If the droplets shrink as the air heats up they will evaporate and turn back into water vapor, but if they continue to join one another and grow then they will eventually become heavy enough to fall out of the sky as precipitation – rain or snow. “Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.” - Christopher MorleyĪfter the droplets or ice crystals are formed and a cloud is created, they can either grow or shrink. Convection is the name for this process and convective clouds are created from warm columns of air. The water vapor condenses together and forms ice crystals or cloud droplets. As the air rises higher and higher, it begins to cool, which makes the water molecules, or water vapor form clumps more quickly than the thermal energy of the water vapor tears them apart from one another. Clouds are created when warm air expands and rises. How Do Clouds Form?Īll clouds, despite their various shapes and sizes, are made out of condensed water or ice. The clouds which are found at the highest altitudes are typically wispy looking and have the “cirro” prefix in front of them making them cirrocumulus, cirrus, and cirrostratus clouds. Mid-level clouds are similar to the stratus and cumulus clouds but they have the “alto” prefix in front of them, making them altocumulus or altostratus clouds. Clouds that are found at low levels include cumulus clouds, stratocumulus clouds, and stratus clouds.
![heavy rain and thunder heavy rain and thunder](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DhOiEJB7VJ4/maxresdefault.jpg)
The different terms that meteorologists use to classify clouds are based upon a combination of the appearance of the clouds and the altitude of the clouds.
![heavy rain and thunder heavy rain and thunder](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/24619753/20210817/093723/styles/patch_image/public/thunderstorm___17092723588.jpg)
Before talking about the various kinds of clouds it would be helpful to lay the groundwork and discuss how clouds are classified.