary cloud") is a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud, typically a cumulonimbus raincloud, although they may be attached to other classes of parent clouds.

A gravity wave cloud pattern—analogous to a ship wake—in the downwind zone behind the Île Amsterdam, in the far southern Indian Ocean. The island generates wave motion in the wind passing over it, creating regularly spaced orographic clouds. The wave crests raise and cool the air to form clouds, while the troughs remain too low for cloud formation. Note that while the wave motion is generated by orographic lift, it is not required. In other words, one cloud often forms at the peak. See wave cloud.

Orographic lift

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Air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain.

Air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain.

A gravity wave cloud pattern—analogous to a ship wake—in the downwind zone behind the Île Amsterdam, in the far southern Indian Ocean. The island generates wave motion in the wind passing over it, creating regularly spaced orographic clouds. The wave crests raise and cool the air to form clouds, while the troughs remain too low for cloud formation. Note that while the wave motion is generated by orographic lift, it is not required. In other words, one cloud often forms at the peak. See wave cloud.
Precipitation induced by orographic lift in Andalusia.
Windy evening twilight enhanced by the Sun's angle, can visually mimic a tornado resulting from orographic lift
A view of the Front Range of the Rockies capped by a föhn wall.

As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions, precipitation.

Contrails of a Boeing 747-400 from Qantas at 11000 m

Contrail

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Contrails of a Boeing 747-400 from Qantas at 11000 m
A vintage P-40 Warhawk with propeller tip vortex condensation
MODIS tracking of contrails generated by air traffic over the southeastern United States
The sky above Würzburg without contrails after air travel disruption in 2010 (left) and with regular air traffic and the right conditions (right)
A distrail is the opposite of a contrail
Multiple contrails above Nova Scotia
Contrails formed due to two jets crossing over
Airliner contrails, some new, some old, dispersed by wind shear
A contrail over southwest Virginia
A contrail casting a shadow onto a lower cloud layer
Airplane contrail
Over the City of Culture of Galicia
Distrail --- a narrow line of clearance produced by a passing airplane, here produced in a patch of thin cirrostratus.
Distrail splits stratocumulus cloud - remnants of contrail visible (see annotations on Wiki Commons description page)
Iridescent contrails from a Boeing 747, when the sun shines through a group of similarly sized water droplets at a relatively small angle
An Airbus A340 of Lufthansa produces contrails
Two USAF F-15s approaching Soviet MiG-29s
Contrails in front of the sun
Engine exhaust contrails behind an Airbus A340 from Swiss International Air Lines
B-17 bombers over Europe, 1944
USAAF 8th Air Force B-17s and their contrails
The unique Antonov 225 had distinctive sextuple vapor trails
Virga falling from contrail

Contrails (short for "condensation trails") or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth's surface.